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If humans have free will to follow Jesus with every ounce of their being or face eternal torment in hell, I see the following to be the implications:
People that do not choose to follow Jesus with every ounce of their being are inherently more evil than those who do choose to follow Jesus with every ounce of their being.
Does the Bible teach that some people are inherently more evil or that everyone is equally evil?
Other thoughts?
Ephesians 2 actually says all of us are evil from birth. God regenerates some so they can then believe in Jesus. But we're all equally evil without God regenerating.
Ephesians 2 actually says all of us are evil from birth. God regenerates some so they can then believe in Jesus. But we're all equally evil without God regenerating.
That would well explain why some would choose good and others choose bad.
You are right. The plagues on Egypt were attacks on the Gods of Egypt including Pharaoh. Each attack gave Pharaoh a chance to let God's people go OR reject that by hardening his own heart to what was happening out of ... pride, ego, etc.
This happens today in many ways. Someone does not want to do something, we say they must and they get mad and resist doing it. They harden their heart against us, based on what we did or said. They could have softened their heart and said OK I will.
The problem I see is that if I was Pharoah, if you were Pharoah, if anyone else had been Pharoah they would have made the exact same "choice".
The concept of free will is unequivocally incompatible with the concept of a benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent deity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cuja1
How so?
Because an omniscient, omnipitent deity would, by definition, know before we were ever born what "choices" we would make and whether or not we would follow him or reject him. And to consign those who "choose" not to follow him to eternal torment is clearly anything but benevolent.
The Bible says god knows every hair on each of our heads, even from the beginning of creation. If omniscient, he must then know what decisions we will make, actions we will take, and the ultimate fate of our souls, before we are even born.
Do you think an all-knowing god could have been surprised at the Fall of Adam and Eve? That he would not have known they would succumb to temptation in the Garden, covering all humanity in sin forevermore and necessitating a place of eternal punishment?
If so, he is certainly not omniscient. If not, but he could do nothing about it, he is certainly not all-powerful. If he could have prevented it but chose not to, he is certainly not benevolent and loving, but rather as sadistic and evil a being as can be imagined.
Why do you believe that free will requires more than 1 option? If we freely choose the one option, it's still free.
The thing is that Pharoah made his "choice" based on what he experienced. If we experienced the same we wouldn't be able to chose any different than Pharoah did.
Would you agree that there is a reason for every choice you make?
It could be looked at another way though. What if the natural state of the heart is to be hard? What if good can only exist if God gives it? So God didn't really harden Pharoahs heart He just didn't supply the energy necessary to keep it from being hardened.
In this case He didn't cause it, He just didn't keep it from happening.
Yes, the but scripture states that HE hardened it. Hardened is an active verb denoting a process, and it plainly states that the originator of that process was G-d.
You might also consider how G-d interfered with Jonah's "free will" when he didn't want to go to Ninevah, and also the prophecy given to Peter where it was said that when he was of mature age, another would come and take him where he did not want to go. And then of course, let's not forget Paul when He interfered with his "free will" by knocking him off his religious high horse to make him serve Him.
There is also a principle involved here also that the more you surrender willingly to His will, the less "free will" you are allowed as you mature in Him. Peace
The thing is that Pharoah made his "choice" based on what he experienced. If we experienced the same we wouldn't be able to chose any different than Pharoah did.
So? He still made a choice.
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