So if eve never ate the apple would that be considered slavery? Because I'm the past there have been slaves who don't even know they are slaves because of the nature of the situation. That's all they knew. So if eve never ate the apple wouldn't that be slavery because God kept them ignorant before the apple?
Why don't even already have eternal life from the get go? Why were we created in the first place? The more I look into it, it seems like pyshical life is just the tutorial level and the after life is where life actually begins.
And then someone goes. "Don't lean on your own understanding, lean onto God". But we have to understand some things in order to function at life so are we not allowed to understand why we were created in the first place?
I definitely believe there is a god. I know we are in a fight of good and evil. But sometimes this circular logic gets to me.
I empathize with your situation, it took me a long time to be saved, so I know it can be frustrating and confusing. Two resources that I found helpful were the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and https://www.gotquestions.org for general issues. The first half of Mere Christianity is devoted to good and evil, why they exist and "why it had to be this way". It's available as an audiobook on YouTube and Rumble if you prefer that format.
To understand many issues, it's important to note the nature of the biblical God: omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, sovereign, good, merciful, righteous, just, holy(pure). Many people object to His judgment of sin because they want Him to be always merciful. Consider if a human judge was always merciful, always letting criminals get away with any crime, that would not be just. Also, to say that the way things are should be different is to reject that God is all-knowing and exists outside of our conception of time and therefore knows all the possible outcomes and chooses the best path. (This last part requires trust/faith that God is good and wants the best for us, His beloved creations.)
As far as your questions, my understanding of the why were we created is that God wanted to create humans in His image for fellowship, a kind of family. Initially He gave Adam and Eve enough knowledge to function in an environment where God was providing for their needs (they were physically mature but spiritually immature). The relationship was in some ways custodial, like a parent with a dependent child, but I wouldn't consider it slavery because they could choose whether to be obedient or not. The prohibition against eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil was similar to how you might limit your own child, not giving them information they are too young to handle. The warning given was blatant - eat it, you die - so both Adam and Eve knew they were rebelling in a dangerous way when they ate.
This life is a tutorial in some sense, where we get to learn lessons and make choices. One choice is to accept or reject eternal life. If we had been created eternal, imo, there would not be opportunities to learn and grow (my understanding is that our spiritual bodies do not change). Some believe we should have been consulted before being created this way, which ignores the fact we would have to be created first to be asked our opinion.
You are correct that we need understanding to function in this world and this is one of the drawbacks of taking verses out of context. Leaning on God here is referring to trusting His will for our lives. Sometimes it seems like what's happening cannot be for a good reason (for example, stolen election) but we can put faith in God that everything will work out in accordance with His plan for our lives.
I wish you luck on your journey. God does love you and wants a relationship with you. Talk to Him and tell Him your concerns and ask for guidance. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. May God grant you peace.
So if eve never ate the apple would that be considered slavery? Because I'm the past there have been slaves who don't even know they are slaves because of the nature of the situation. That's all they knew. So if eve never ate the apple wouldn't that be slavery because God kept them ignorant before the apple?
Why don't even already have eternal life from the get go? Why were we created in the first place? The more I look into it, it seems like pyshical life is just the tutorial level and the after life is where life actually begins.
And then someone goes. "Don't lean on your own understanding, lean onto God". But we have to understand some things in order to function at life so are we not allowed to understand why we were created in the first place?
I definitely believe there is a god. I know we are in a fight of good and evil. But sometimes this circular logic gets to me.
I empathize with your situation, it took me a long time to be saved, so I know it can be frustrating and confusing. Two resources that I found helpful were the book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis and https://www.gotquestions.org for general issues. The first half of Mere Christianity is devoted to good and evil, why they exist and "why it had to be this way". It's available as an audiobook on YouTube and Rumble if you prefer that format.
To understand many issues, it's important to note the nature of the biblical God: omniscient, omnipotent, eternal, sovereign, good, merciful, righteous, just, holy(pure). Many people object to His judgment of sin because they want Him to be always merciful. Consider if a human judge was always merciful, always letting criminals get away with any crime, that would not be just. Also, to say that the way things are should be different is to reject that God is all-knowing and exists outside of our conception of time and therefore knows all the possible outcomes and chooses the best path. (This last part requires trust/faith that God is good and wants the best for us, His beloved creations.)
As far as your questions, my understanding of the why were we created is that God wanted to create humans in His image for fellowship, a kind of family. Initially He gave Adam and Eve enough knowledge to function in an environment where God was providing for their needs (they were physically mature but spiritually immature). The relationship was in some ways custodial, like a parent with a dependent child, but I wouldn't consider it slavery because they could choose whether to be obedient or not. The prohibition against eating the fruit of the tree of good and evil was similar to how you might limit your own child, not giving them information they are too young to handle. The warning given was blatant - eat it, you die - so both Adam and Eve knew they were rebelling in a dangerous way when they ate.
This life is a tutorial in some sense, where we get to learn lessons and make choices. One choice is to accept or reject eternal life. If we had been created eternal, imo, there would not be opportunities to learn and grow (my understanding is that our spiritual bodies do not change). Some believe we should have been consulted before being created this way, which ignores the fact we would have to be created first to be asked our opinion.
You are correct that we need understanding to function in this world and this is one of the drawbacks of taking verses out of context. Leaning on God here is referring to trusting His will for our lives. Sometimes it seems like what's happening cannot be for a good reason (for example, stolen election) but we can put faith in God that everything will work out in accordance with His plan for our lives.
I wish you luck on your journey. God does love you and wants a relationship with you. Talk to Him and tell Him your concerns and ask for guidance. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. May God grant you peace.