Bill Scott

This response/answer raises additional questions.

1. Referring to "…we must be careful that we are not calling God into question." Why can't we question God?

Yes, the bible makes the statements about God that you reference as well as others, but do those statements imply, in any way, that we aren't to question God? Deut 6:16 is a conditional warning. Don't test God "as you did when you complained…" Yet Malachi 3:10 specifically advises that we test God to see if what He says is true.

2. Referring to "But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God's commands, He had to punish them." I don't see how the Bible supports this viewpoint. To arrive at this conclusion from the narrow understanding of the word "wages" seems to be a shallow interpretation.

The Bible and experiential evidence strongly suggest that death is a consequence of being on planet Earth at this time. However, do we have any evidence that God is causing our death as a form of punishment?

Could it be that death is a consequence of our choice? Or a consequence of living on a broken planet?

Did God tell Adam and Eve that they would die if they disobeyed? Or did He tell them that He would kill them if they disobeyed?

I think there may be a distinctive difference and that this difference, if rightly understood, portrays God much more in harmony with the rest of the Bible as well as portray Him as one that I would trust for eternity.

Trust is based on asking questions about evidence. This takes time. God is patient.

February 07 2014 • Report