it depends on how you define evil. if evil is separation from God, it can become a one-way street. adam and eve partook of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. before, they knew only good and God's presence (good). after, they knew separation (evil). but the evilest thing about evil is that apart from salvation, there is no going back. what is left to choose from are shades of grey, and the darker the shades are chosen, the less freedom of choice you have. evil ripens into further darkness and separation over time. once chosen, it can not rescue itself. that's the true nature of evil, imho. evil is not an action or a sin or the act of making a particular moral choice one way or another - it is a state of being that moves further away from God, trying to make itself God. its nature is to actively resist redemption in many cases (in mine at least). i don't think the serpent lied much when he said 'you will be like God' - he just didn't tell the whole story, that the end of us trying in a state of separation from the true God to play the role ourselves is further separation, self centeredness and all the misery and death and sin of the human race. God wasn't lying either when He said, in the day you eat of it, you will surely die. For to eat of it meant separation from Him, the author of eternal Life.
At the end of this, all creation will know what it is to be separated from God. they will have seen it played out till the end. they will see God's love and power and sacrifice to bring us back.
And i think they'll also say "let's not do this again"
forgive the lack of caps, i dislocated my shoulder and typing with one hand today
Ok but what other option is there than these two:
1. Man is free to separate from God, OR
2. Man is forced to separate from God.
And which one is correct? I don't see how the definition you present changes these options.
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