I am serious, I can be, and I am. I'm glad you hold him up on such a high pedestal, and I have not read where he was called the "greatest...mind in America". He's a hyper-calvinist, like you. That's not historic orthodoxy.
I could give you several sites that declare that Edwards was the greatest mind America has produced. But if you will simply type "Jonathan Edwards greatest mind" in your google search bar as I did you will plainly see it for yourself. I was taught it first in public high school in American Literature. That he is one of the greatest minds in American history is not disputable in the minds of most historians.
I addressed your argument. You do not like it. You dismiss it.
This is what you do a lot. You don't really address the argument and then when I challenge you to do so you say, "I did- you don't like the answer- tough". But you really have not, that I can find addressed the argument in question. You have not said anything about God being able to design the universe in such a way that evil never exist but he didn't. Therefore he must have had a plan for it.
God knew if he designed the universe and Adam and the serpent and the Garden and Eve, etc..., in a particular way, exactly what would be every single outcome of such design forever.
God could have tweaked Adam just so that he would not heed to Eve. He could have tweaked the serpent just so that he would not be used by Lucifer. He could have designed Adam where he would have chosen NOT to introduce evil into the world. But he didn't. Why, Webdog?
I don't think you can address this. And if you even give it an honest effort, I don't think you can support your answer with Scripture.
Actually you did in no uncertain terms. You maintain God created evil. Are you going to now retract that ALL of God's creation is not noble, grand and perfect? You are having hard enough time hanging in your own arguments, Luke.
God is responsible for the existence of evil is my position. Not that God performed evil himself. This is not possible. But god orchestrated the cosmos and man in such a way that evil would come to pass. This is plain. You can deny it- but you just saying "Uh UUHH!" is not an argument against it.
It's nice for God to know He needed evil to exist in order for Him to be truly glorified. Of course I disagree with that, God is God and noble, grand and has the "highest eternal glory" of anyone without evil existing. I guess you must think He did not hold to these attributes prior to sin? I'm sorry...I cannot let this kind of nonsense go unchallenged. It's pure bunk.
You tell me how there is a cross without evil.
You tell me how there is grace without evil.
You tell me how there is a Lamb seated upon his throne- forever receiving the praises of a multitude which no man can number for his glorious redemption of sinners- without evil.
You can't. You act like all of that was not in the plan of God when he built the universe- like all of that is fringe benefits to Christ for going in and cleaning up the mess that God never intended to take place.
That's utterly ridiculous.
He intended for Adam to fall, didn't he.
He hates evil but he planned for evil to come to pass that His Son might receive eternal praise for the display of his great grace.
