From: Dave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Judy:In all the years I've been around believers I've never heard anyoneagonizing over the fall. I accept it as having taken place before I was born.
DAVEH: But.....you do prefer that it had not happened, do you not? Judy:Makes no difference what I prefer and TTYTT I don't even think about itin those terms. It did happen and now I must deal with the reality. I can't do much about them but God has made a way for me to do somethingabout me and since Jesus is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, God took care of things before they happened. DAVEH: My point exactly.....God knew all that which would happen, which is why he put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden and allowed Satan to influence Eve. IMHO, it was all a necessary part of his plans for us. There was nothing unexpected or unplanned about the fall of Adam.....it was engineered by God from before the foundations of the world. Judy: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not good DAVEH. The tree of life is good. Why do you make God the perpetrater of evil when His Word says that He can not be tempted with evil, neither does He tempt any man? DAVEH: And, it was done so specifically for our benefit......Which is why I (and Jeff) find the pastors comment about God creating people to burn in hell simply to glorify Himself to be so ridiculous. Judy: I don't go along with that pastor's comment and I believe it to be Calvinism rather than Bible. However, neither do I believe that God engineered the fall of man. DAVEH: Now that Dean has apparently said he subscribes to such a revolting idea, perhaps Jeff has not found anything more ridiculous in Louisiana than what can be found in TT. Judy: What do you mean by"eternal progression?" DAVEH: Eternal progression is the evolution from our spiritual birth to eventually becoming one with God, and like God. To do that, I believeit was necessary for the fall of Adam to take place, and the grace of theLord to provide a pathway to salvation. Judy:Why was it necessary? God created man in His own image so if there had been no fall there would be no need for any eternal progression? DAVEH: We were not created as God. We were created to become like God. We cannot do that without both a knowledge of good and evil nor without a physical body. Judy: Before the fall Adam was created in God's image which is as good as it gets. God is Spirit, Adam was primarily a 'spirit being' God did not have a body until Jesus received one at the incarnation. DAVEH: Eternal progression is necessary to bring us from a point of innocence in our spiritual creation, to a point where we have an eternally physical body and a knowledge of good and evil. However, it is impossible to be spotless as is God, without having first having the stain of our sins removed by the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Once that happens, then we can become one with God. Judy: How is this stain removed DAVEH. IOW how does this grace work in your life? Judy ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
