Post by James Blankenship on Apr 29, 2012 12:25:14 GMT -5
Does God care more about an evil person's free will than the victim's well-being?
Did he care more about giving Hitler a choice to kill all those Jews or did he care about the victims? Do WE (that is to say, our governments) care about criminals' free will? Should we? If we know they have plans to do bad things, wouldn't we stop them, free will be damned?
Did he care more about giving Hitler a choice to kill all those Jews or did he care about the victims? Do WE (that is to say, our governments) care about criminals' free will? Should we? If we know they have plans to do bad things, wouldn't we stop them, free will be damned?
This is an example of the ignorance that atheists/non-believers have about about God, His nature, & what free will is.
Let's begin with this:
Does God care more about an evil person's free will than the victim's well-being?
Scripture very clearly states that God cares about everyone equally, right here:
John 3:16-17 (New American Standard Bible)
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
The key word is "whoever".
God doesn't distinguish between whether a person is black or white, rich or poor, fat or thin, beautiful or ugly, ad infinitum.
God look at the heart, as seen here:
1 Samuel 16:7 (New American Standard Bible)
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
He cared equally as much for Hitler, as He did equally as much for those Jews.
But what this person who is asking about free will doesn't understand, is the fact that free will is neither good nor evil. It is what is done with it that MAKES it good or evil.
I explain this in greater detail here:
solascripturaalone.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=choice&action=display&thread=11&page=1
It has not God's fault what man does with the free will that He gave to all men, from Adam & Eve on.
It is about OUR choice.
God was not responsible for what Hitler did to the Jews. Hitler was. (And he paid the price for it)
If God HAD intervened in Hitler's choice about the Jews, it would have ceased being free will.
Free will is a choice, just as using our free will to come to personally know Christ or choosing to reject Him.
God does not interfere with our choices.
Never has-never will.
WE make them, & we must learn from them.
Finally, this person asks this:
If we know they have plans to do bad things, wouldn't we stop them, free will be damned?
That is entirely OUR choice. But it IS our choice-not God's.
And we must pay whatever consequences result FROM OUR choice.
Also, as I have said before, NOWHERE in the Bible does it say that there will never be anything bad that will not happen to people.
Free will is all about learning-learning to deal with life's circumstances. It is all about choice.
Nothing that has ever happened in the world from the beginning of creation to the end that is God's fault-it is all man's fault-his choices, & his choices alone, have determined the condition of the world today.
James
