Most of the biblical prophets warned the people against the incorporation of foreign beliefs into what God gave at Mt. Sinai. Such actions rejected covenant and diluted faith in the one true God. Even a pious religious façade would not save them.
How is that different from Christian’s unbiblical beliefs that overshadow the biblical creation? Perfectionistic concepts distort the omnipotence (all-powerful) and omnipresence (present everywhere) characteristics of our God.
God is so perfect that He resides in heaven, therefore not on earth.
If that is true, then he is just another Zeus sitting on Mount Olympus. God is not always with us. He requires help from other spiritual beings (like angels) to know what is happening down here in the dirt.
Instead: The God of the Bible is always with us. We cannot go anywhere that he is not.
God is so perfect that His creation had to be perfect. He could not create imperfection.
If that is true, creation cannot testify to his existence or his act of creating, because nothing is perfect. As believers, how can we call anything good or beautiful, even a baby?
Instead: Goodness and beauty surround us, and nature teaches us profound truths about humanity and God. Our Creator is so perfect that he created an imperfect world so that we could have free choice.
God is so perfect that he only created good things. All bad things come from some other entity (like Satan) or force (like sin).
If that is true, then God is not the God of all creation. Some things are not under his authority.
Instead: Giving God’s authority to anything within creation is idolatry. Genesis 1 says God made everything above and everything below. Everything means everything. God took responsibility for all the good things and all the bad things. Satan’s curse removed his ability to do more than whisper. Likewise, sin is not a force. It is a choice to transgress a law. Any creativity comes from humans who follow the voice of Satan and invent new ways to express evil. These people reject their responsibility. They then teach others to give Satan creative credits.
God is so perfect that he could not imagine Satan’s actions.
If that is true, God’s knowledge is limited. He is not the Lord of all, and no different from any mythical god.
Instead: Without God’s permission, Satan cannot even whisper. God is in control, but he gives his creations the freedom to choose.
God is so perfect that he could not imagine Eve or Adam’s disobedience.
If that is true, God’s knowledge of his creation is minimal. He could not maintain a perfect world. How can he control this corrupt one? So, Satan must control this world.
Instead: That belief is idolatry. God is in control. He sees what is going on and all the possibilities of what might happen next. God created the garden scenario. We must have faith that God knows what he is doing.
God is so perfect that sin repulsed him.
If that is true, sin was more powerful then the Creator. By leaving, God is not everywhere, thus limited.
Instead: God came to Adam and Eve, talked to them. Then, he taught them to make clothing. Nothing forced our Creator to do anything. Nothing forced him to reject anyone. God always comes to us to convict sin and desires our repentance. God even knocks on the worst sinner’s door.
The God described by “perfectionism” was too weak to maintain a perfect creation and too nearsighted to see what lay ahead. His incompetence doomed humanity, as he blamed and condemned us for his blunder. That God should not have let sinful humans live. Not just Adam and Eve, but Cain and Noah’s family lived to reproduce sin. The God of “perfectionism” is too perfect to take responsibility for His own actions.
I reject that theology. It does not describe the biblical God, who is in control even when our world is in chaos. It represses the love, mercy, and forgiveness that defines his very being. Perfectionism also criticizes the goodness of creation as slightly better than Hell. We need to stop hating humanity. We need to stop placing limits on a limitless God.
