The GOD Thread~

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Predeterminism is married to Free Will

 

[Cygnus]

Interesting assertion. Might I add, Objective (Predeterminism) vs. Subjective (Free Will)?

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Interesting assertion. Might I add, Objective (Predeterminism) vs. Subjective (Free Will)?

Not quite.

Because see the little dots? There is a bit of free will in determinism and a little bit of determinism in free will, creating neither a fully objective nor subjective separate entity, but something else entirely. That is the beauty and art and indescribable way of God in us.

 

[Nicodemus]

Yes. But we are given places throughout our lives where we can choose to consciously listen to God and submit to Him. This is called being 'born again'.

Usually, we subconsciously (or consciously, as is illustrated in many on this thread, for example) refuse to submit to God.

A cycle will happen. We will go up and down and up and down, until we finally end up down, and in a Pit, needing salvation. This Pit is another final recurring theme/event where we can realize, "Aha! I need God to save me!" And God will be there to provide salvation once again, as He always has and hopefully always will, until the end of time.

However, we can also choose to stay in the Pit, and set up house in that Pit by adding another addiction, another distraction, another vice, to it. Making us increasingly unhappy over time. Or we can cycle up and down, never being in a terribly bad Pit but never being really happy or good either.

It's these times when we are in the Pit that part of our earthly selves die, and that can give rebirth to our spiritual selves, if we but cling to God and beg Him for mercy. He watches and waits for this. But it's our choice if we do this or not. Stubbornness and pride often get in the way. Did God make you with stubbornness and pride? Not necessarily. It's like MBTI: we are born with our preferred cognitive functions, but it doesn't dictate our behavior. Our behavior is laid down when an ongoing sequence of 0's and 1's become selected in a pattern, by our free will. That pattern can end up bringing us into submission to God. Or hardening and closing to God.

God does not make us do this. He wants us to honor and serve and glorify Him. It's why He created us!! But He will not make us do this.

You cannot rationalize yourself out of the consequences of your behavior by citing God's sovereignty. At least not accurately.

Christianity would be so fucked without the persuasive power of false analogies...

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Psalm 36~Good versus Evil

An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased of to be wise and to do good.
He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not abhor evil.

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens,
And Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise. ​

 

[tinker683]

Christianity would be so fucked without the persuasive power of false analogies...

Haven't read the whole thread so I apologize if this video has already been posted, but your response compelled me to post this video

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Oh that poor guy is so lost. He looks Aramaic. Which is even worse, because he likely has ancestral roots to the Hebrew nation.

I think Bill should have taken the tack of that you cannot prove nor disprove God, so if it's a myth then so is being an atheist.

 

[sorenx7]

I don't look at myself as a supporter of Bill O'Reilly. He can really get on my nerves tremendously at times, especially when he says something about politics that I disagree with. At least he is trying to take the side of God in this case, although he is doing it by using the bulldozer approach. He wasn't demonstrating much finesse. On the other hand, the atheist was being offensive by saying people believe in Christianity because their "leaders" told them to. What an incredible insult to the intelligence of people who believe in God. Maybe what I believed was reinforced by reading Kierkegaard. I might look at him as a leader. But I didn't read him until years after I became a Christian anyway. The point is I believe what I believe by using my own brain, not by what "leaders" said I should believe. To assert anything to the contrary is totally absurd.

 

[Qre:us]

Speaking of being lost.......

 

[TickTock]

God is rolling in his grave.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

I love God so much I'm bumping this thread.

Has anyone found themselves drawing closer to God? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Mole]

I love God so much I'm bumping this thread.

Has anyone found themselves drawing closer to God? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

I don't find myself drawing closer to the God, Ganesh, the elephant headed God, anymore than I find myself drawing closer to the God, Zeus, or the God, Poseidon.

 

[gromit]

I love God so much I'm bumping this thread.

Has anyone found themselves drawing closer to God? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

I have found myself drawing closer to the divine within myself and others.

 

[Coriolis]

I have had several opportunities as of late to study God, the divine, and matters of faith. Always interesting. I appreciate more and more the commonalities in our perspectives, as well understanding some of the differences better. Humans do like to hold on to their own human perspectives in the guise of divine revelation.

 

[Evee]

I love God so much I'm bumping this thread.

Has anyone found themselves drawing closer to God? If so, I'd love to hear about it.

I have, one veil at a time.

 

[HongDou]

How I know God is real:

 

[indra]

i knew of god more than ever the day i learned his irrelevance

 

[Chthonic]

No. I left a God who judges, punishes and has special people a long time ago. It fell by the wayside along with santa claus and the tooth fairy and other childish affairs.

 

[Ene]

…If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.…

 

[Riva]

I wonder what my perspectives would have been like if i wasn't given a religious education as a kid.