Well first off, I am not quite convinced that this is referring to Satan. I admit that it could, but there is not enough evidence in the context to convince me conclusively that this is referring to Satan.
Since there is direct reference to this one's being 'the covering cherub in the garden of Eden', I don't know how you could fail to see who was included in Ezekiel's address. Everything he said pertained to the fall of the devil before the fall of man.
However, looking at the context, it is clear that the word "perfect" is just a figure of speech for "very good". I have two reasons for concluding this....the first reason is looking at the words being used, "you were the model of perfection"....now, isn't the Father also the model of perfection? So is "Satan" on the same level of God if the same thing could be said about both.
"Perfection" means flawless. Nothing God created is flawed. When God declares that something is "good" (as in the first 5 creative "days") do we conclude that when he says that the 6th day was "very good" that it must be better than the previous 5, or do we conclude that because everything God makes is perfect, it must be God's level of satisfaction that is increased with the creation of material beings who are like him; who have his moral attributes? He had such a wonderful future planned for them....if only they would trust and obey him.
Second, how can imperfection come from perfection? If Satan or any other person being can start off as perfect...but end up imperfect, that lead me to believe that this person was never perfect in the first place, because to be perfect is not to become imperfect.
If you come to this conclusion then you fail to appreciate what free moral agency is, both in heaven and on earth.
Can a child be born to be a murderer or thief? Or does there come a time when, as this child grows, circumstances lead him to entertain ideas of becoming a thief or murderer? If he is tempted to take things that do not belong to him and then acts on his covetousness, because there are laws carrying a penalty for this act, he knows it is wrong before he even begins to think about it. Did not God's law warn of such a thing?
Murder is not always pre-meditated, but taking a human life is against the law....it was always against God's law. Any unauthorized taking of human life carries a penalty. No one commits murder without knowing in advance that it is wrong.
In the garden of Eden, there were no "laws"...there was just one command to avoid one specific tree. The consequences for disobeying this one command were dire. This was the only cause of death in existence and it was just one of many trees that were available to Adam and his wife for food. No hardship was imposed upon the pair by that command. It wasn't until the woman was lied to that eating of its fruit was even entertained. James 1:13-15 tells us about the process.
"When under trial, let no one say: “I am being tried by God.” For with evil things God cannot be tried, nor does he himself try anyone. 14 But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn sin, when it has been carried out, brings forth death." (James 1:13-15)
This was a simple test of obedience and respect for someone else's 'property'. The penalty alone should have been enough of a deterrent, but satan entertained a wrong desire and acted on it and in turn led the woman to entertain a wrong desire and act on it....this then led the human race into rebellion with him.
We are the hostages in this situation. It includes us but it is all about the exercise of free moral agency in all of God's intelligent creation, angels and humans.
The fact that we all have free will even now in our sinful state is simply a reflection of the way we were created. When "sin" entered the world, free will became a curse, when it was originally designed to be a blessing.
"Sin" is an archery term that means "to miss the mark"....we all 'miss the mark' because our 'inheritance' causes us to do that. (Rom 5:12)
Now as a Jehovah's Witness, I am trying to get your view on God...so I will ask you the following questions...
1. Is God omnibenevolent? (morally perfect in his ways)
Of course. It is impossible for him to be otherwise.
2. If an omnibenevolent God commits a sin, does that mean that he was never omnibenevolent?
You seem to forget that committing sin is not possible for the Creator. Even though he possesses free will, there is no propensity in the Creator to do wrong.
He cannot lie, he cannot perform an evil act. He is the epitome of love. The Potter can never be placed on equal footing with the clay.
If you remember, it was the "knowledge of good and evil" that God originally placed in his own jurisdiction. Everything in existence has an equal opposite, but the opposite of good was originally withheld from human creation. Jehovah was right in shielding his children from a knowledge of evil....it would not benefit them in any way. We have proven that beyond a shadow of doubt. A life with free will minus the knowledge of evil would have been wonderful, but satan tempted the woman, who in turn tempted the man. It was through the man that sin entered into the world. The woman was deceived, but Adam was not. As a perfect man, he made a wrong choice in full knowledge of what he was doing. (Rom 5:12)
3. Do you believe that if God to sins, he would mean that he is no longer God?
Silly question.
4. Is it possible for God to sin?
You should have asked this question first. It is not possible.
I agree with the free will part, but it is not my view that morally perfect beings can exercise their free will by making the wrong decisions.
Satan was and he did. Adam was and he did. Jesus was and he didn't, proving that free moral agency in perfect beings can be abused.
It is a choice made with full knowledge....do you understand that? Adam did not make a mistake....he made a choice.
I am a bit confused here...so do we sin because we make deliberate choices to sin or do we sin because we have faulty genetics that lead us in the wrong direction?
Both. Do you understand that there are two kinds of sin? We are born in "sin" through an inheritance from Adam. (Ps 51:5) This is a genetic fault that means we have a defect that leads us to make bad choices and commit wrongs. But the actual committing of the wrong is a choice. Just because we have a tendency to do wrong, doesn't mean we can't help it. Jesus' sacrifice releases us from the sin we inherited from Adam, but the wrongs we commit can only be forgiven if we are genuinely repentant. We cannot, at any time, take Jesus' sacrifice for granted, thinking that we can sin all we want because we can't help it, and are automatically forgiven. Not so.
My point is, we know that Jesus never sinned, and what kind of being could come on earth and live a perfectly sinless life on earth...who but God himself could come on earth and accomplish this?
Who? Adam could have. The fact that Jesus was the exact equivalent of Adam (a perfect human specimen) who was also tempted by the devil more than once, proves that there was no excuse for what Adam did. It also proves that Jesus was temptable, otherwise what was the point of the devil's temptations?
And Pegg already admitted that on her view, there is a possible world at which Jesus would have sinned, and my point is if you have the ability to sin, then you are not morally perfect by nature, regardless how long you go without sin, it is only a matter of time before you sin, which means that mean and her completely disagree about the benevolence of Jesus.
That is not true. Pegg is absolutely correct. Sin was not an inheritance that Jesus was born with. Just like Adam, he was perfect, but still open to temptation just like all free moral agents. It is a choice. Remember that free will was originally endowed without a knowledge of evil. In that circumstance, it was intended to be a daily blessing. With the introduction of evil into the world, free will became a liability with humans selfishly imposing their free will on others.
It was never meant to be so.
