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I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
God made a lot of little gods to amuse himself. I get the impression he or it planted the seed...tossed on some water and lets us fend for ourselves. It might be a love issue...that he granted us endless freedom and expects us to figure things out. He could have made us like robots ... but were is the fun in that? I rarely appeal to God for help...in an emergency perhaps...but I never bother the guy about things I know I can handle if I really want too or have the will too. God can be a cold one .... a distant one...different that we imagine. WE are material creatures governed by physics as we know them. God is a weird thing beyond physics. He is capable of existing and not existing... of being all powerful and powerless at the same time. I am just glad that I was granted a life to live...for that I am thankful.
- God does not give Choices, He gives Commands. 'Thou Shall Not...'
Satan gave man a choice.
Which makes one believe they have a (free) will to choose.
- How cruel it would've been for God to give man a will for choosing not to obey Him
and then punish man for making the wrong choice.
That's why God can always be quoted as only giving man Commands to obey.
And not choices to choose from as if man's will is (free) to do so.
- Do we tell our children they have free will to disobey us if they want to?
And then when they choose disobedience we punish them? How cruel.
No we tell our children to Obey us. And so does God.
God does not give mankind a (free) will to Choose and then punish them.
This is what the world believes so they can say how cruel 'our' God is for His justice.
Cause their 'father' is liar.
Last edited by RevelationWriter; 01-29-2014 at 06:18 AM..
I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
God is in Sovereign control of everything and uses even the negative volition of man to achieve His purposes. God gave man volition. Adam used his volition to disobey God. That simply advanced God's plan which was to provide salvation for the human race which He had always known would fall and be in need of salvation.
God gives authority to those who rule, both to the just and the unjust rulers. And He removes their authority. The Book of Daniel emphasizes God's sovereign control and authority over nations and how He establishes and deposes rulers and empires in order to serve His purpose. But He does this while allowing man to exercise his volition. God has always known the volitional choices of everyone and weaves those volitional choices of man into His plan.
Both the Sovereignty of God and the volition of man co-exist in human history by God's will and for God's purpose.
I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
Yes--he started it and he is in control of every aspect of life. He doesn't just sit back and hope it all works out the way he wants it.
I have understood it like that God doesn't control everything that happens, and that we have a free will, but God is omniscient about the future, and omnipotent so that he has the possibility to control and change future events. Did God start the hole thing, set things into action, and is just observing things now?
Just pretend that you are God, and you want to repair the engine on your car. Of course, during this whole event, since you are God, you have already seen the event take place and you also caused the problem that the engine has. So, in actuality, you are playing out what you already knew would take place. And not only that, but you, being God, thought this whole repair up before you even broke the engine, and knew how lessons could be learned from it including those that happen to come by, and those that may help in the fixing, and you knew the intricate things that would happen and, in order for not only the engine to be repaired to the fullest, but also how the working, talking, and interacting of this repair would affect everyone for the good. You also knew ahead of time, about how the engine would drop on your friend's hand and break it, but you also knew that from this incident your friend would come to understand about pain, and other's feelings, and also learn a little bit about anatomy. And of course, there are the people that worked for 911 and the emergency crew, and all the attendants at the emergency room that would be somehow effected. They all have made choices throughout the day, but you knew ahead of time what would happen, because you have seen it already as a finished outcome. Somehow, you had visualized this whole event, and worked it all out with all its evil and all of its good things, so that the ultimate goal would be reached. You allowed everyone to do just as they pleased and thought would be the best thing to do, yet you arranged these intricate events in such a way that the outcome would be sure.
Confused?
God doesn't "control" everything, yet He knows ahead of time how everything will happen. God has the ability to allow us to choose, to know what we would choose, and have it be something for our good, or sometimes even to seem bad for a time, because we needed to be honed in that manner.
As far as free will goes, it is the wrong question to ask. If you want the right answer, ask the right question. The idea of 'free will' carries with it an ability to control things. We can 'choose' what we are going to do, but in the end, it will always have the outcome that God intended. He is teaching us how to become His children. Some of us learn fast, and some of us learn slowly. It's like the story of the Prodigal Son. The father knew that the son had a lesson to learn, and he had a very good idea what his son would be doing while he was off 'doing his thing', but the father also trusted and believed that the son would return once he learned his lesson. (God knew all along what the end result would be.) The son had 'free will' because the father set it up that way, but the outcome was for the better.
Does God interfere in the lives of men? I would say yes, when He has to. But it is difficult to discern when these times come, unless it's something along the lines of a miracle. My wife once went ice skating with our then 3 year old daughter on a lake, not realizing that the ice was thin. She made that choice. The ice gave way under her, and as she fell through the ice, she pushed our daughter away and onto the ice. My wife went down into the water and remembers seeing the tunnel of light. Then, the next thing she remembers is waking up next to the hole in the ice, all wet and cold, and with our daughter next to her. She asked our daughter what had happened, and she said, "That man pulled you out of the water and left". My wife asked, (as she looked around for a man, but didn't see anyone), "What man?" Our daughter said again, "A man". Since my wife obviously made a wrong choice, yet was to live on for another 16 years as of now, and she was cold and wet and obviously fell through the ice, and since under normal circumstances, someone that saves someone else would have remained on the scene, it is a case for God's intervention.
Did God start the whole thing, set it in motion, and just observing? I think not! He is an active God, which anyone that gets to know Him personally believes.
I believe God knows all the options man is capable of , there are some that get coached by Him, and others that cannot or do not want to be coached by Him.
Many of the latter prefer the selfish (rebellious) approach fallow the same path as Satan,
Some even preferring Satan's influence.(it's no secret) A great deal of Government have gone this way.
I have known people that have seen Satan's wonders and invite the manipulation of his servants ,these have disregarded the eternal consequences for what they hope to gain here and now.
These know God is real, and go to churches to find loupe holes for their argument.
I desire to work in concert with God, fallowing His instruction, and not my own, or that of self appointed men .
I believe that heaven will be of those that are already obedient , God will still be choosing whom will live in His presents and among His loved ones.
If the god you serve is full of compromise , take stock.
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