Separation from God cont'd

So, do we sin because we are separated from God, or are we separated from God because we sin? I think it's both.
We sin because we don't have the presence of God around us.
As a Christian, I know that God dwells within me (Romans 8:9-11; 1 John 4:13), which makes it very hard for me to willingly want to sin. In fact, we can't live in a continuous life of sin if we're Christians. As Christians, we are called to give our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and to die to ourselves. As Christians, we are brought back into the presence of God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, God's presence sustains us and allows us to do those things we long to do (Philippians 4:13) for His Kingdom. Without God, those things would be impossible.
When I think about it, that might explain some part of why people in hell have no hope - because hell is a place of eternal separation from God, where God will not go and where man can not escape. If God does not abide in hell, there is no hope of redemption, and no hope of earning your way out. God is the only source of anything good, and without Him, there is a void of good. What do you have when there is a void of good? Hell. Without His sustaining presence, hell is and will forever be an endless cycle of sin.
We don't have the presence of God around us because we sin.
God punishes sin. So, when Adam and Eve sinned, he banished them from the Garden of Eden and put Cherabims and a flaming sword at the entrance (Genesis 3:24). That was their punishment. There was still hope of reconciliation, though. God knows that His creation has an innate longing for the One who created it. God's presence is what will be so splendid and pleasurable in heaven. We will be with God!
Like I've said before, I have no problem with saying that I'm not God. Some people would have a problem with saying that - I've talked with those people. I'm not God, therefore I'm not good, therefore I'm a sinner. God made me with arms, but that doesn't give me license to blame Him if I beat up someone. God gave women everything they need to be prostitutes. That doesn't give them the right to go downtown and stand on a street corner, all the while saying, "We were created that way, so blame God." Yes, we did inherit sin, but we are also responsible for it. "But," you say, "that just doesn't seem fair." To this I answer you as I did earlier. What if it were you in that garden? What if the serpent were talking directly to you, tempting you? Would you persevere? I'll leave it to Paul to wrap it up: "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:18,19.