“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God... I will be like the most High.”
The rebellion was not caused by ignorance or need. It happened in the presence of everything, which is what makes it the purest possible case of evil as a free act.
With that act, a claim was made: that existence apart from God could be better. It was not merely disobedience; it was a thesis about reality, and a thesis must be tested rather than silenced.
Silencing it by force would have proved only that God is stronger. The universe already knew that. What remained unproven was whether the claim was true.
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