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Since You Asked

Since You Asked
Adam and Eve
 
Q I always am hearing about how perfect the Lord is. I want to know if he really was as perfect as everybody says. After all, he kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden, made the huge flood that covered the earth, and burned up the two (or was it three?) cities. So, is God as perfect as he's made out to be?
- Confused Angel
 
A

Two things:

1. How do you define perfect? Is it more perfect to just let things slide? You want a God who isn't paying attention?

2. When the Scriptures were written, God is described in terms that humans would understand. God SOUNDS peeved, angry and emotional. Those are, however, emotions that human authors have assigned to God. It's really more a matter of action and consequence. If people act a certain way, certain results will follow. It isn't that God woke up with a headache one day and was particularly annoyed by human behavior. Adam and Eve and their descendants knew well what was expected, but they didn't do what was expected. The specifics--garden, flood and fire--are also fanciful ways of describing the results that could be expected from not following the promptings of grace. That's what it means to be "fallen" human beings. We have trouble acting on divine inspiration.

And I can't resist a third observation. Can we imperfect people (and I suspect you'll agree with this general assessment of our condition--yours and mine) critique whether our Creator's behavior is acceptable?

- Carol Ann