Why did God give man intelligence and then forbid it’s use

[Greatest I Am]

Why did God give man intelligence and then forbid it’s use?

Adam and Eve are our archetypal first humans. All humans are to emulate them.
They were not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that gives us our moral sense.

Without this knowledge we would basically be as dumb as cows because without knowledge of good and evil, we would have no knowledge of most of what we know. Almost no dialog can take place without this knowledge as almost all issues have a good and evil aspect. Intelligence then cannot progress without this knowledge.

Why then would God want more baser animals instead of the intelligent man that has developed thank to Eve eating of the tree of knowledge?

Without moral sense we would not know why we follow God.
Sheeple instead of people in biblical terms.

Why does God want to keep man dumb instead of intelligent?

Why stifle man instead of letting him go to his full potential?

Man chose that route to potential but it seems that some think that God was right.

Was He or was man right to reach for a moral sense?

Would you stop Eve and lose YOUR moral sense?

Regards
DL

[Easyrider]

Angel

What happened to god respecting our free will at the time of Sodom and the time of Noah?

Genocide plays havoc on free will especially the children and babies.

Regards
DL

This is a good question. God respects our free-will as far as allowing us to fmake choices but that is not to say that He won't punish us when we make *immoral* choices. Nonetheless, the choice can still be made though so just on that, it's a respect of free-will from my perspective since that is all free-will is. This answers for God destroying Sodom and most of Earth's inhabitants during the time of Noah, because He did so on moral grounds.

You also bring up children. I know that eventhough children also have free-will but that doesn't necessarily mean they understand their choices, especially babies. It's my theory that when God has punished babies, He was not judging based on their present status or age. How could He since they have done virtually nothing sinful yet nor do they understand what sin is. That's why I deduced that He must be using His foreknowledge to judge and seeing that these babies in their future lives would not ever become righteous with Him. This then raises the question of if it's right for God to punish or kill someone for their future actions? Does it matter, since this person would receive Hell as a judgement anyways and all God is doing is cutting short the life of someone who will become an unrepentant immoral person?

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

[McCulloch]

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

Do you have any basis for this opinion?

[byofrcs]

.....

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

Given that it says "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15 then that would suggest that children and babies are written in the book of life and then erased but then to be erased from the book e.g. as you sin, would suggest that you are judged whilst you are alive and I don't know of any verse that says that. They say you are judged when you die.

Perhaps you can offer an opinion.

[Greatest I Am]

Angel

What happened to god respecting our free will at the time of Sodom and the time of Noah?

Genocide plays havoc on free will especially the children and babies.

Regards
DL

This is a good question. God respects our free-will as far as allowing us to fmake choices but that is not to say that He won't punish us when we make *immoral* choices. Nonetheless, the choice can still be made though so just on that, it's a respect of free-will from my perspective since that is all free-will is. This answers for God destroying Sodom and most of Earth's inhabitants during the time of Noah, because He did so on moral grounds.

You also bring up children. I know that eventhough children also have free-will but that doesn't necessarily mean they understand their choices, especially babies. It's my theory that when God has punished babies, He was not judging based on their present status or age. How could He since they have done virtually nothing sinful yet nor do they understand what sin is. That's why I deduced that He must be using His foreknowledge to judge and seeing that these babies in their future lives would not ever become righteous with Him. This then raises the question of if it's right for God to punish or kill someone for their future actions? Does it matter, since this person would receive Hell as a judgement anyways and all God is doing is cutting short the life of someone who will become an unrepentant immoral person?

You deduced that it is justice to kill someone that if they have free will might do something. Good deducing there bud.

At the time of the flood God said they were evil. Not they will be evil.
Do not add to scripture now. That is not allowed.

LOL.

Regards
DL

[Greatest I Am]

Angel

What happened to god respecting our free will at the time of Sodom and the time of Noah?

Genocide plays havoc on free will especially the children and babies.

Regards
DL

This is a good question. God respects our free-will as far as allowing us to fmake choices but that is not to say that He won't punish us when we make *immoral* choices. Nonetheless, the choice can still be made though so just on that, it's a respect of free-will from my perspective since that is all free-will is. This answers for God destroying Sodom and most of Earth's inhabitants during the time of Noah, because He did so on moral grounds.

You also bring up children. I know that eventhough children also have free-will but that doesn't necessarily mean they understand their choices, especially babies. It's my theory that when God has punished babies, He was not judging based on their present status or age. How could He since they have done virtually nothing sinful yet nor do they understand what sin is. That's why I deduced that He must be using His foreknowledge to judge and seeing that these babies in their future lives would not ever become righteous with Him. This then raises the question of if it's right for God to punish or kill someone for their future actions? Does it matter, since this person would receive Hell as a judgement anyways and all God is doing is cutting short the life of someone who will become an unrepentant immoral person?

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

So it is OK to kill innocent babies who do not know right from wrong. OK.
Lets all follow God's example and we wont have a population problem here anymore. Sounds good to me.

Regards
DL

[Greatest I Am]

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

Do you have any basis for this opinion?

Remember that God said, to justify His genocidal fit that all were evil in that day. Except for the8 of course.

One wonders how those 8 good could produce a culture that God must return again to fix.

Regards
DL

[Gonzo]

One wonders how those 8 good could produce a culture that God must return again to fix.

Not to mention the fact that they could only possess 4 different genetic alleles. Inbreeding depression much? And how does one account for the genetic variance we see today? (much more that 4 alleles per gene).

[Greatest I Am]

One wonders how those 8 good could produce a culture that God must return again to fix.

Not to mention the fact that they could only possess 4 different genetic alleles. Inbreeding depression much? And how does one account for the genetic variance we see today? (much more that 4 alleles per gene).

I guess that incest must somehow produce enough weirdness to account for these.

Do not complicate Christian thinking now. Believers in talking snakes are simple minds.

Regards
DL

[Zzyzx]

.

I think the children and the babies go to heaven, since they didn't have the full maturity yet to know right from wrong.

Wait a minute.

You often preach against abortion because it "kills babies".

If "children and babies go to heaven", killing them before they "have full maturity to know right from wrong" is doing them a FAVOR by sending them straight to heaven "to be with god". Right?

If allowed to mature, they might "turn away from god" . Right?

Therefore, shouldn't fundamentalists kill all babies to INSURE that they will go to heaven?

This makes as much sense as believing that dead bodies come back to life and that donkeys and snakes converse with humans.
.

[Angel]

You deduced that it is justice to kill someone that if they have free will might do something. Good deducing there bud.

At the time of the flood God said they were evil. Not they will be evil.
Do not add to scripture now. That is not allowed.

LOL.

Regards
DL

It's not a matter of "might", God has "perfect" knowledge of the future. So He'd know accurately that someone would not do good. The ones that I'm referring to that God judged as not "currently" being evil but later would be were the babies of that time. We both agreed that babies don't do wrong or really have no understanding of it so how could God be referencing their "current" age or status other than knowing about their future and using that as the reason for His judgement for their present (or the person at the time of their childhood)? This may sound harsh but if the goal or purpose of life is to follow God, then raising someone who will not follow God later in their life is a waste. At that point, it's not a matter of if God will eternally punish them, it's a matter of "when". I'd say only someone with foreknowledge could make that judgement call regarding if the person will follow or never follow.