Yes, we agree completely. I just meant the word “wanted” is pejorative. You can intend something without necessarily wanting it.
When he was little my son broke the growth plate off of his arm at the wrist. It was essential that it be pushed back into place. The doctor needed me to hold him still, to hold his arm still as he pushed that bone back on top where it belonged.
My son had a lot of pain. I didn’t want to hold him still while he endured that pain. But I intended to. I did it.
Well, Christianity presents us with many things with seemingly contradictory qualities that are nonetheless to be held in tension, and not resolved.
For instance, Jesus Himself is fully man, and fully God. Not half and half. No division, no partiality. Completely 100% a man. And completely 100% God.
Same with the Bible. Who wrote it? Humans, of course. Every word. AND…
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
There are earthly parallels as well. Light is both a wave and a particle (we’re still sorting that out). Schrödinger’s cat. There are lots of examples.
There’s nothing unusual about a situation where God is fully in control of everything and humans have free will. It’s just hard to wrap your head around.
The answer isn’t to say, “God can’t (or won’t) do anything about that.” That denies God’s power and goodness.
The answer is also not to say, “Since I’m God’s puppet I have no will or blame.” That denies our responsibility and sin.
The Bible is quite clear that both are true. God is powerful, good, and in control. And humans are capable, sinful, and responsible for their actions.
Is he that powerful that he can stop evil but chooses not to? Then it’s clear that god is not good. We can’t fully be in control if someone is behind our backs pulling the strings. if we really had free will, god wouldn’t be in control and would let us do what we like.
It’s like a new postgraduate physics student trying to apply Newton’s Laws to quarks. While Newton’s laws provide a framework for understanding motion in everyday contexts, the behavior of quarks requires a different set of principles that are part of quantum mechanics. Newton’s laws are still valid for macroscopic objects, but do not apply to the quantum realm, where quarks operate.
The laws of reason and logic are dependent on the order God imposed on the universe. God is metaphysical. He is not subject to His creation, BUT, the fact that there IS order and understandable systems tell us that God IS understandable, to a degree. His creation reflects His self. But if you think you’ll crush Him in his own vise, you are quite mistaken. There is no epistemological dilemma you’ll spear God with
Yes, we agree completely. I just meant the word “wanted” is pejorative. You can intend something without necessarily wanting it.
When he was little my son broke the growth plate off of his arm at the wrist. It was essential that it be pushed back into place. The doctor needed me to hold him still, to hold his arm still as he pushed that bone back on top where it belonged.
My son had a lot of pain. I didn’t want to hold him still while he endured that pain. But I intended to. I did it.
And all those events were planned under the lense of calvinism which you had no control of planning it yourself so predestination and no free will.
Well, Christianity presents us with many things with seemingly contradictory qualities that are nonetheless to be held in tension, and not resolved.
For instance, Jesus Himself is fully man, and fully God. Not half and half. No division, no partiality. Completely 100% a man. And completely 100% God.
Same with the Bible. Who wrote it? Humans, of course. Every word. AND…
There are earthly parallels as well. Light is both a wave and a particle (we’re still sorting that out). Schrödinger’s cat. There are lots of examples.
There’s nothing unusual about a situation where God is fully in control of everything and humans have free will. It’s just hard to wrap your head around.
The answer isn’t to say, “God can’t (or won’t) do anything about that.” That denies God’s power and goodness.
The answer is also not to say, “Since I’m God’s puppet I have no will or blame.” That denies our responsibility and sin.
The Bible is quite clear that both are true. God is powerful, good, and in control. And humans are capable, sinful, and responsible for their actions.
Is he that powerful that he can stop evil but chooses not to? Then it’s clear that god is not good. We can’t fully be in control if someone is behind our backs pulling the strings. if we really had free will, god wouldn’t be in control and would let us do what we like.
This is at best a sophomoric argument.
It’s like a new postgraduate physics student trying to apply Newton’s Laws to quarks. While Newton’s laws provide a framework for understanding motion in everyday contexts, the behavior of quarks requires a different set of principles that are part of quantum mechanics. Newton’s laws are still valid for macroscopic objects, but do not apply to the quantum realm, where quarks operate.
The laws of reason and logic are dependent on the order God imposed on the universe. God is metaphysical. He is not subject to His creation, BUT, the fact that there IS order and understandable systems tell us that God IS understandable, to a degree. His creation reflects His self. But if you think you’ll crush Him in his own vise, you are quite mistaken. There is no epistemological dilemma you’ll spear God with
God is a God of order. (1 Cor. 14:33)