This one is for you Wendell
This is not to say I am capable to answer such a question ... or if even we as humans are capable to answer such a question but here are my thoughts.
1. I don't think we fully understand time and what time is.
2. We may be stuck in our own world view and language barriers. Predestination vs freewill may be very well like asking can God make a rock so big that he can't move it. Some may argue that this a fact in not believing in God but I believe C.S Lewis correctly states that really this is a limitation/error of the English language. Can you answer the question "what color is a circle?" Rather they are nonsensical questions. Is predestination vs free will a nonsensical question, possibly.
3. I believe we make choices and have freedom to make choices. Romans 3:20 we have a choice to open the door .. John 7:17 ... etc.
I believe the challenge comes when we have a God that is present in our future as well as today and knows if he does such and such it would have such and such affect on our life. The argument is that he could then change the events so that we would all come to repentance and come to God so why doesn't he? Has God only chosen certain people and set up the world for only the chosen people to be saved? or would only certain people chose God no matter what the circumstance?
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
C.S. Lewis Great Divorce Chapter 7
"The question is whether she is a grumbler, or only a grumble. If there is
a real woman-even the least trace of one-still there inside the
grumbling, it can be brought to life again. If there's one wee spark
under all those ashes, we'll blow it till the whole pile is red and
clear. But if there's nothing but ashes we'll not go on blowing them in
our own eyes forever. They must be swept up."
I believe God has done exactly that. God has done everything possible that we will all come to repentance but we are stubborn people and have chosen otherwise. Now people could always give examples of people where they think this is not true but I believe we can never know all the details and so never make a conclusion.
Now at the end of time and we have no more choices, will our choices in this life be predestined. Yes because that is what we chose and would always have chosen because of who we are (I think our choices are a part of who we are). I don't believe we will be asking questions of what if such and such was different. I think will be nonsensical because that is not what happened and could never happened that way.
I think God balances intervention and freedom. God wants us to choose him but he doesn't want it to be forced or required.
We sit on this moment where the past is covered in a fog and the future is unknown. Through this fog we are asked to make choices and decisions that have eternal consequences. We can feel the stress and uncertainty of choices but it is one of the most uniquely human characteristics. We can make choices and weight options.
God help us to live for you
God help us to chose you
God give us a glimpse of your eternal truth
God help us to listen to you
1 comment:
I guess I should comment then, lol.
I've been reading through the Old Testament lately and I came across an interesting thought in either Isaiah or Jeremiah. They describe God as a potter, he has a plan for a piece of clay and he starts forming it and creating it for a specific purpose. But somewhere in the process the clay fails and the potter has to make a decision. Does he continue or not? So the design in the clay is either modified or the process stops and the clay is reused for another purpose. This isn't to say that the potter makes a mistake, the clay is worked and reworked until the design is finished, made perfect. At that point it is fired in the kiln.
The writer compares God to the potter and His creation to the clay. There are some obvious parallels in the story but it made me think of how this type of thinking impacts our understanding of predestination versus free will. As the clay there is a plan (predestination), but the plan can be stopped and reworked (freewill?). I don't know, and maybe I'm pushing it; trying to read something that isn't there.
I like the way CS Lewis tries to explain it with the description of the coals. However I'm still stuck with the notion that the arguments on either side of this discussion support the dichotomy in the Nature of God and are not as much a study of contradictions. That doesn't endear me to the traditional theology of our denomination but I do not deny the teachings either. That is a far more dangerous position in my opinion.
Well, more discussion is always good.
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