“I didn’t say it was an insult to God. I said nothing like that.”
Oh, but you did. You in essence said that God created imperfection; and thus, God himself must be imperfect. Remember, God created Man “in His own image.”
You mention “free will.” Well, if God gave Man “free will,” then how the hell can God condemn Man for using that which God has given him? Free will assumes coming to conclusions; and some of those conclusions may disagree with God. But, by bestowing upon Man free will, God must necessarily accept those disagreements. Or, why give Man free will in the first place? If God demanded of his creations absolute conformity and obedience, He would have created them to do just that, and not have given them the ability to do otherwise.
I mean, why would God create something he knows will — in His eyes — fail? And, that failure is offensive to the God that created it. Thus, God doesn’t want his creations to think for themselves, and draw their own conclusions; rather, He insists upon compliance and demands obedience! He gave Man free will and then persecutes him for using it? That’s sadism. No benevolent God would do such a thing.
“You seem to be sincere in your attitude and your participation in this discussion, and as such this truly might be an opportunity for you to gain knowledge.”
How condescending of you. What you really mean is, an opportunity to think as you do.
“…if you desire to contemplate and to analyze the integrity of God’s creation, you need to understand the full picture.”
Ah; the full picture. And that understanding is something you possess? Are you that omniscient? That god-like?
“The full picture is God’s creation allowed for the free will of his created beings…”
Ah; so ALL of God’s creatures (created beings) are blessed with free will? I guess that would explain the many extinctions over the eons: Those creatures used their free will and “close poorly.”
“… which led to the actions of Lucifer and to what happened in the Garden.”
Which necessarily means that God created Lucifer, along with all the other untold billions of creatures and life forms. For what purpose did God create Lucifer? To torment the other creatures? To trick them? Because, if Genesis is to be believed, the Garden was not just the playground of Adam and Eve, it was the playground of EVERY form or life; where every form of life lived together, in harmony. Or, were only SOME forms of life allotted the privilege of living in the Garden? If that were the case, I can bet that those who were not fortunate enough to know the password for entry were pissed, and wanted some answers as to why they had been denied that code.
“Sin caused the entire creation to come into what’s known as a ‘fallen’ state, which introduced things like imperfection, destruction and death.”
But, how can this be? If, prior to “the fall” all creatures (in your words, the “entire creation”) were perfect, indestructible, and immortal (i.e., like God); then they were necessarily on a par WITH God: No more; no less. How is it possible, then, that God – outnumbered by untold millions of creatures, all His equals — got over on that mighty host and made them imperfect, destructible, and mortal; and He alone escaped the carnage?
And, sin? Well, obviously, sin can only result from free will; which God bestowed on all creatures, making them His equals. So, sin must also have afflicted God himself. Thus, any punishments and condemnations directed towards all those fallen creatures must necessarily be directed to God, as well.
Don’t you see the contradictions?
Try to make your replies more concise. One of the benefits of this is it facilitates a better understanding of what you’re trying to say. I think you don’t see the incoherence in you final six or seven paragraphs.
Meanwhile, these simple and concise statements will help clarify the discussion:
God did not create imperfection. He created beings with free will. That they have the power of choice is a more perfect creation than if they didn’t have it.
Their choice to do evil is intrinsic to them, not to God. This is not difficult to understand. If it’s not intrinsic to them, then it’s not free will.
God’s victory over evil is global and eternal. Failures due to sin are local and temporal. The global nature of his victory includes total compensation for any imperfection in the temporary state of fallenness.
To do evil is to need punishment. This is not sadism. It’s justice. Remember, the evil is intrinsic to the one who chooses it. Failure to punish evil is imperfect justice.