Is this why God created sin and evil?

Is this why God created sin and evil?

New Jerusalem

2 Peter 3.9
The Lord is not being slow in carrying out his promises, as some people think he is; rather is he being patient with you, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 KJ
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

God wanting no one to be lost makes sense to me. After all, He loves us.
If God's will is supreme, and it is, then if He is not wanting any of us to be lost, you can bet your hat that none are lost.
I must conclude then that none are lost as God's will cannot be thwarted.

If none are lost, thanks to God not wanting to lose any of us, then that would eliminate the need for an everlasting hell.
An everlasting hell would be an immoral place by any measure anyway so this view of God not creating a hell seems right.

If we are all to repent then obviously we must all sin or do evil in some form or other.

God facilitates sin by giving us a sinning nature. We cannot fight our God given natures so sin comes rather easily to us. We all sin by nature. If God wanted sinless people then obviously He would create sinless natures. He does not.

It seems natural to me that God, who began, so to speak, as master of all the universe, would not create a hell where He is not master. That would be back sliding and is of course impossible for God. In the beginning God's continence was without blemish. To think that He would allow Himself to end, so to speak, with a black blemish on His white continence would be rather droll.

Is this why God gave us the gifts of sin and evil?
Is this what makes sin and evil part of God's perfect works?
Is this why in the garden of Eden, God said that things were good, even though Satan or the talking snake were there.
Was Satan, always under God's control, acting as a loyal opposition to make sure that Eve ate of the tree of knowledge that gives us our moral sense?

I admit that my view that a hell would be immoral leads me to read the above quote rather literally while knowing that the Vatican and Pope tell us not to take scripture literally even as I know that many do.

God only creates good and perfect works.
Does that make sin and evil good, within the larger picture of perfection?

I think that from His POV it must be so and by trying to look at things from that view, I can glimpse a view of the perfection that we live in even as I can see sin and evil with us.

Rather strange then that we should be thanking God for evil and sin.
Stranger still to think that God wants us to sin to insure that we do His will by repenting for them.

Thoughts.

Regards
DL

Well, you are preaching to the converted here!

O felix culpa............O happy fault!


O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit habere redemptorem," "O happy fault that merited such and so great a Redeemer." The medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas[1] cited this line when he explained how the principle that "God allows evils to happen in order to bring a greater good therefrom" underlies the causal relation between original sin and the Divine Redeemer's Incarnation, thus concluding that a higher state is not inhibited by sin.

I just don't understand why God would create beings capable of sinning in the first place. If I was God and wanted to make perfect beings for my perfect universe I would've, simple. Not start handing out eternal damnation to them I gave the abilty to be (and do) evil things.

According to the Iraeneaen Theodicy (spelled wrong I'm sure) God wanted to create humans in his image but so we could learn to grow into his likeness and choose to turn away from sin and follow him. It is thought by scholars such as Peter Vardy that God kept an epistemic distance so he could allow humans to decide whether to sin or whether to follow God out of compassion and love for him. He does not want us to feel compelled to follow him just because he is God.

That's just one explanation for it, not that I agree with it.

I think people who second guess God's motives and try telling other people how or what he thinks (just supposing he does exist) are slightly insane.

Yeah, true, but as we'll never be able to know for sure you might as well just make stuff up

I agree that a higher state is not inhibited by sin.

In fact, I would say that without sin, a higher state is not reachable.
Repentance is a way to reach that higher state.

Regards
DL

Perhaps God thinks like many who believe that a Utopia is not possible because of boredom.

It is less boring if you can enjoy sinning.

Regards
DL

If you are a believer then it is hard not to feel compelled to follow God when the free will he offers you is ---do as told or burn forever.

Quite the free will that.

Regards
DL

Of all the religious ideas that I reject sin is number one!

I agree. To associate morality with actions themselves rather than their consequences or even their intentions is absurd. No matter what you mean to do, no matter what effect it has, what you actually do is what counts - I find that perverse.

Thank you Billy, I would have said that if I had thought about it!

Does that mean that you accept that there is a God?

Regards
DL

No it doesn't!