Cruelty In The Bible?

God condemns the entire human race.

THE CLAIMED CRUELTY: He damned the whole human race and cursed the entire creation because of the acts of two people (Genesis 3:16-23; Romans 5:18)

Is God cruel or unjust? Let’s start with what scripture says. Here is Romans 5:18:

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

You can read Genesis 3:16-23 by clicking here. The Romans verse (above) provides a good summary and is key to understanding what happened. The verses the atheists reference in Genesis simply describe the details, meaning the specific curses on Adam, Eve, and thus all mankind. But, as Romans says, as a result of their disobeying God even once, they brought a curse upon themselves. In fact, another verse in Romans (8:22) tells us that all of creation is cursed and is groaning because of Adam's sin. Because of sin, the entire universe is now broken and no longer in the perfect state in which it was created.

God Unjustly Damned the Whole Human Race

This statement simply is not true. God does not "damn" anyone to hell. You do that yourself. People end up in hell as a result of their own thoughts and actions. If you live a perfect life, without violating any of God's laws (sin), you will go to heaven. However, only one person has lived a perfect life. Jesus Christ.

A few questions help demonstrate this. Have you ever told a lie? Or maybe a better question is: how many lies have you told? Have you ever desired to have something that belongs to someone else (coveting)? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? That is blasphemy and is very serious. Have you ever been unjustly angry with someone (think driving in heavy traffic)? Jesus said that if you are unjustly angry you have murdered them in your heart.

If you answered yes to any of the above, you are guilty of breaking God's laws (sin). These are just four of the Ten Com-mandments (the moral law). If you have broken any of God's laws, you deserve the just punishment, the eternal lake of fire. That is what sends you to hell... your breaking God's laws. You are the one who is responsible, not God. God does not “damn” anyone. You do it to yourself.

Why is disobeying God so serious? Because you are created in the image of God. Not physically, but in who you are and your character.

God Cursed All of Creation Because of One Man's Actions

What is wrong with this statement? It is a true statement. The humanists want you to assume God has done something wrong. However, they do not say why they think this is wrong. That makes it impossible to specifically answer their accusation. There are no specifics to answer.

So, why was the entire creation cursed because of Adam’s sin? What the humanists apparently do not understand is how destruc-tive sin is. They have no concept of the seriousness of sin. Adam was given just one law:

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” - Genesis 2:16-17

There was one law. Adam broke that law. Just as God said it would, that brought death to Adam. His body started to decay (his cells started dying), and he was instantly spiritually dead (separated from God). The decay of all things is what we call entropy. It not only affects us, but also the entire universe. A perfect and eternal universe is now running down and decaying.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. - Romans 8:20-22

Cursed is the ground because of you... - Genesis 3:17

WHY?

Scripture does not specifically tell us "why." What we do know is that once corruption (sin) entered the creation, like yeast spreading through a batch of dough, its effects (entropy) spread through all of creation. Everything is running down.

However, there is some good news. Things are not decaying as fast as they naturally would. Scripture (Colossians 1:17) says that the Son is currently holding all things together. – “and in Him all things hold together.” Right now, as you read this, the Son (Jesus) is slowing the decay rate... holding things together. In His love this is giving humanity, including all humanists, more time to repent and turn to Jesus as their Savior. However, time will run out. The Son will even-tually allow corruption to run its course and the universe will be destroyed in fire.

But the heaven we see now and the earth we live on now have been kept by His word. They will be kept until they are to be destroyed by fire. They will be kept until the day men stand before God and sinners will be destroyed. - 2 Peter 3:7

Humanist or God, Who Stands In Judgment Over Who?

The humanists say God is cruel to subject all creation to decay (entropy). However, God could let the universe just fall apart right now... today. God is perfect and perfection throughout all of His creation, which was originally created as very good, is required. What He could have done is destroy the imperfection when Adam sinned. You and I would never have existed. He could destroy every-thing right now. Instant death for you, me, and the entire universe. That is what we deserve. Instead, He is slowing the corruption, giv-ing all of us, humanists included, more time to turn to Him in re-pentance, and to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior from the judgment to come. What incredible love!

Is God cruel as humanists state? He is showering His love on all of us right now. He is offering mercy, grace, and total forgiveness... forgiveness we do not deserve. He is holding back the decay of the universe, giving humanists, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Mormons, and false Christians alike a little more time. The universe is no longer perfect. It must be replaced, and it will be replaced with a new, perfect home for redeemed mankind. However, in His mercy, God is waiting for more to trust Him, obey Him, and become His children. He won’t wait forever.

Conclusion: God is not harming the innocent. Every one of us has sinned. We each face the eternal consequences for our own disobedience… not Adam’s. God is being incredibly patient, showering His love on us instead of immediately sending all of us to the eternal punishment we have earned. For those who believe and trust Him, He has died in their place. Taking on Himself the punishment they deserve, and setting them free to live forever with Him.

Next example: He drowned pregnant women and innocent children and animals at the time of the Flood (Genesis 7:20-23)

Click here to learn what is going on.