Why rebellion?
1 Preface
An 20100605 article revised on Blogger for an entry on academia.edu, 20250327. This features a revised section below from my PhD thesis that asked why God allowed human rebellion within his creation.
2010 Theodicy and Practical Theology: PhD thesis, the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter
2 Why Rebellion?
Within a compatibilistic sovereignty theodicy as opposed to the related in content, but somewhat different, incompatibilistic free will theodicy, I deduce a theoretical, possible and suitable reason why God created a good world and willingly, allowed human beings to rebel against him.
Certain persons will experience evil and atonement
Certain persons will have experienced their own sin, suffering, death, and the atoning work of Christ and his resurrection applied to them. Post-mortem and at the resurrection, these would be citizens of the culminated Kingdom of God. These certain persons are biblically the predestined, chosen to embrace, in regeneration (John 3, Titus 3, 1 Peter 1, as examples) the gospel message in belief by grace through faith.
Predestination: John 3
John 3: 3
γεννηθῇ be born
ἄνωθεν from above
Strong's 1080
Strong's Concordance gennaó: to beget, to bring forth
Original Word: γεννάω
Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: gennaó
Phonetic Spelling: (ghen-nah'-o)
Definition: to beget, to bring forth Usage: I beget (of the male), (of the female) I bring forth, give birth to.
Strong's 509
Strong's Concordance anóthen: from above
Original Word: ἄνωθεν
Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: anóthen
Phonetic Spelling: (an'-o-then)
Definition: from above
Usage: (a) from above, from heaven, (b) from the beginning, from their origin (source), from of old, (c) again, anew.
Predestination: Titus 3
Edited
'by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit' from the New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Strong's 3824
Strong's Concordance paliggenesia: regeneration, renewal
Original Word: παλιγγενεσία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: paliggenesia
Phonetic Spelling: (pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah)
Short Definition: a new birth, regeneration
Definition: a new birth, regeneration, renewal.
From Titus 3: 5 The main text of Strong's presents: Spiritual rebirth (figurative), spiritual regeneration (figurative). (72). Greek scholar Bauer documents this as: The rebirth of the redeemed person. (606). The regeneration and rebirth via the Holy Spirit. (606).
Jon Courson writes that those in Christ have been 'washed and renewed' (1424), not because of our own human righteousness, but because of the work of Jesus Christ. (1424). I suggest this supports a theology of justification, the applied righteousness of Christ to believers, and salvation for believers, through grace through faith, alone. We have been renewed and washed. (1424). Washing is symbolic, in part at least through baptism, in my view. Although there is the idea of being cleansed of sin through the sanctification process.
Nute suggests in his commentary that washing is the cleansing in the new birth. (1496). And this may include the thought of baptism as a symbol of cleansing. (1496). The Pocket Dictionary defines regeneration as rebirth or re-creation as in being born again. (101). Salvation does include legal justification and the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ to believers, and as well, sanctification.
Predestination: 1 Peter 1
ἀναγεννήσας having begotten again
Strong's 313
Strong's Concordance anagennaó: to beget again
Original Word: ἀναγεννάω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: anagennaó
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ag-en-nah'-o)
Definition: to beget again
Usage: I beget again, beget into a new life.
The website lists this as aorist, participle, active, and nominative, masculine, singular.
Bauer documents ἀναγεννάω (page 51), defined as beget again, be born again, figurative of spiritual rebirth of Christians. (51). This is the context of 1 Peter 1: 3, born again. (51).
Biblically and theologically, the new birth, to beget again, being born again equates to regeneration.
Persons cannot be created with experience
Very importantly, persons cannot be created with experience, even if made with a level of initial maturity. God can create a perfect person, but God cannot logically create a perfect person with experience as such. The act of creating implies newness and inexperience. Admittedly, God could hypothetically create a being with false memories of a perfect life, but this would not be the same as having experience. I deduce the results would not be the same.
Through problem of evil certain persons will become Christ-like
It is reasonable to deduce that the problem of evil is possibly God’s means of developing certain individuals to eventual Christ-like stature, not sharing Christ’s divinity in nature but becoming like Christ in a mature and moral manner, combined with an unbreakable devotion to God. This would be finite moral perfection and goodness but not infinite, God-like moral perfection and goodness. As example, Isaiah 43 makes it clear there was no God formed before God and there will be no God formed after. Isaiah 44-46 make similar statements.
Conclusion: Those within culminated Kingdom will have greater spiritual maturity than initial persons
A reason for God to willfully allow human rebellion
My theory and conclusion is that human beings in Christ, post-mortem within the culminated Kingdom of God, with the use of compatibilism will eventually have greater spiritual maturity than Adam and Eve did prior to a fall from God.
It would also appear that God ultimately prefers persons (human ones at least) as they will be in the culminated Kingdom, over persons in a different scenario that would have never freely chosen to disobey God.
Perhaps in that case as well the former group would have greater spiritual maturity.
Further Explanation
It is believed that Christ will be God’s lieutenant in this godless world and bring about, through his crucifixion and resurrection, the promise of a better future, which includes hope. Moltmann (1993: 256). The Kingdom of God was present in Christ and this has been defined in history. Moltmann (1993: 263).
God would not have to go through such a process as he is infinitely good and human beings are finitely good and capable of falling.
That being stated, some angels apparently never did fall and yet had finite goodness.
I reason God could theoretically create significantly free finite beings that would fall, and significantly free finite beings that would not.
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Photos below: June 2010
Eleven atonement citations
English Standard Version (ESV)
Romans 3:24-26
24 And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:25
Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
Romans 5:6-10
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life...
2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Hebrews 9:12
He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...
1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 2:2
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation...
Eleven resurrection citations
English Standard Version (ESV)
John 6:40
For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live...
Romans 6:4
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
1 Corinthians 15:12-14
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:21
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
Philippians 3:10
That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
2 Thessalonians 2: 7-8
(This connects to 1 Thessalonians 4, my add)
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...
