Freedom and Choice

According to Christian philosophy, god created us in his image, but capable of making our own decisions. Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. At this point, "sin" was impressed upon our existence.



Why did god allow the possibility of sin? Why did god give us the ability to choose between right and wrong? If god is without sin, then he is not truly all powerful. After all, this restriction means that *I* can do things that the Christian god cannot. I can move a five pound object from one location to another that god, in all his might, cannot. Why can he not move this five pound object? It's in a museum and it isn't for sale. For god to move this object, he would have to commit a sin: stealing. Yes, god should theoretically be able to create a duplicate of that object, but under absolutely no circumstances would god be able to actually *take* that object, as this would contradict the definition of god being perfect. If I can do something simple that he is not capable of doing, why should I strive to be like him?



Clearly, we have a capability that god does not: choice. Free will. By extension, we have something that he does not and cannot. We have something that many people have fought, killed, and died to keep. We have something that we treasure so highly that we believe everyone else should have it as well: freedom. God does not have freedom. There is no sin in heaven. Therefore, there is no freedom in heaven.



I like being capable of driving 66 mph in a 65 zone. I like being able to cross the street when there are no cars nearby, despite the fact that I'm not at a crosswalk or intersection. I like being able to expect women to be able to think for themselves (instead of being required to be silent at church and being required to ask their husbands what was meant). I like being able to overindulge myself on chocolate.



Why strive to give up the one thing that makes us more powerful than god? God cannot choose between the lesser of two evils, as both would constitute a sin.



To top it off, god *knew* eve would eat from the tree of good and evil, unleashing sin, suffering, and death upon us, and he still allowed it. In our legal system, this would make him a willing accomplice... guilty by proxy.