“But, while the nature of THE ALL is Unknowable, there are certain truths connected with its existence which the human mind finds itself compelled to accept.” The Kybalion 

According to the Gospels (the Biblical books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), Jesus spent a good part of his ministry trying to get people just like us – with closed minds and feet of clay – to open up their thinking and soar to knew heights. He came up with some great stories (scholars call ‘em parables) to illustrate the nature of God and the Kingdom of Heaven using the sort of common, everyday stuff our little brains can handle.

There’s also another tool we can use to “understand” the Unknowable. It’s got a fancy name – “intuitive reasoning” – but it works along the same lines as Jesus’ parables. There are some things that we intuitively know must be true – even when there’s no way anybody can prove ‘em. For instance:

• God is All Powerful (Omnipotent) There can’t be anything (or anybody) more powerful than God… period. Gotta be true – no question about it.  Now, this also means there can’t be any kind of power that isn’t God’s power ’cause – think about it – if you had power to do stuff outside of God’s power then it would mean you could do something God could not control. You’d have power “over” God which we’ve just figured out is a no-no.

• God is All Knowing (Omniscient) God has got to know everything there is to know.  If there was stuff God didn’t know then God would be ignorant – and I think we can all agree that ignorance is not a particularly godly trait.  So, by definition, God can’t be “surprised” by stuff ’cause that would constitute a “revelation” and there isn’t anything that God doesn’t know that can be revealed. Also, God must know everything that has happened (past), that is happening (present), and that will happen (future). If God didn’t know the “future”, future events would come as a surprise or a revelation to God, which we’ve just said is not an option.

• God is Everywhere and Eternal (Omnipresent) God has to be everywhere because there can’t be anything that can limit, restrict, define, disturb, or condition God. If there was something that could do any of those things, that something would have power outside of God and we’d be in conflict with intuitive rule #1 – the All Powerful nature of God. God also has to be Eternal – everlasting - with no end.  God won’t have beginning either, ’cause if there’s a “before God”, that would limit God by time, restricting God’s power, and again break the first rule of the All Powerfulness of God.

So there you have it – the nature of God:  All Powerful, All Knowing, Everywhere in space and time.

So?

Well, check out this next one… Sinful Perfection

God. . . perfect. . . can’t screw up.

So everything God creates has to be exactly the way God wants it to be. . . perfect.

Now, let’s take the Genesis story. Adam, created by God, must have been created perfect.

If Adam was created perfect, then mankind’s basic nature can only be what God wants mankind’s nature to be.  Sorry, you can’t have it any other way.

That means that if there’s some kind of “imperfection” in mankind, then God must have put it there, meant for it to be there. Otherwise there would be some power outside of God that could restrict, alter, and overrule God’s desires. That would make God less than All Powerful – and, as we discussed before, that is just impossible.

So. . . Since mankind was created perfect, the ability to sin must have been necessary in God’s plan for mankind.

Genesis tells us that mankind was created in the image of God – to be “like” God – who is, of course, perfect. So, if we follow the logic we end up at the only place we can, that (hold your breath) the ability to sin must somehow make us like God!

Crazy concept?  Maybe you should read… The Apple of Perfection

There really wasn’t an apple. If you didn’t know it already, here’s the skinny . . .

In Genesis, the first book of the Judeo/Christian and sorta Islamic tradition, God does a really mean thing. He takes the one thing that will supposedly be the downfall of mankind, The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and places it smack-dab in the middle of the Garden of Eden.

Now, here’s why that’s just so, so nasty. God, of course, knows everything. So God certainly knew that Adam and Eve (or Eve and Adam to be more exact) would make a midnight snack of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God also knew that the serpent would do his best Satan impression, tempting Eve, tripping up Adam and sending mankind into God’s doghouse.

As stupid as we are and with our fragile powers of prediction, can you imagine one of us building a beautiful play room for our child, furnishing it with every toy our kid could want, dropping a loaded machine pistol in the middle of the floor, then planting a subliminal message with “Oh, darling! We’re going out for a bit. Now, while we’re gone you can play with any other toy in the room except that shiny, new, gunlike toy thing we just bought. Never, ever, ever, ever touch that one, Ok? Ta-ta!”

We done yet? Nah. On top of that we go grab smarmy little Johnny – the mischievous neighbor kid with the really bad judgement (the serpent in the Genesis story) – and send this mini-demon into the room to start up a game of cops and robbers.

Would we do that? Of course not!

Even with our feeble understanding of future events it’s pretty obvious that this situation is just a really bad accident (sin) waiting to happen.

Now, ya gotta figure God is a way better and way more loving parent than any of us could ever hope to be. So, if we wouldn’t put our kids in situations where failure (sin) is a given, why the heck would God?

Unless. . .

Unless that very situation is necessary for the little rug rat’s full growth and developement.

As painful as the experience would be for Adam (mankind), God could only have wanted us to “partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil” – to “become like God” – as part of our spiritual rite of passage.

Bottom line, God wants us to know the difference between good and evil – just like God knows. If that wasn’t the case, then Adam wouldn’t have had that pesky Tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil stuck it in the middle of the garden complete with the serpent as the front man.

Think I’m streching this a bit? Well, you don’t have to believe me. But if you’re a Bible believer I’d suggest you take a look at the first part of Genesis 3:22,

“And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil“.  Genesis 3:22a

Chew on that one for a while…  then take a look at A Rock So Big

• Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
• What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
• Can God create a rock so big that even God can’t lift it?

These questions seem so deep, so thought provoking. By their very nature, the questions seem hopelessly unanswerable.

But, not so. The answer to the last question is obvious to anybody that has a clue about the true nature of God.

Figured it out yet?  HINT: Go back to the first post in this series and take a look at the characteristics of God. Specifically the first one – that God is All Powerful.

Now have you figured out that the answer is. . . YES!! God can do it. It’s our only choice ’cause God is All Powerful, Omnipotent, and can do anything/everything – even this.

But instead of just relying on our “intuitive reasoning” to answer this question, we’ve got evidence! God not only can create a rock so big that even God can’t lift it. . .

. . . it’s already been done.

According to Genesis, God created Adam. . . mankind. . . US! We’ve been created to be like God.

God is love – so if we are like God, then we must be “beings of love”. . . creatures who can receive love, who can give love, who can BE love.

So, what gives? What’s that got to do with a @#$%! rock?

It’s that love cannot be forced. To truly be love – it must be freely given. To be freely given – there must be the ability to refuse. To be able to refuse – there must be a choice. To freely choose – there must be the possibility of choosing badly.

God cannot change that. “But” you say, “God is All Powerful and can do anything.” Can’t do that.

Not because God is unable to or doesn’t have the power to but because God is Love and since God is All There Is, everything must be God. And if everything is God, then everything must be Love and must therefor adhere to the “law of Love” . . . that Love must choose freely.

It’s the ability to choose (some call it “free will”) that is the seed of our “likeness” to God.

This ability to choose “allowed” Adam to sin. Adam made a bad choice, but that ability to choose was the perfection of God’s creation.

Now, once we’ve got the ability to choose, what do we need next? The guidelines for making good choices.

So, Adam needed to have the Knowledge of Good and Evil so that “good” might be chosen. Without that knowledge, making a right choice is just a 50/50 proposition. This is why what seemed cruel (the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden in the last post) is the key to mankind’s perfection.

I’ve heard a lot of sermons convering this scripture and all of them pretty much end up at the same place. Sooner or later (the way most preachers like to talk — it’s usually later), you’re gonna hear “Becoming like a little child means that you look at God as your father. You love Him, you trust Him, and you obey Him without question“.

And my reaction is always the same, “Who the heck’s kids are these people talking about and what planet did they kidnap them from?”

C’mon! “Obey without question?” It’s not normal for any kid I know.

In fact, the most feared word in a child’s vocabulary is “WHY”.

“Put your shoes on.”
“Why?”

“‘Cause we’re going out to dinner.”
“Why?”

“‘Cause mommy needs a break tonight.”
“Why?”

“She’s tired from working all day long.”
“Why?”

“Because that’s what mommies do.”
“Why?”

“God made things that way.”
“Why?”

“Why don’t you ask God.”
“Why?”

Get my point?

Sorry, it ain’t about questions, or the obedience. It’s all about the childlike nature of children.

It’s not the actions of the child that Jesus is talking about – but the mentality of the child. The awe, the innocence, the curiosity, the willingness to accept things unseen.

When you get a chance, take a moment to watch a child lost in play. There’s a real good possibility that you’ll catch a glimpse of the face of God.

Oh, and one more thing – it’s not what adults see in children that counts. It’s not how we feel about them. What matters is what they see in us – how children feel about us.

So, let’s be perfect, folks – let’s be like children… for our kids.