God and Free Choice

[Dana]

I have felt more inclined to believe that God's role in our lives was to give direction and purpose, meaning on a personal level, in a world that is filled with violence.  I've never seen him as a protector from harm or evil, but a light or strength to carry us when things go wrong and they inevitably will at some point in our lives.

Why did God give us a choice between good and evil?

Not sure why you would ask me directly about your assertion that God had even given us a choice between good and evil?   In my post I wrote of what I would view as God's role in our lives, that of direction and purpose. Beyond that, within Judaism, there may be more than one way of seeing it.