Man cannot properly define good and evil. He needs a moral compass. Defining good and evil is God's territory, that's explained in the first book of the Torah- Genesis.
Mankind has told so many things to be fact that were so far from true. My own mind looks at creation and realizes something far bigger than us allowed this to happen. Why is it so outrageous to some for that to be considered? Why is it outrageous to consider that something wants to dialogue with us on His terms? Sure, mankind has created organizations that only mimic his efforts......but the all fail. People mock the Bible, yet in it is shown to us the failures of man's religion. It outlines the failures of "man's" efforts. Why would mankind write such a thing if not inspired by the Creator to get us to look to Him? It cant be an intellectual thing. Our intellect always, in the end fails us. God's ways are higher than our ways. When we finally come to grips with the selfless act made by Jesus, Who He is, and what He has done for us, we, by faith understand it could only be God. No one else gets the glory. No human being came up with this story for a reward or self glorification. We can only give It it's worth through faith and believing. Our reward will be eternal. My cousin recently posted a picture taken from outer space. It showed earth as a very tiny speck among an unbelievable span of planets. His comment was, "we are pretty insignificant aren't we?" The response came to me that "yes, we are insignificant, yet at the same time we are VERY significant! From what our intellect has shown us, we are the only life out there! The Creator had something very special in mind when He Created us for "Relationship!"
I don't pretend to know very much about religion, but I do stand in awe of what man cobbled together as the stories which serve as a guide through our every day life. It sort of provides a degree of comfort knowing that the struggles we all face in our lives have not changed [nor will they] regardless of the external conditions in which we find ourselves.
What fascinates me about the Bible is the history of man's thinking. It is our tendency to be proud. Pride is "self glorifying". The Bible addresses it often. "Pride precedes a fall". "God resists the proud but gives Grace to the humble". Proven true throughout our history. Religion, in itself does not address that. In fact, Religion often is to stroke our pride.
i said it is a magnifier of motivation, and that does not make it the motivation. For example, I submit that few wars are really religious wars. They are simply dressed in religious cloth, while they get fought. Those acts of goodness and sacrifice we claim God inspired in us, were acts with a very human and important audience watching on.
The Tree of Life is guarded from the reach of humans. Thus humans don't know whether life will continue after physical death. Religion is to provide such an answer as only a God will know.
Genesis says that Man learned good and evil, just as God knows it. It also says good and evil are something separate from God's commands. Genesis does not say anything about God "defining" good and evil. Much to the contrary.
It's not that man cannot define it, it's that perhaps his best skill is being able to rationalize the use of evil. You ever notice how God is always on both sides in every war?
Not sure about the war thing. Can you be more specific? Genesis 2:15-17, God tells Adam - "15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”" It's not just a history lesson, it's an allegory. What do you suppose "knowledge of good and evil" to be? Like Yardmeat said, we have a sense for what is good and what is evil, though a faulty one. For instance- "My neighbor had a heart attack, that's bad, but his wife called 911 and the paramedics got there in time, that's good, but that SOB owes me money and now he will be in the hospital for a while, that's bad, but hey- his wife is home nights alone to screw around with, that's good!"
I very much will. But I will give you a chance to save some face before I do. Which of the following are you claiming you do not yet know? 1) That Genesis says God said that Adam and Eve, after eating the fruit, had "become like us, knowing good from evil." 2) That Genesis says God had given commands to Adam and Eve and that, despite knowing those commands, Adam and Eve did not yet know good from evil . . . logically meaning that there has to be a difference between God's commands and good/evil? I look forward to your new excuses.
1) knowing of good and evil and being able to distinguish good from evil are two separate things. 2) they were given one command, which appears in Genesis 2:16,17. Eve decided that disobeying that one command was "good" after she believed the serpent's lie that God lied to them. And what's wrong with being naked? Are you not comfortable with the body God gave you?
What is the difference between having the knowledge of good and evil and being able to distinguish between the two . . . that's how knowledge works. If they knew God's command but didn't know good from evil then there must be a difference between God's command and morality. You'd have to ask your own God about why he has a problem with nudity. And this is only the beginning of the many, many, many problems with the vapid Divine Command Theory. Not only is it nonsensical, but it isn't even Biblically defensible in the first place.
Before they disobeyed Adam and Eve were naked and it didn't matter to them or to God. Then they freaked out and tried to cover themselves with foliage, which was clearly wrong too because God then made them garments from animal skins. So Yardmeat, what's wrong with being naked?
Wait . . . so now God was mad at them for covering up? You keep making it more and more clear that you haven't read the Bible. Just as you have made it clear you are not willing or able to read my posts. I never said there was anything wrong with being naked. You are think of your God.
Come back when you have read the Bible and are willing to read my posts. You clearly have never read Genesis, as has been shown here.
@Green Man , if God preferred nudity, then why does the Bible say He created clothing for Adam and Eve? If you had read the Bible, you would know that God supposedly realized that, BECAUSE Adam KNEW he was naked, that this was evidence that he had eaten from the tree and now knew good from evil. It also says God made clothing for Adam and Eve. Why would God do that if clothing was bad and nudity was good?
If I I had said that God preferred nudity then you would have read those words in my hand. I did not say that at all and you know very well I did not say that. Put down the bottle. Why would Man decide on his own that being naked is evil and covering up is good? Yardmeat might never figure this out....
" Who told you you were naked? " https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 1&version=NIV Go ahead Yardmeat. Use quotes.
