The Author of Grief, Part II

Some people I know, cyber-wise and reality-wise, have asked the question of "Why did got let Evil into the Garden in the first place?!" Then they have proceeded to instruct me in the fallacies of God from Wiccan view point, Protestant view points, and philosophical view points. Alex, of course, just asked the question. *huge smile* None of my friends liked my answer, which I will share with you, Dear Readers (of course, Alex is just getting the answer so we'll see what he has to say when he says it).

Why did God let Evil into the perfect Garden, into Paradise, in the first place? He didn't. There is one thing a person of faith must accept and accept whole heartedly (yes, I know this will bring more questions): God is Omnipotent (all powerful), and Omniscient (all knowing). He knew what was going to happen when He made human kind. He knows all the flaws we have. He knows our selfishness and our selflessness coexist in us. He let decisions be made on both sides.

Evil (we will just let it rest as that for a name) came to the Garden to deceive and try and sway the new creation of human kind. How new it was is unknown. It was Evil's choice to deceive and corrupt and human kinds choice to accept and be swayed. God let Free Will happen and let human kind follow through with the consequences.

Someone said, when I had told them this, "So God doesn't care what we do! He just wants us, expects us, to screw up!" No, that isn't the case either. Of all things, God has Hope in us. We, as a species, a race of creatures, had more ability on this planet than any other Creation God had made. We are always striving for something better, a higher calling, to be more successful, and then to go forward and be happy. The problem is, people can never truly find what will make them happy in the world, but they can find something that makes their spirit happy. We are beings of body and spirit - the body was made first - and then our spirit was given to us. This links our body with our spirit. That is why when we do something horribly wrong we sometimes "feel sick" over it.

Like the most wonderful parent, God has hope in us that we will do the right thing. He gives us room to be individuals and to have Free Will. He knows all of the possibilities of the consequences from the choices we make. He doesn't try to force us to make the "right" choices. He let's us run into the wall sometimes because we take a stubborn moment and won't change.

It is the people around us, and even ourselves, that try to force others into accepting or doing what we perceive as right and good. Some people want power and to be able to say I did this or I did that. In reality we may have destroyed a hundred people to get what we desire.

It pleases me to know Orthodoxy has never had a "conquest" to change or convert people religiously as many other religions have done, and are still doing. We point the way and answer questions and leave it up to an individual to decide what they want to do, even if it takes then five or ten years of study to decide they don't want to accept Orthodoxy. It is simply their choice and we give them room to make that choice, accepting them as individuals and people.

The Orthodox faith isn't perfect, because it is composed of human people, but it does give more room than any other religion I know of to think and ask questions without being condemned. It gives people room to explore and make choices - just like a good parent, with God as the Father.

I never wanted, in my life, to see disappointment in my Daddy's eyes for me. He loved me and trusted me, believed in me far more than I deserved or had a right to even expect from him. And, I loved him more than any man on this earth, even my Hubby and best friend. Unfortunately, I did see disappointment in his eyes for me, but was able to win back the trust - his belief in me and his love for me, however, never once diminished.

God is like this. He has a region and expression of Hope for us, His creations, as no one else can. He Loves us with a love we cannot comprehend, and this Hope for us is inexpressible to the human mind.

God didn't "let" Evil into Paradise. He "let" human kind and Evil make choices, but He had unboundless Hope in human kind it would make a far better decision than it did. He still has Hope for us.