Reassessing the Pre-Fallen World: Distinguishing Between What We like and What God Likes

Let us ask tough questions about what the world would look like if Man had not fallen into sin. As believers of God in Christ we should not fear difficult questions; we should relish the opportunity to expand our knowledge of God’s creation. Therefore:

- Would animals kill other animals? I’ve asked this question before with reference to the fact that God created most animals with the ability to hunt and kill and created most animals with the ability to hide from hunters.

- Would mosquitoes and bees exist? Would insects fly around sucking the blood of particular animals? Would bees have stingers? Would flies swarm around wallowing pigs?

- Would people get sunburns?

- Would calluses form on the bottom of people’s feet from continued walking?

- Would people get wrinkles? How about wrinkles under the eyes from laughing?

- Would the earth have strong winds, thunder storms, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc?

- Would meteorites fall from the sky?

- Our bodies were created by God with natural defenses against various foreign anomalies. If what these bodily defenses are resisting are solely outcomes of the fallen world, then God created our bodies in anticipation for this fall. If man had thus not fallen, our bodies would contain purposeless functions. Indeed, we would have body functions that could only find their fullness in a fallen world.

I ask these questions not necessarily to spur controversy or shake people’s theological conception in so much as I wish to incite thought on the part of the Christian.

We as Christians are like every other person created by God in that we will often see something that we personally do not like. In a fallen world this goes without saying. However, as Christian believers, we often see something we do not like and then assume that the Bible must have something condemnatory to say about whatever it is we personally dislike. In many cases the Bible is silent on an issue but we as orthodox believers will nevertheless misread into the text that which we wish to condemn. Certainly it’s easier to publicly condemn something if we have the Bible backing us up.

Unfortunately, we may often condemn that which we may personally dislike even when the Bible gives its approval. Relevant examples include: alcohol consumption, private prayer language, stringed instruments in worship, female pastors, women working outside the home, pacifism, etc.

Coming from a conservative background, there were many theological and Scriptural truths that rubbed against my grain (female pastors, women working outside the home, alcohol consumption). However, in order to be consistent with the Word of God I had to overcome this problem. In truth, the problem I had with women in ministry was my problem and not the problem of the women who minister. I had to pray for strength and understanding so that I could accept what God accepts, indeed what God commands.

I learned that I could not allow my personal, subjective tastes to govern my theology and inform me of what God likes and doesn’t like. To this day, there are many things in the Church which I dislike but which I can find no Scriptural basis to condemn. What do I do? I keep my mouth shut and try to get over it.

Therefore, I submit to you that there are many things in our world which we as humans and Christians dislike and think to be wrong but which God has absolutely no problem. “Animals eating other animals” appears to be one of them. Apparently God has no problem with pythons swallowing pigs. Indeed, God created pythons for that purpose.

Did God intend animals to never die? Where do the Scriptures make this assertion? Where does God state that he will give animals not made “in the image of God” eternal life with an incorruptible body? Nowhere that I can find. In fact, not only does God not seem to mind animals killing other animals, he does not mind humans killing other animals. Did not Christ prepare some fish for his disciples to eat (John 21:9)?

We may not like the idea of “animals eating other animals”, but let us not base our theology on our likes and dislikes.

Also, God apparently has no problem with a world where human beings have some modicum of pain or unpleasantness. My evidence?

To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)

Notice that the Lord does not say I will give the woman pain in childbirth. Instead, the Lord states that he will multiply her pains, implying that even in an unfallen world a woman would have had childbirth pains.
We may not like the idea that “women have pain in childbirth”, but let us not base our theology on our likes and dislikes.

And let us not recreate paradise in our own minds based upon our personal likes, dislikes, annoyances, tastes, frustrations and human conception of what makes life good or bad. Such conceptions may not be God’s.

It is in this regard that I urge evangelical Christians to reassess some of the traditional conceptions of what the pre-Fallen world was like.

Such a reassessment must be based upon the witness of Scriptures, but our interpretation of the Scriptures must be tempered by historic traditions, human reason and human experience. Reason and experience (along with tradition) will help us interpret what the Scriptures teach but they will also help us in areas where the Scriptures are silent.

Factors of major consideration should include:

- The non-literal nature of both creation stories in Genesis 1-3.

- Jesus Christ as full revelation of both Man and God.

- God’s own direct statements about creation; the figurative poems of the prophetic books; the wisdom literature

- Various scientific evidence, formulations, theories and models

- Similarities and differences between Greek and Hebrew conceptions of creation

- Hard questions like the ones I asked above

I believe that if evangelical theology is going to have any relevancy or contribution for Christian cosmology, we need to base our theological conceptions upon an accurate reading of what Scripture says and what it does not say. Otherwise, we will continue to tinker with our own favorite, self-made toys.