The reason God created man is because it pleased Him.

Hedonism: (noun) the pursuit of pleasure; self-indulgence (especially sensual)

YHWH was pleased at his naked creation. He was displeased when they covered up.
Enough said.

The answer is that we just don’t know the reasons. Yes—that’s all that I can say.

OUCH!

The reason God created man is because it pleased Him. The reason He did not eliminate evil with a word was because He wanted us to be able to choose. He wanted us to be able to choose Him.

God could have said “Let There Be No Sin”, but then we would have been robots programmed to act under a specific set of guidelines. I look at it this way. I love my wife. That means I do not lock her into the house every time I leave. I allow her the freedom to choose to love me back.

God then saw man had rejected Him. Thus His means of saving us was not to command, “Let There Be No More Sin”. Rather it was to show us our condition. He first showed us with the sacrifice of animals. Then He showed us with a global flood. Then He showed us with the law. Then He showed us with the ultimate sacrifice. He offers freedom and assured salvation. Every man is faced with a choice and the evidence to support such a choice.

Some will accept that offer, but not understand it and leave.
Some will accept that offer, but then find something they like better.
Some will accept that offer and stick with it.

Seriously though, that argument has been used over and over and over again—-nothing new. They are the oldest questions in the world. Why is their evil? Why is there a devil? Why didn’t got just destroy evil? Why didn’t he just destroy the devil? God is sadistic. God must not know what he is doing. etc. etc. Your DARE is really nothing.

The answer is that we just don’t know the reasons. Yes—that’s all that I can say. We do not know the reasons because we are not God. We are finite—he is infinite. He is offering Steve eternal Life at no cost—is this the offer of a blood-thirsty God to Steve? Steve has the ability to just say “yes” and receive entrance into the New Jerusalem—if Steve is just willing to say “You know what? I don’t know the answers—I will one day though. Do I accuse God, or receive what he has for me?

It’s really that simple. You’ll spend the rest of your life complaining, railing and accusing God of all sorts of evils—-and get NOWHERE, because it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to know the answers. Or you can receive Christ, believe, and know that one day YOU WILL KNOW the answers to these questions, when God reveals them to his children in eternity.

After I read your post I thought what the heck is someone like Steve doing on this earth? As I thought upon you and if God had created you I could only come to one conclusion:

The only thing that I could conclude is that the God of the Bible is either a blood thirsty, tyrannical, emotionally immature, sadistic being, or he does not exist. But I know He exists, and Steve exists too. What an amazing thing.

I mean, why would God create someone who would say such things about himself? Why would God create a Steve? And I thought “God must indeed be extremely merciful and loving, long-suffering and caring, with a great sense of humor, and willing to endure all to redeem a person like Steve, who can only rail against him. What a wonderful God!!!

The citation pretty much answers the many objections in the comment section. Paul is forthright in admitting that many people find Christianity foolish or objectionable, and he does not apologize.

#23:
You imply that God is either not good or he is powerless to stop evil. You see evil; yet on what authority can you say that history’s atrocities are indeed evil? Who gave you that sense of morality and why should I agree with you that any evil has happened at all in history?

Now, before you can say Christ was the answer to this mess, there is another example of the sadism of God. To even require such a sacrifice when Sin could have simply been spoken out of existence is just another act of sadism.

Also, when the Gospel is presented, it is a subtle or not so subtle form of extortion. If someone dies rejecting Christ and they go to Hell…..Hmmmm….that reminds me of the Mafia handing a person a contract and pointing a loaded gun to their head and then saying, “sign this contract and you get richer than your wildest dreams, don’t sign it and I pull the trigger.” I dare any Christians to refute me….I DARE YOU! So far, nobody has yet.

Go ahead and post your last mega-flame to me. I will henceforth ignore you.

Vengeance is God’s, not mine.