Why did God make Adam and Eve knowing that they would fall?
One of the more difficult theological questions is: Why did God make Adam and Eve knowing that they would fall?
Reading the Bible helped me get a little more information on God and on how free will was really important to Him (click here for my earlier post on that topic). But, this is where it got tricky. If God knows everything, then why did he make Adam and Eve, knowing that they would lead themselves into temptation at great cost to them and to the rest of humanity?
C.S. Lewis's theological writings offer an excellent perspective on this. He believes that man redeemed through the death of Jesus is somehow intrinsically better than unfallen man. "For God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo. Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity would have been..." - C.S. Lewis, Miracles 1947, in Chapter 14 "The Grand Miracle".
This viewpoint falls in line with two Biblical readings:
So He told them this parable: "What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!' I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance."
Luke 15: 3-7
"Or what woman who has 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15: 8-10
Clearly then, redeemed man gives more reason for joy in Heaven than man who has never fallen; seen most clearly in the last sentence of the first Bible reading. This works in much the same way that we get excited about finding an object that would otherwise have been lost; more so than if we had never lost it. It is only we fallen humans who have trouble understanding all this; having never visited Heaven we don't really understand what is going on there.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
Reading the Bible helped me get a little more information on God and on how free will was really important to Him (click here for my earlier post on that topic). But, this is where it got tricky. If God knows everything, then why did he make Adam and Eve, knowing that they would lead themselves into temptation at great cost to them and to the rest of humanity?
C.S. Lewis's theological writings offer an excellent perspective on this. He believes that man redeemed through the death of Jesus is somehow intrinsically better than unfallen man. "For God is not merely mending, not simply restoring a status quo. Redeemed humanity is to be something more glorious than unfallen humanity would have been..." - C.S. Lewis, Miracles 1947, in Chapter 14 "The Grand Miracle".
This viewpoint falls in line with two Biblical readings:
So He told them this parable: "What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!' I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance."
Luke 15: 3-7
"Or what woman who has 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!' I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels over one sinner who repents."
Luke 15: 8-10
Clearly then, redeemed man gives more reason for joy in Heaven than man who has never fallen; seen most clearly in the last sentence of the first Bible reading. This works in much the same way that we get excited about finding an object that would otherwise have been lost; more so than if we had never lost it. It is only we fallen humans who have trouble understanding all this; having never visited Heaven we don't really understand what is going on there.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
Comments
Post a Comment