It's hard to tell with God. If you believe the Judeo-Christian story then:
- Lucifer rebelled and there was war in Heaven
- Lucifer was "cast down" and out of all the billions and billions of physical bodies in the universe God chose to cast him to a planet where there was intelligent, innocent life
- God created a perfect place for the first two innocent people to live then he put a tree in front of them with fruit on it and told them not to eat it.
- He let this rebellious angel (who had managed to get 1/3 of all the angels on his side) tempt the humans who had no concept of good and evil
- The humans feel into the trap of this hyper-intelligent being
- God punished the vessel through which this hyper-intelligent being worked (the snake), he punished the man and the woman, and he punished every one of their offspring by making them be born with a "sin nature" and therefore at odds with God from the moment of birth
- If you believe that God is omnipotent then you have to believe that he did all this on purpose
So, you ask "is justice destroying sin or punishing it?" to which I reply, "Is it just to create the conditions where sin is the only possible end result - followed by millennia of the suffering and agony that is human history?" What kind of a sick being would create such conditions knowing full well what the results would be?
In my belief system, Adam and Eve's actions were
not sinful. They partook of the forbidden fruit, which was contrary to the commandments of God. It wasn't a sin to do so, it was transgression of the law. Laws are set to govern, to keep things in order. Without order, you have chaos -- and God does not operate in chaos. When a law is set, a consequence for breaking the law is necessary; else, what is there to keep mankind from breaking the law? If there were no law to punish speeding, what good would the speed limit do?
Adam and Eve lived in a state of immortality while in the Garden. There was no veil of forgetfulness between them and heaven. They walked and talked with God face to face. He taught them the law pertaining to the fruit of the tree of knowledge, and the consequence of breaking that law. They knew that there would be a consequence, before Lucifer even came along to tempt Eve. In that sense,
God is not a "punisher." Rather, he is a just judge who enforces the law. If you break the laws of the land and get caught, who is it that brings the consequences upon you? Is it the judge's fault? Did the judge "punish" you? No, you bring the consequence upon you by your own action. In the same way,
Adam and Eve chose to transgress the law, and in so doing, chose the consequences. If God had said, "Oh, poor children. You can stay," He would have made himself a liar and completely destroyed his credibility (like so many of us parents do these days). But God, being the perfect parent, upheld the consequences -- though I'm sure it saddened him to do so. The consequence was that they would lose their immortal status and become subject to the elements. Additionally -- and probably the thing most difficult to bear -- they would be shut out from the Garden and the presence of God. Why?
Because they had
defiled themselves, and could no longer stand in His presence. How had they defiled themselves? Well, it doesn't take a scientist to extrapolate that after their eyes were opened by partaking of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, and recognized that they were naked... Especially when you realize who was there coaching them along. Now, true, there's no doctrinal evidence to support that... but think about it.
Before they ate of the tree, they were naked and knew it not. In other words, their minds were absolutely pure, like a little child's. After partaking of the fruit, they began to think like adults. They became, well, "carnal, sensual and devilish." One could even postulate that the fruit mentioned was not even "fruit"... but that's an entirely different debate.
The point I'm trying to make is that
I don't believe that man is punished for Adam and Eve's transgression.
Partaking of the "fruit" was something that had to happen in order for Adam and Eve to procreate. They had to have their eyes opened, or in other words, they had to have a change of nature take place from Godlike to manlike in order for Adam and Eve to desire each other. From the beginning, the greatest gift from God is our agency. Adam and Eve had to chose for themselves to disobey the law. They would not have done so, due to their perfect nature, had they not been beguiled. This is why Lucifer was allowed to intervene -- and he did just what God knew he would do.
The plan worked perfectly. Adam and Eve disobeyed, the consequence was enacted, and as a result, you and I exist!
So rather than curse Adam and Eve for their transgression, I thank them! "Original Sin"? No such thing. "Sinful nature"? Naturally! If we were all perfect, with the mind of little children, who would procreate??? Without a sinful nature, what would be the point of coming to earth? Earth life is nothing more or less than God School. We are here to learn to become like God. If we were already like God, we wouldn't have a need to be here...
But then...
If we're here to learn to be like Him, that implies that...
He must be like us...
created in His image, we were...
That means He must have a body, too...
and in order to have a body, He must have...
could it be? Think about it. :yes:
