Preface
Where was God
when Adam and Eve fell into Sin?
Divine Hiddenness
and
A Meta-Narrative
for the Meaning of Life
in a World of Suffering and Evil
Publishing soon .....
The work presented here began as a private reflection on the early chapters of the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis. As I read through chapter 3, I soon noticed that God was curiously absent on that tragic day when Satan, the ultimate evil in this universe, showed up for the first time in Biblical history to deceive Adam and Eve.
Where was God on that day? God’s absence was remarkable given that Adam and Eve whom God had just created would likely not have sufficient time to gain the needed experience of mature adults “who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:14). Therefore, wasn’t God setting the bar a bit too high for them if He had expected them to fend for themselves successfully against Satan? Indeed, it was largely due to this momentous event in the garden of Eden that plunged the whole world into misery and chaos. And God was apparently doing next to nothing on that day to prevent this calamity from taking place. That God was negligent is out of the question, for His Word reminds us that He “never slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). He constantly watches over His people. So, why then was God absent on that tragic day?
Other questions began to emerge as I pondered on the early chapters of the book of Genesis. For example, why did God warn Adam and Eve about the danger of eating from the forbidden tree (Genesis 2:16-17), but did not warn them about Satan who would show up later to tempt them into sin? Why is it that God would bless Christians today with elaborate teachings about Satan and his evil schemes, but did not offer the same teaching to Adam and Eve? Didn’t Adam and Eve need such information as much as Christians do today, if not more?
Note that Adam and Eve did not repent of their sins committed in the garden of Eden. But what if God had told Adam and Eve about His willingness to forgive sinners and thus elicited their repentance? Could the curse of Genesis 3:16-19 that resulted in untold suffering for all future generations have been averted? But as we well know, God was once again completely silent in regard to this crucial topic of forgiveness and reconciliation on that day. This is indeed striking if we consider the fact that long before Christ shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, God was already offering the possibility of forgiveness for His people in the Old Testament (e.g., Leviticus 16:30, Numbers 14:19-21, Psalm 103:8-12, Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 31:34 and 33:8, etc.). And the sins of Adam and Eve committed in the garden of Eden could easily have been removed from them “as far as the East is from the West”, as suggested in Psalm 103:12. By all accounts, it sure does look like God could have done just a little bit more before pronouncing that dreadful curse. So, why didn’t He? Why did God treat Adam and Eve so differently compared to later generations?
The point at issue here is not the culpability of Adam and Eve for their rebellion. They were created with free will and had freely made the choice to rebel against God. That they should bear full responsibility for their decision is not in question. Also, because of their free will, God cannot to be implicated for the bad decision they had made.
However, God who is omniscient obviously had known well in advance even before creation that Adam and Eve would rebel against Him, resulting in untold misery for all generations yet to come. Nonetheless, it seems God must have considered it worthwhile to create this world – a world that turns out to be but dystopian.
Here then is the crux of the problem. Can we be persuaded to share God’s sentiment? Can we be convinced to agree with God that our existence is meaningful despite the tragic consequences for humanity He must have foreknown would be initiated so shortly after creation? Is there any reason that could compel us to accept God’s creation is worthwhile and reasonable?
These questions have challenged me to deepen my reflection on the character of God and His rationale for creating us in the first place. For surely if my aim is to better understand His ways and the reason for my existence in this troubled world, then I would be remiss as a student of the Bible not to probe deeper into these issues and to attempt a response. Moreover, if I claim that God is the ultimate answer to the question of human suffering and the meaning of life in this world, then it is incumbent upon me (or for the matter, any follower of Christ) to respond adequately and intelligibly to these issues inherent in the early chapters of the Biblical narrative. To this end, I put my thoughts in writing to be shared with my fellow believers and comrades in Christ.
I have on my mind as I write, readers who might have found these issues not only puzzling and unsettling, but also to be obstacles that prevented them from giving credence to the Christian Faith. It is also my prayer that what I have presented here might be more than just “two cents’ worth”, perhaps even benefitting a few readers as they seek to make sense of their lives in this troubled world. However, if some readers find my explanation implausible or unconvincing, I hope they would understand that my aim is not to persuade anyone to adopt my perspective or to cause discomfort, but only to stimulate an even deeper conversation and debate. And as we humbly work out our “salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), may we also bring glory to the One who sacrificed Himself on the cross for our sins.
Joshua Wong