bfltr
It is not an overpowering conundrum to me that the creation of the universe by the Word of God resulted in “very good” and not “perfect”, that is, in the first place.
God created a new physics, for His own purposes, that would “wind down”, a la 2nd Law, entropy.
But when God says “very good”, I listen. “Very good” in God’s eyes means as good as it gets, perfectly suitable to the purposes He had in mind.
In the NT it says, “when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away”; and “we look for a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness”. I look forward to things that are of similar physique, but different physics.
Meanwhile, the writer is correct in that all of this is very mysterious (but wonderful)!
Finally, someone with some sense. I have never understood some people’s fixation on “perfection”.
Intriguing....
in my bible, genesis says that God looked at all He created and saw that it was good. not perfection, but good. He liked what He saw. why do we expect perfection from God when He did not create it for Himself?
i look at my kids and i see they are good kids and i like them. they are not perfect but they are darn good. i look at my garden and it is good, not perfect, but good. we are made in God’s image, working with the possibilities and limitations He gave us. if “it was good” was good enough for God, why do we expect perfection from Him? or our children or ourselves?
i have always wondered about this.
Was the original creation perfect?
Non-Sequitur #1: "Perfection" is not the issue. The issue is whether or not the world was more pleasant than it is now, which the Bible clearly states.
The purpose of creation... The young earth paradigm assumes God created the earth for mankind to give us a perfect place to live, "designed for our enjoyment."
Non-Sequitur #2: The purpose of creation is stated repeatedly in the Bible; obey God. This is what Adam, Eve, and the Serpent failed to do. It is a shame someone can look into a Bible and not see accounts of people obeying or disobeying God and the results of that behavior over and over, and still not get it.
: The problem of evil... Shouldn't an omniscient God have known that human beings were going to rebel, and plan His course of action accordingly?
Non-Sequitur #3: I wonder what you think God meant when he said "...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."? I call it forethought, but then again, I can read.
: Weeds and work... What purpose could God possibly have in making us work?
Non-Sequitur #4: If you had bothered to read Genesis, you would know that the labor of the fields is literally described as a punishment for Adam's behavior: "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Please note that God CURSES the earth with weeds AFTER the creation BECAUSE of Adam's sin.
: Killing carnivores...
Non-Sequitur #5: What a mess. You can cite nowhere an animal killing and eating another animal before the fall of man. In fact, you cannot cite anything eating an animal until after the Great Flood. It is after that flood where God states: "And let the fear and dread of you be upon all the beasts of the earth, and upon all the fowls of the air, and all that move upon the earth: all the fishes of the sea are delivered into your hand. Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything." That's right, God makes animals food AFTER the flood. I wonder how you could explain why nobody ate meat until hundreds of years after creation?
Anyway, this is stupid, and I bored with it now.
It still is perfect. May not suit any human’s ego or agenda but it is perfect.
: The problem of evil... Shouldn’t an omniscient God have known that human beings were going to rebel, and plan His course of action accordingly?
He did know. He wanted Man to love and obey him of his own will because without free will Man’s love would just be programed. God knew with this choice Man would sooner or later disobey and fall under his perfect justice. His plan was to provide a perfect redeemer in his Son Jesus which he carried out later.
Truly seek him and ask for him to give you understanding of his word.
The “perfect” God was speaking about in the scriptures - was SPIRITUAL PERFECTION .. not physical.
And .. if people would read Deuteronomy 28, 29 and thru 30:15, they will see that God laid out evil and it’s rewards, good and it’s rewards, and then in 30:15 God said, “I’ve set before you this day good and evil, life and death .. NOW YOU CHOOSE.
God’s greatest gift to mankind was THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE.
That God recognized each creation phase as being "good" before moving on the the next phases of creation means during each phase, he could have gotten something wrong which he either had to correct during that phase or alter plans for the subsequent phases.
I was listening to Frank Pastrori’s show on local Christian radio the other day and he had a guest from the Creation Museum who claimed that Noah had two of each kind of dinosaur on the Ark with him.
I believe in God, but I also go with the geophysical age of the Earth, and this “young earth” busisness is not supportable by the evidence.
What a joke! Typical Bible "scholarship" (rea: oxymoron). Is there a plan "B?" Sure seems that way (cf Gen 6:6).
Interesting post, but not really all that deep.
Also, if God didn't create the earth for humans...he seemed to have gone to an aweful lot of trouble sending Jesus his one an only to son to come a rescue such a lot as us humans.