Free Will?
Romans 9:15-23
Can somebody please explain these verses to me?
God, as the creator of all things, certainly possesses the right to act as He wishes, including softening or hardening some of us, or raising some people up in a manner so that He can manifest His glory.
However, does this in fact show pre-destination? A sense that we are bound by what some have termed fate, which in these passages is illustrated by the fact that we are brought up in ways that God wills. If we are so bound by fate, it would mean an exclusion of the existence of free will. That no matter what we decide, whether by our volition, or to test God/circumstances/these verses, we are headed down a path that is fixed. In fact it could be argued that in that case you can't really blame sinners, because they were fated to sin. Like the Pharoah who had his heart hardened by God, does this mean that it's "not his (Pharoah's) fault"? After all, God did harden his heart.
And if God did raise some people up to sin, does that make Him a cruel God? How can this be reconciled with the fact that God is a just and good God? (Yup, I'm still holding on to the belief that God is good.) It IS definitely quite fearful if God is not a good God. Just take a look at Ergo Proxy. The PROXIES, believed by the people to be Gods, were not quite benevolent nor good. Ophelia PROXY slaughtered the whole city just because she wasn't accepted by its people; Senekisu PROXY was insane and let the survivors of her city be stuck in a meaningless war against androids before slaughtering them all; Proxy 1 who decimated most of the other cities by launching ICBMs just so he could take revenge on the original humans, that race which created the PROXIES. Yet that is not a true parallel, for after all PROXIES were not Gods, nor were the original humans Gods themselves. Steps could be taken, rational thought called upon to devise ways to escape from their fate (although the future was quite bleak). If God were to be cruel, there is NOTHING that we can do to escape or take revenge.
But anyway, can somebody just explain those verses? I'd just want to know how they can be reconciled to my beliefs that God is good, and that we have free will to forge our future.
On a completely random note, does anybody know of any jobs that I can take for just ONE week? Specifically the 2nd week of June, since I'm free and most other people are busy with their exams. If there is could you tell me ASAP? I need to apply for my working visa, since it'll be worthless until next winter and totally not worth the price if I can't get a job for this period. Thanks!
2 comments:
Hey...
I don't pretend to know everything or how God works. Cos His ways are mysterious and who indeed can fathom God. And there are still so much that God has hidden from mankind that will probably only be made known in Heaven.
However, I do know a bit about pre-destination. It is quite unlike "fate" that our world buys in to. Pre-destination is more like knowing ahead of time. Our God is the Alpha and Omega, knowing the end from the begining. It's more like the idea that He foreknew (see Rom 8:28-30). It is the idea that God knows how you what you will choose and can then say it has been pre-destined.
He doesn't raise bad ppl. But ppl chose to be bad. And God uses the choices of those people for a larger purpose. We are, after all, only a single thread in the tapestry. How can we see or understand the grand design?
More amazing is that God will use the choices of all ppl for HIS purposes. For the good of those who love Him. The story of Joseph: God didnt raise his brothers to be bad to do that to Joseph. But He is able to still use what was done for evil for the good of His people - the saving of a nation. Nothing we do, good or bad, surprises God. He is able, more than able, to turn it for the good of His ppl.
On how He does this... how i know? He is GOd. What He can do no human can comprehend or imagine. =)
Yeah I remember that conversation with you before. Not quite sure pre-destination's the word (sounds too much like determinism and fate to me, but I'm not sure), but the thing that I didn't quite get was the part where He tells the Pharoah that he was raised for such a purpose (and yeah, I think God hardened his heart too rite?). Surprisingly, or not surprisingly, my question is in the next verse. But sadly doesn't answer the why. :( But yeah, I accept it, just that I don't know why! Will curiosity kill the soul too?
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