Friday, January 11, 2008

Some thoughts on the Genesis matter..

It appears my partner on this site, Blaisteach, is having all the fun with posting. To be honest, some of the material he is writing about has crossed my mind. I wrote earlier this year, in a class about women and religion, about the differences of the genesis story within Judaic, christian, and Islamic cultures. There is other slight differences which played a role in the recruitment of women to those particular faiths. But, I'll save that for another post. I've been currently writing about Theocracies, and their governing structures. I would eventually like to be published, so my writing here has been scarce. However, this discussion of sin and it's origins is too interesting not make some comments on it:

If sin did not have an origin point - as we see in the bible - was it always with us? And if so, was it was with creation?

Are some sins in the bible directly from God, and others from the writers themselves? And if so, what does this mean for our interpretation of good and evil?

Why is there no story about Lucifer or the angels in the creation story? Are we to assume they were there when creation occurred? Is this the reason for the reference to 'we' when speaking? And how does this relate to the later passages with the singular 'I' when speaking?

Possibly the most troubling question for me is: if something is good because God wills it to be so and vice versa, or because God is good? I find this troubling because then I have to look at the other aspect of the question: Is something bad because God willed it or because God is bad? I'm left to conclude that God willed it, and his nature can be independent of his will. That sin and evil might have created because God willed it, although God is good in nature. However, this still leaves me with some unease: Satan, mankind's fall, and the Crucifixion could have all been avoided - but weren't. So, I'm left trying to understand God's will and God's nature.

Exploring the nature, and definitions, of sin has never been easy. It has plagued theologians for centuries. I doubt the question will be resolved anytime soon.

Shawn

3 comments:

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Pastor Nick said...

You raise many interesting questions. And it's very hard to answer many of these questions with definitive answers just because we can't know the mind of God. And I agree that these questions will probably not be answered anytime soon. But knowing that never stopped people from trying to explain just so that brains wouldn't explode. As for sin and God's will, I believe that all of the creations of God were given free will. The choice to either follow Him or disobey Him.

As for your questions of sins from God, a professor of mine in college gave this description. The children of Israel were coming out of Egypt in the Exodus. Egypt was a highly polytheistic culture at the time and would worship the good deities and the bad. So God allowed them to believe that He was the reason for the bad and the good so that the Jews wouldn't worship Satan as well as God.

Just some thoughts, not meant to be answers, just stuff I've found on my Christian walk that help explain things.

Unknown said...

Pastor Nick,

Thank you for your contribution to the posting. I find these questions intriguing, and your answers provide some thoughts that are helpful for me.

The nature of sin and it's origins are a complexity I struggle with each day. It is appricated when it is clear that I am not alone in this struggle, and others ponder these questions.

Shawn