Original Sin and Final Judgment

[monavis]

@Lumpy

And yet he did help the woman’s daughter when we was impressed by her faith in him. I think it’s more a case that he saw redeeming Israel as his top priority, not necessarily that he didn’t care about the gentiles. In another passage, he (remotely) heals a Roman commander’s servant. The Roman is so sure of Jesus that he doesn’t even bother to check that the servant has been healed. Jesus is said to have been “amazed” and remarked that “I have not found such faith in all of Israel”.

Again, it isn’t that God has a grievance against his creations; it’s that the universe and humanity are estranged from God. It’s more like he’s dealing with a hostage situation, or an enemy-occupied territory. In the computer analogy I made earlier, the purpose of Christ is to allow those who choose him to be “ported” to the new creation.

The Flood wasn’t total obliteration, and it was an extreme necessity to cope with an out of control situation. God is trying to rescue creation, not just pull the plug on it. If you will, think of Tolkien’s analogous myth in the Silmarillion: Eru Ilúvatar is determined to neither accept Melkor’s usurpation of creation, nor give him the satisfaction of forcing Eru to destroy it. Iluvatar says that in the end he will make even Melkor’s rebellion part of his plan.

If one accepts the Gnostic notion of Lucifer/Satan as the demiurge of our universe, than he can’t be eliminated without taking the universe with him. So God is essence said “fine, be that way”- but then set out to create a way for humanity to be removed from Satan’s authority. And why did evil ever exist in the first place? That’s a deep question many have struggled with; but I think the Christian answer is that God wanted children, not just creations, and the redemption in Christ was how he went about it.

Jesus did help the woman but that was not his intent. One can intend to do something they hadn’t planned, depending on the circumstance’