Why does God care about us?

[Therana]

This might be a dumb question, but it’s been bugging me for a while so I figured I may as well ask.

Why did God create human beings, especially if he knew that given free will, they would choose to sin? And why is it that after creating human beings and seeing them disobey him, he continued to take an interest in their lives? Why does he care about individual creatures, both humans and animals? (Matthew 10:29-31) Why did he love fallen humanity enough to redeem them?

This question isn’t so nagging that it’s making me doubt my faith, so I’d be cool with it if it’s one of those things we aren’t meant to understand, but it’s something I’ve been curious about, and I’m wondering if it has been explained.

 

[Daniel_Jiaen]

I’m no theologian, but I’ll have a shot.
In John 1 we read that God is love. He doesn’t just love, he is love. I take from this that God’s very nature and essence is love, that he is love manifested. Because his nature is love, he demonstrates it to us, unfailingly, by creating us and forgiving us countless times. This love is so pure it needs no reason, because it is the essence of God.
Feel free to correct me if i’m wrong

 

[onceablasphemer]

A good father always cares for his children. How much more so must God, who is perfect, care for us. More than we will ever know in this life.

Daniel, if you don’t mind my asking is there a reason you are delaying coming into the church until 2015? You could come in this coming Easter if you so choose…

 

[djeter]

Daniel, if you don’t mind my asking is there a reason you are delaying coming into the church until 2015? You could come in this coming Easter if you so choose…

I can’t think of a topic more personal than conversion to the Church. Why would you direct this comment to Daniel on such a public platform?

dj

 

[djeter]

Why did God create human beings, especially if he knew that given free will, they would choose to sin? And why is it that after creating human beings and seeing them disobey him, he continued to take an interest in their lives? Why does he care about individual creatures, both humans and animals? (Matthew 10:29-31) Why did he love fallen humanity enough to redeem them?

Excellent question (which is why I was drawn to the thread). I don’t know how much this provides by way of an answer but I was posting on the topic of theodicy to my blog the other day (the post won’t be up until next week), and came across this contrast between two theodicies – one by Augustine and the other by John Hicks. Here is the relevant quote:

**John Hick’s Soul-Making Theodicy **
Based on the work of Irenaeus (c230-c.202 CE), John Hick developed a theodicy that is, in some ways, in stark contrast to the Augustinian approach. He maintains that his soul-making theodicy has the benefit of God’s having a close, developing relationship with his creation over time, whereas the Augustinian type presupposes an impersonal or sub-personal relationship between God and creation. [Hick spells out this criticism of the Augustinian theodicy in his Evil and the God of Love (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)] Instead of God creating a paradise with perfect human beings who then freely fell into sin, on this account God created the world as a good place (but no paradise) for developing a race of beings from an early state of animal selfishness and self-centeredness to an advanced state of moral and spiritual maturity

God’s purpose was not to construct a paradise whose inhabitants would experience a maximum of pleasure and a minimum of pain. The world is seen, instead, as a place of “soul making” or person making in which free beings, grappling with the tasks and challenges of their existence in a common environment, may become “children of God” and “heirs of eternal life.” Our world, with all its rough edges, is the sphere in which this second and harder stage of the creative process is taking place.
John Hick, Philosophy of Religion, 4th ed. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

God created good but undeveloped persons and moral, spiritual, and intellectual maturity requires experiencing trials and hardships in life. Evil, then, is not the result of perfect persons choosing to sin but, rather, is an inevitable part of an environment necessary for developing mature character. Thus, by placing evolving beings in this challenging environment, through their free will to choose what is right and good, they can gradually grow into the mature persons that God desires them to be, exhibiting the virtues of patience, courage, and generosity, for example.

Furthermore, as the theodicy goes, God will continue to work with human persons, even in the afterlife if necessary, by allowing them non-coercive opportunities to love and choose the good so that eventually everyone will be brought into a right and full relationship with God; everyone will finally experience redemption. [Eleonore Stump develops a version of the soul-making theodicy that centers on a particular theological good. See her “The Problem of Evil,” Faith and Philosophy 2 (1985):] In this view, God allows moral and natural evils in the world to nurture virtues within individuals in order to make morally and spiritually mature souls or persons.

I have no idea how these ideas jibe with Church teachings although Hick himself has been singled out by the then Cardinal Ratzinger: “Hick has notably been criticized by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who currently holds the position of Pope), when he was head of the Holy Office. Ratzinger had examined the works of several theologians accused of relativism, such as Jacques Dupuis and Roger Haight, and found that many, if not all, were philosophically inspired by Hick. Therefore, the declaration Dominus Iesus was seen by many at the time as a condemnation of Hick’s ideas and theories.” Hick was a Quaker (and a Brit) who recently passed away at the ripe old age of 90.

Perhaps someone else could chime in here. My point was to suggest that our relationship with sin can be a learning experience over time. Isn’t that really the whole point of being redeemed in Christ’s blood and finding ourselves through the grace of God healed. So you ask “Why?” – Well, **that is what love *does ***would be my short answer.

dj

 

[ephesians2]

This might be a dumb question, but it’s been bugging me for a while so I figured I may as well ask.

Why did God create human beings, especially if he knew that given free will, they would choose to sin? And why is it that after creating human beings and seeing them disobey him, he continued to take an interest in their lives? Why does he care about individual creatures, both humans and animals? (Matthew 10:29-31) Why did he love fallen humanity enough to redeem them?

This question isn’t so nagging that it’s making me doubt my faith, so I’d be cool with it if it’s one of those things we aren’t meant to understand, but it’s something I’ve been curious about, and I’m wondering if it has been explained.

There is no such thing as a dumb question.

This is how I understand it with my small, finite mind-
Like the poster before said, “God is love”. Perfect Love. So, While you and I can only understand with our sinful, limited minds the love WE know, God our Father and our Creator is Perfect Love. We, as imperfect humans, created beings, would say, “You’ve failed me. You’ve betrayed me. You’ve killed my son. I will have nothing to do with you.” But, our Heavenly Father, knew from the beginning that mankind created in His image would sin and had a plan of redemption already set up, before the foundation of the world. He knew He would die for us sinners. He knew He would be sent to quicken us. All this was planned before Adam was even created. BUT WHY? It’s one of those questions I will ask when I see His face. Or maybe not. And I’m fine with that. Because He tells me in Matthew 6, verse 25-34 not to be anxious and that I am even more important to Him than His other creation- the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. So, at the name of Jesus, my heart is warmed and at the name of our God, I have confidence that He takes care of me, because His love cannot fail. He is Perfect, Infinite Love.

(Genesis1:26-31, Matthew6:25-34, Ephesians1:3-14, Romans8:31-39)

 

[Charlemagne_II]

This question you ask seems to have plagued the Deists as well. They could not see why God should bother himself with us. My question to the Deists would be: Why shouldn’t he bother himself with us?

 

[Daniel_Jiaen]

A good father always cares for his children. How much more so must God, who is perfect, care for us. More than we will ever know in this life.

Daniel, if you don’t mind my asking is there a reason you are delaying coming into the church until 2015? You could come in this coming Easter if you so choose…

If someone is under eighteen, the catholic church cant accept anyone without their parent’s consent. I think this is to protect the God-given rights of the parents . It’s a bit of a wait but it’s a good time to pray and reflect.
Thanks for your concern.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

This might be a dumb question, but it’s been bugging me for a while so I figured I may as well ask.

Why did God create human beings, especially if he knew that given free will, they would choose to sin? And why is it that after creating human beings and seeing them disobey him, he continued to take an interest in their lives? Why does he care about individual creatures, both humans and animals? (Matthew 10:29-31) Why did he love fallen humanity enough to redeem them?

This question isn’t so nagging that it’s making me doubt my faith, so I’d be cool with it if it’s one of those things we aren’t meant to understand, but it’s something I’ve been curious about, and I’m wondering if it has been explained.

Look in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part 1, section 1, chapter 2.

newadvent.org/cathen/15636a.htm

I think it is because He is good, he created us. And being a loving Father he provided for contingencies. Yes he knew we would fail but he has provided a solution for our sin, the Church and her sacremental life.