Good Parents, According to the LORD God – Part 4
Ruy Miranda (He is not a religious person)
 Bible Quotes Science Info
Nowadays, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the issue of how to raise children. The article that follows, as well as others found in the archive index of this site, arise from the biblical concept of God as Father. As God can only be thought of as being a good Father, His behavior toward His children should serve as a model for those who wish to be good parents. It will show how God acted and then extrapolate this conduct for human parents, without making value judgments. It should be noted that this series of articles is confined to Old Testament passages so as to reach both Jewish and Christian readers.
The Nature of Children Sets Limits for Parents’ Actions
God decided to kill all His children, all who dwelt on Earth, as told in the Book of Genesis, chapter 6. This decision was preceded by His being sorry for having created them to begin with. Indeed, God’s decision included all the other animals. But what did man do to deserve such a violent reaction? And why did this reaction extend to all living beings?
Prior Events
God created man, placed him in a paradise, gave him a woman as his companion and then expelled them from paradise. The couple went to live elsewhere, in another region, where they had children. These children had their own children and so on, down through the generations, as the Earth was being peopled. Men would find the women pretty and they would mate. There came a point when God became embittered, saw how man was evil and decided to destroy him.
Man’s Wickedness Was His Interest in Sex
It seemed that, in God’s eyes, man’s sole interest was in the flesh, in sex. God then decided that His spirit would abandon man.
‘Then the sons of God saw daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.”
"And the LORD said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh…”’
Men and women continue to procreate.
God saw, later on, that man would only think wicked thoughts. The biblical text is not clear about the nature of such wickedness. However, it seems that was the great interest of men and women in sex.
"There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughter of men and they bore children to them…"
God became very embittered as He saw permanent wickedness in man’s heart.
"And the LORD was sorry that He made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. "
Please note that the biblical text shows a God with human feelings: He is sorry, feels embittered. It also reveals that God did not have full control of His creation. He did not like man’s behavior—in other words, human nature, full of wickedness, escaped God’s control. But was this not what God expected when He created man? And what did He decide then?
An Alternative, Given Human Nature
And then God decided that death would come through a rain deluge—the Flood.
"So the LORD said, 'I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”’
The issue is posed here of the destruction of the whole animal kingdom. In the biblical text, “wickedness” justifies man's destruction. However, there is no explanation whatsoever about the destruction of the other animals, save for the fact that—just like with human beings—they too copulated. This is but this author’s deduction when reading this chapter in the Book of Genesis, inasmuch as procreation permeates all the initial verses.
Thus, two aspects—among others—are of interest to the theme ‘Raising Children’: first, human nature has features unknown to God when He acted as Creator; second, His decision to destroy His creation’s product. As it is impossible to fathom God as a wicked, evil, revengeful, inflexible Spirit, the sole alternative is that it is impossible for Him to influence man towards goodness. Since human nature could not be changed, the alternative was a severe punishment.
Good Parents
One can deduct from such information that there are limits to parents’ interference in their children’s formation. No matter how good the parents’ intentions may be, there is one part of human nature, and of the nature of children that is not reached. Children can head in unpredictable directions.
Another deduction is that it is understandable that parents err, that they make mistakes in forming, educating, and guiding their children. Parents may make mistakes, as God made a mistake when creating man and all other animals.
January, 2005
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