Question: If God was all-knowing, how come when Adam and Eve did the transgression of eating the fruit from the tree of life that God was asking where Adam was when he (God) entered the Garden?

Also, if God was all merciful and all forgiving, why the harsh punishments and mass genocides that he purposely inflicted on the human race (in the Old Testament)? Is it because we are beginning to discover truth for ourselves or was it plain jealousy? Isn’t it a sin for a divine person to feel jealous?

The Zenmaster

Answer: Dear "Zenmaster,"

The fact that God asked Adam and Eve to identify their location does not allow us to deduce that God did not know where they were – or that God is not all knowing. The passage does not say that at all. He was asking Adam and Eve to "give themselves up" - if you like.

In a similar way, the punishment of God on perverted and depraved societies such as Sodom and Gomorrah, and other groups in the Old Testament, does not mean that God is not love, or that he is not merciful. If we as humans presume to define love and mercy and then apply our definition to God, then we may presume to know more than he does, and to apply our standards of judgment to him. The Bible tells us that God is the life giver, and that he is therefore morally capable of taking life.

I hope this helps – May God bless you.

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht