Question

How is sinning attempting to be like God? Which sins aim to be an attribute of God?

Options:
a) Sinning is attempting to be independent from God and to control our own lives. Sins such as pride, envy, and greed are all attempts to take on attributes that belong to God alone.
b) Sinning is attempting to be like God by indulging in our own pleasures and desires. Sins such as gluttony, lust, and laziness are all attempts to experience the kind of pleasure and satisfaction that God alone can provide.
c) Sinning is attempting to be like God by creating something new and original. Sins such as artistic expression and the pursuit of knowledge can be seen as attempts to rival God's creative power.
d) All of the above

Answer 1

Sinning is sometimes viewed as an attempt to assume attributes that belong only to God, like independence, control, and self-sufficiency through sins such as pride, envy, and greed. The Problem of Evil challenges the compatibility of God's omnibenevolence, omnipotence, and omniscience with the existence of evil. Faith traditions assert that humans have free will, and while sin is misguided, God's true nature is beyond full human comprehension.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Christian theology, sinning is often perceived as a human attempt to be independent from God and to control our own destinies. This desire for independence can manifest in various sins. For example, pride can be seen as assuming a position of self-importance that properly belongs only to God; envy may involve resenting the blessings or status God grants others; and greed could be an attempt to accumulate resources and security in a way that only God can truly provide.

The Problem of Evil in philosophical theology challenges the coexistence of an all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful deity with the presence of evil in the world. The question arises: if God possesses these perfect attributes, why is there evil, and does God tolerate or even author evil? Christian thought typically asserts that humans have free will, and that evil arises from human abuse of this gift rather than being created or condoned by God himself. The capability to choose evil is seen as a necessary corollary to the ability to genuinely choose good. Nevertheless, the presence of evil remains a significant challenge in understanding the nature of God and the role of humanity.

Faith traditions respond to the Problem of Evil and the nature of sin in various ways, often emphasizing that God's ways and nature are beyond full human understanding. According to Maimonides, for example, we can only know God through his actions, not his essence, which is to say that trying to become like God through sin is inherently misguided since we cannot truly comprehend God's essence. Human sin, then, is a flawed attempt to grasp at God's perceived attributes—an attempt fated to fail given our fundamental inability to encompass the infinite.