Did God create guilt? I know that some people have theologically deduced that many things such as guilt came into existence during the fall of man. Hence the phrase "their eyes were opened." So one can then reason that guilt is all a matter of perspective. Is this so? I've often wondered what, if any, reason God had to create the possibility of failing. Why did God allow Satan to take on the persona of the serpant? Why did God create a rule in which He knew could/would be broken? Why have the Tree of Good and Evil? And what do all of these questions ratify and influence us today?
I know that it can seem incredibly frivolitious to conclude that guilt is nothing more than perspective. But is it that insane to think we can't disappoint God? If you ascribe to the belief that God knows all; He is ominiscent...then isn't it plausible to think that every time we make a mistake, in God's eyes, we're just one step closer to over-coming. He knows the end result. He knows how many times we'll fall before we are free. I think this reasoning could lead you to say that God is excited when we mess up because He sees we're that much closer. It likes when a parent sees their kid wobble on their bike, and fall. And this happens time and time again. But if as a parent, you knew without a shadow of a doubt how many times it would take for your child to conquer bike-riding, wouldn't at least a little part of you be excited that they are one step closer to getting it? You'd tell them to get back on that bike...to not be discouraged. What does God tell us? Feel guilty for stumbling?
I'm not ready to say that this is actually what I believe, because if you hold true to the concept that God really does know how many times it takes before you succeed, you can run into some sticky places. This reasoning also can't be used as an excuse to make yourself feel good. God is still a "no excuses" god. But can we conclude that God didn't create guilt?
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