Given the fact that God’s plan of salvation was devised before creation, how does He (or the bible) defend this plan given the suggestion that the souls who will perish could be more than those who will be saved, as suggested in Matt. 7:13-14? (cf. Luke 13: 22-25; Gen 6:7; 7:7, 13, 16). I need your opinions.
Effah Kwaku Korsah
God created everything. He was there from the beginning. He knew what happened in the Book of Genesis. The plan for saving humankind from time to time until Christ came is in His plan. His design, He never loses, even when the world is in big trouble. He is still with people who trust Him and follow Him.
Best regards,
Hengki Wijaya
https://ojs.sttjaffray.ac.id/jjv71
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Effah Kwaku Korsah
I think the question betrays a human-centered approach that presents the salvation of humans as being of the highest priority. Our natural inclination is to think that way, however, I don't see that worldview in Scripture. The primary value which one sees in the Bible is God Himself. His glory. Therefore when God acts to save humans, He is working to glorify Himself. This is seen explicitly in texts such as Romans 9:14-24. What's also seen, however, is that God isn't only glorified through saving people- He's also glorified through dealing with sinful humanity justly and fairly. In fact, this point is seen explicitly in Rom 9:17- God used Pharaoh (an 'object of wrath' in order to display His justice and greatness). How is God glorified through the salvation and condemnation of sinful humanity? God's mercy and grace shine blindingly clearly through the salvation of sinners, who are worthy of eternal punishment. Similarly, His justice and holiness are perfectly shown through the punishment of those who do not believe.
When one adopts a God-centred approach to soteriology, the primary focus becomes the glory of God rather than the saving of people.
Christopher Luthy, Australia
My Lecture
Effah Kwaku Korsah
God can save all right away, without the cross, "they lacked understanding of God's glory and His plans before the world was created. God and His nature are revealed on the cross - He is a God who serves. We must return to God's character, His glory, and His sovereignty. If we move toward a human focus.
Andrew Brake, USA
My lecture opinion
God created us for himself, but gave us freedom, but in freedom, we make wrong choices because we often follow the desires of our bodies. It is often said that to be before warned is to before armed: the enter by the narrow gate pericope is a forewarning for, as Is. 55:8-9, say God's ways are not our ways. One can evade that path that leads to damnation by entering through the narrow gate. What is the narrow gate? A life of virtue which is difficult to come by because many will prefer to go be deceptive pleasures, the power mongering in the world, the killings to amass wealth, the injustices, sex, human trafficking and all evils on fellow human beings just to get the desires of the body. God will not come down from the skies to stop these because he will be going against his own nature - the freedom given to us. To take this freedom away would be to make us into robots.
The question is a false narrative that the scriptures you give does not support. Jesus is explaining that the Golden Rule is a direct and easy choice path. But do not allow the broad temptations of the world lead you to destruction constantly making the wrong choice opposite of the Golden Rule.
In regard to your math question, this is not addressed by God. There is no count of saved souls versus lost souls. However, there will be those who will be judged worthy and unworthy. In fact regarding the saved, scripture says the following:
Jer_33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
Hos_1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
God has no limit on salvation. Therefore, the final number is up to us. Choose you this day.
Thanks to Emmanuel, Mary, Ernest, Hengki for your answers. I'm grateful, really.
First, GOD is un-knowable
Second, GOD is un-knowable
Thirdly, GOD is un-knowable....how else can GOD be! So, "he" and/or "she" is what man calls Spirit..... unknown!
Unknown thoughts, unknown feelings, unknown speech unknown actions.
That's why some scriptures say "who can be compared to "ME?"
◄ Isaiah 40 ►
Berean Study Bible Par ▾
Prepare the Way for the LORD
(Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 3:1-20; John 1:19-28)
1“Comfort, comfort My people,”
says your God.
2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her forced labor has been completed;
her iniquity has been pardoned.
For she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.”
3A voice of one calling:
“Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.a
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill made low;
the uneven ground will become smooth,
and the rugged land a plain.b
5And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all humanity together will see it.c
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
The Enduring Word
(1 Peter 1:22-25)
6A voice says, “Cry out!”
And I asked, “What should I cry out?”
“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flowers of the field.
7The grass withers and the flowers fall
when the breath of the LORD blows on them;
indeed, the people are grass.
8The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever.”d
Here Is Your God!
(Romans 11:33-36)
9Go up on a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good news.
Raise your voice loudly,
O Jerusalem, herald of good news.
Lift it up,e
do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,
and His arm establishes His rule.
His reward is with Him,
and His recompense accompanies Him.
11He tends His flock like a shepherd;
He gathers the lambs in His arms
and carries them close to His heart.
He gently leads the nursing ewes.
12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on a scale
and the hills with a balance?
13Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,f
or informed Him as His counselor?g
14Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,
and who taught Him the paths of justice?
Who imparted knowledge to Him
and showed Him the way of understanding?
15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;
He lifts up the islandsh like fine dust.
16Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,
nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.
17All the nations are as nothing before Him;
He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.
18To whom will you liken God?
To what image will you compare Him?
19To an idol that a craftsman casts
and a metalworker overlays with gold
and fits with silver chains?
20To one bereft of an offering
who chooses wood that will not rot,
who seeks a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not topple?
21Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?
22He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its dwellers are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23He brings the princes to nothing
and makes the rulersi of the earth meaningless.
24No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,
no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,
than He blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.
25“To whom will you liken Me,
or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.
26Lift up your eyes on high:
Who created all these?
He leads forth the starry host by number;
He calls each one by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.
27Why do you say, O Jacob,
and why do you assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?
28Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary;
His understanding is beyond searching out
But there are many place within the Bible where it is shown that more souls will be saved. And also the first Christian thinkers interpreted the Bible in this manner: Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, etc.
Either God gives you freedom and hence accountability. Or no choice like angels hence no accountability. Humans chose the freedom choice!
There is no such a Scripture that says God is going to save few people to self than those who are going to hell.
Thanks very much, Elena Nizam, Bickson. I have had great answers from you.
Mary Grey..why would the all-powerful God trust humans?...God created humans as well as powerful deities and son's of God. We are the weakest aspect of creation....but infused with the Spirit of Life....we are Hybrids!!!
I, as a Created Being, would never trust a human with Freedom until they could answer 10 of God's questions to Job.
Job 38:4-7
New International Version
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?(A)
Tell me, if you understand.(B)
5 Who marked off its dimensions?(C) Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line(D) across it?
6 On what were its footings set,(E)
or who laid its cornerstone(F)—
7 while the morning stars(G) sang together(H)
and all the angels[a](I) shouted for joy
I do believe freedom is a gift
But, it's not based on Trust.
It's based on God's sovereign decision.
All these are giving me a lot of interesting ideas about God...I'm grateful you are sharing
"Nizam Yaquby added an answer
4 days ago"
"Either God gives you freedom and hence accountability. Or no choice like angels hence no accountability. Humans chose the freedom choice!"
Professor Yaquby....the two choices you presented here....where did you find that answer?
I seem to remember...that Angels have choices too!
They chose to leave their first domain.
They chose to have offspring with women from earth...etc.
Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned ...
New International Version
the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.
Shalom, shalom! First, salvation is individual, God does NOT have grandchildren, only sons &daughters who ASK Him, by free will, to be their Father (Parent, I can even allow Mother, since Psalm 91 thinks of Him as a giant Bird with Umbrella WINGS of protection). If you are right with God - and as the comedian Steve Harvey talks about his need for God in 2005 - then the world will be right with God, as you INTERCEDE for those who want His gifts. As with all gifts, there is a transaction, a giver and a recipient, who receives, for it to be complete. But recipients can have their OWN REASONS to reject any free gift. And some will … Jesus' saying often included riddles like the Japanese KOANS, as in "Why do you call me Good Rabbi? God, alone, is good." Did Jesus mean that He would not go to heaven since He is NOT GOOD. Finally, we ask too many questions but learn from Buddhists - atheistic as a FAITH - yet they embrace all rituals & EXPERIENCE spirituality. In the WEST we talk spirituality, in words, and without words, we have NOTHING. But words themselves are symbols not reality, they are like measurements. A tree is 6 or 60 meters tall; but the TREE simply grows and does not see itself in meters, but as living & growing. We mix our words, for the REALITY, when words only approximate Reality, or what Jesus taught. I ask you all: Why did Jesus escape to quiet places to pray so much? Look into te Gospels and be amazed. He only only talked, Hw walked the Talk more (Show & Tell Teacher). shalom, shalom. Dr. Anil SOOK DEO
He designed creation as He wished. Man is free to choose to do good or not.
From what I have read, Matthew worked as a tax collector, an occupation that gave him many opportunities to observe many different people who were probably under stress. To vent his own occupationally derived stress, Matthew wisely decided to put into words some of his ideas as he tried to adopt a philosophical attitude toward those who owed taxes and people in general. In his Seventh Chapter, he indicates the notion that few persons are worthy, and, at times, he appears to be exasperated, frustrated, and emotionally overwrought, perhaps because of the stress and strain of his job as a tax collector. What is interesting to observe in the following excerpt is the similarity of his almost preacher-like sermonizing to the literary genre known as the dramatic monologue, which was invented by the English Victorian poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), in which a fictional character speaks to a silent listener and in his speech, he unintentionally suggests meanings of which he is unaware, thus he reveals a hidden side of his character. For example, the speaker in "The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed's Church" unintentionally displays his materialism, which he tries to conceal but unwittingly reveals. In marked contrast to the psychosymbolic monologue of Browning's fictional Bishop, St. Matthew is the author of a monologue that symbolizes his profound devotion to God and his commitment to help other people to hear and obey God's Word.
In the following excerpt, Matthew articulates words of advice meant for his readers, yet he almost seems to be trying to convince himself to be less judgmental, to be as critical of himself as he is of other people, not to waste his pearls of knowledge and prudent warnings on those who do not want to listen (Matt. 7:1-6). He also wishes to kindly urge his audience to speak out and to be forthcoming in pursuing a clear pathway to attain their goals. He addresses his exhortation to parents to be good caregivers to their children; in doing so, they will atone for the wrongs they have unknowingly and unintentionally commited against God, their Father in Heaven.
In the passage in question, Matthew 7:13, he encourages his audience to make the extra effort necessary by using vivid imagery in which he metaphorically compares the difficulty of leading a good life, and concomitantly, the ease with which sinners take the road to destruction, to the privilege of entering the proverbial Gates of Heaven. St. Matthew indicates that obeying the Ten Commandments, including unwavering obedience to and faith in God, respecting fellow members of society, prayer, doing good deeds, and similar attributes, will cause the "narrow gate" to open; however, it will not be easy to recognize and correctly discern through cognitive understanding the good and right choices that God established when He said to eat fruit, not from the Tree of (Forbidden) Knowledge (of Evil), but, rather, to eat fruit plucked from the Tree of Life. In sum, St. Matthew wants God's children to prove by their thoughts, words, and actions, that they are among the Chosen Few. As one of the 12 Disciples chosen by Jesus, Matthew was aware of the enormous responsibility of serving humankind as an Apostle of Christ. For this reason, he understood the symbolic and real-life meaning of "The Narrow and Wide Gates."
Matthew 7:1-14 New International Version (NIV)
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Best wishes.
Nancy Ann Watanabe
Nancy Ann Watanabe....I love your understanding and simple explanation.
Thank you! 😁🌷
"he unintentionally suggests meanings of which he is unaware, thus he reveals a hidden side of his character."
Why does it appears to you, that St. Matthews is unaware of a/certain "meanings" in his writings.
Interesting thought.... thank you!
"...will cause the "narrow gate" to open; however, it will not be easy to recognize and correctly discern through cognitive understanding the good and right choices that God established..."
So, does Matthew recognize and discern...good and right choices?
Rev. Anthony T. Johnese ,
I thank you for your question. St. Matthew speaks his mind, but, he cannot be aware of the extent to which he is giving expression to his heart and soul. He is consciously aware of the cognitive meaning of the ideas to which he gives expression. He is genuinely concerned for the well-being of those who take the time to read and meditate upon the significance of his words of advice as they can be applied in their own lives. In other words, he is totally sincere.
In the literary text to which I referred both by way of comparison and contrast, Browning, the author, portrays a Renaissance clergyman who is preoccupied with all of the material accouterments of his role at St. Praxed's Church. The words of the fictional character reveal a gap between his religious role and his true character as a Renaissance nobleman who holds materialistic attainments above the religious values of a morally and ethically pure commitment to serve God and the people by modeling spiritually directed Church beliefs and practices. The opposite is true of St. Matthew. He is aware of the importance of serving God and the people by being a good role model, which, I imagine, would be more of a challenge facing a tax collector than if he had worked in his community in another job category.
Rev. Anthony T. Johnese ,
Yes, Matthew made a good choice when he decided to accept Jesus's call:
📷
Matthew 9:9-13 . 9/As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10/While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11/When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12/On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13/But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
As a tax collector, Matthew had had ample opportunities to observe the behaviors of recalcitrant, maybe even obnoxious and unwilling, citizens who did not want to pay the taxes they owed to the government. As indicated in Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew was able to befriend sinners, which shows that he was blessed by God in being merciful ("Judge not lest ye be judged" op. cit.). (1) Jesus chose Matthew because of this quality of character: ability to show mercy. (2) Furthermore, Jesus chose Matthew because of Matthew's job experience in working with sinful people who owed taxes. Jesus replied to His critics at the celebratory dinner at Matthew's house that He was sent by God to bring the lost sheep back to the fold. Jesus is like a shepherd in charge of 100 sheep, and, if one sheep strays from the flock, the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep so as to go in search of the lost sheep. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who scornfully berated Him for dining alongside the sinners whom Matthew had invited to his house for the dinner in honor of Jesus and in celebration of Matthew's invitation to join Him.
Matthew 18:10-14 10/"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 11/ 12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13/And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14/In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."
New International Version , Copyright 2011-2019 Biblica
The Parable of the Lost Sheep is also recorded, as follows:
Luke 15:3-7 3/Then Jesus told them this parable: 4/"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5/And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6/and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7/I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
New International Version , Copyright 2011-2019 Biblica
It is the mystery of faith/religion. You think you have seen it all and you dont know the worst is yet to come. I agree with Rabin Thapa but also acknowledge it is part of the journey to eternity, we are just being prepared
Rabin Thapa, thanks so much. You offer, may I say, a partial (Hindu) perspective. I hope it is not offensive to say Thapa's partial answer is NOT BIBLICAL, or complete even as far as Hinduism goes. Yes, as a former Hindu and initiate of Sri Chidananda of DLS, I think he means the role of Brahma (creator) and Shiva (destroyer). Yet Mr. Thapa knows the role of VISHNU in the Hindu TRIAD is the role of Sustainer (through incarnations). Jesus showed that role clearly. Even in Hinduism, as with Jesus' solace to Lazarus' family in John 11, death is not the END. Death is a door to another "level of existence." I believe Shiva represents also Creation as Nataraja, LORD of the Cosmic Dance that starts creation. Hinduism is rather complex, but so is all doctrine. Jesus taught "I am the Resurrection and Life" to Lazarus's sisters (Mary, Martha, & the Jewish mourners) when he reached the tomb. Thanks again Mr. Thapa for enriching our perspectives, but as a pastor-evangelist, I always ask if good answers are also biblical. In this case, my Brother Thapa's answer is only a partial answer (I could clarify by summing the Bible as telling God's engagement with all Creation in at least three (3) phases: Creation, Fall, Redemption, which is where Jesus shines brightest). Amen and shalom, shalom.
Thanks to everyone. Insightful, though not so simple and more new thoughts and questions keep coming up. I'm appreciative and ready to learn. Thanks
The matter relates to reason and the amount of intelligence and logical thinking, so the owner of the discerning mind who looks at the truth of creation distinguishes between truth and falsehood, so he follows the path of salvation and leaves the path of perdition and Satan.
"reason...intelligence...logical thinking: ...the discerning mind...looks at the truth... distinguishes between truth and falsehood"
These abstract concepts listed, are they considered Spirit (unseen world) or the evolution of human thought through academia?
Very Basic Notes on Kant
On Chapter 5, Section 4, of Velasquez, PHILOSOPHY
Originally for Students in Introduction to Philosophy
Rev. March 29, 2004
Section 5.4
1. What is transcendental idealism?
It is the view that both reason and sense-experience play a role in knowing. What Velasquez does not tell us right away is that reason for Kant is not limited to analyzing ideas and drawing conclusions; it is a mental activity by which the mind imposes order upon what would otherwise be a chaotic jumble of sense-impressions.
2. What did David Hume say about our sensations?
Our sensations, considered in themselves, flow through us in a chaotic and continuously changing stream. (We are not, strictly speaking aware of any enduring things, either material things or minds.)
3. What is Immanuel Kant's "remarkable insight"?
The mind organizes its sensations into the objects we see around us.
4. What is the most important of the "twelve relationships" or categories?
Cause-Effect: All perceived events have causes.
5. What three things can we say "if Kant is right"?
1) The world we see or experience around us is a world that our own mind constructs.
2) Cause and effect are always a part of the world as we perceive it.
3) The world we observe around us might not be the way the world really is in itself.
(Kant speaks of the unknowable Thing in Itself, which stands behind the sensations that are available to us.)
6. Explain the distinction between the noumenal world and the phenomenal world in Kant's philosophy?
The phenomenal world is the world we are aware of; this is the world we construct out of the sensations that are present to our consciousness. The noumenal world consists of things we seem compelled to believe in, but which we can never know (because we lack sense-evidence of it). The noumenal world contains (1) the Ding an sich, which lies behind or beneath the sense-impressions that we receive; (2) the free will, of which we can never have a sense impression, although we have to believe in it in order to make sense of the moral life.
For Kant, the empiricists are right when they say that our knowledge depends upon our sensations. But the rationalists are right when they say we can know the basic laws that structure the world quite apart from any particular sense-data. We know, for example, that every event has a cause. But we know that because the mind interprets sense-data so that this is true.
7. For Kant, is space a reality independent of mind? Is time?
The answer to both of these questions is NO. Space, for Kant, is nothing other than a mental structure that the mind uses to order sensations, e.g., as alongside one another. Time is nothing but a mental structure that the mind uses to order sensations, e.g., in terms of before and after.
8. What fundamental assumption of (most) earlier philosophers does Kant reject?
The objective world is independent of our mind.
What does he hold instead?
Kant held that the objective world was, in significant part, a creation of the mind.
Based on your assumptions about the many and the few, we may be able to see the infinite value of those who willingly respond to His further gift of redemption and choose to commune with an eternal, infinite God as being worth God's creative effort and the loss He suffers in man's rejection of mankind's highest good. It appears that redeemed humanity is of incalculable value to God, even above the original man and woman created in perfection. God's glory and goodness is so exceedingly wonderful it is almost as though God was compelled to share that goodness with everyone - allowing those who choose to strive to have their temporal enjoyment in this life (which remains a goodness of God) and those who respond in worship an adoration to enjoy this world and eternal communion with God. So I see your question as both camps enjoy the goodness of God. The many miss out, only enjoying (some) of God's goodness for a finite period, while the few enjoy God's goodness now and forever. Also, not to be overly simplistic and acknowledging as did Jesus at the outset of this teaching especially at Mat 5:10-12 all of us suffer for a variety of causes some self-inflicted, but the gift of life, even temporarily, is better than non-life and we all need not suffer without hope of rewards. Do you know Him personally through His Son Jesus Christ?
Brother Reams...the assumption...that "the gift of life, even temporarily is better than Non-Life" appears to contradict many biblical scriptures.
Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Ecclesiastes 4:2-3
So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.
Job 3:1-19
Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, “Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’
Job 3:16
Verse Concepts
“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be,
As infants that never saw light.
Job 10:19
Verse Concepts
‘I should have been as though I had not been,
Carried from womb to tomb.’
Jeremiah 15:10
Verse Concepts
Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not lent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
Mark 14:21
Verse Concepts
For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Never-Being-Born
Hi Reverend Anthony! Have we met? Are you my Brother from Lynchburg?
Thanks for bringing this out. I agree with you looking at single verses leading to one verse proof-texting it does appear to contradict. I am so glad you see that.The argument I set forth is from the perspective of God's eternal plan. I was answering the question about why would God redeem the few at the peril of the many. Although his offer is to all (John3:16; 1John2:2), not all take his freely given offer of redemption. it's on them to receive and its our obligation to let them know that salvation has come.
The assertion that its an assumption comes from single verses out of context and other interpretative issues. I leave it to you to decide. I see in the scripture where God posits life is better than non-life. I will give you a few thoughts but I really can't contend with a brother in the faith over this to a greater extent than I will do here. Is it better that we have this conversation or for us to have never contemplated it?
Since God is the author and giver of life and his ways are good, Creation of life is better than Him not creating life. Its logical not an assumption. Jesus in correcting the Sadducees relying on the Torah quotes from Moses. "And answering, Jesus said to them, Do you not err because of this, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise again from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as angels in Heaven. But concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, as God spoke to him at the Bush, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? (Ex. 3:6) He is not the God of the dead, but God of the living. Therefore, you greatly err. (Mar 12:24-27)
Jesus taught that life is better than non-life. Why would there be a resurrection if it were not so? Would God then have resurrected Himself to calamity?
I agree that eternal life with God is better than eternal suffering, hence the great commission and the purpose of the incarnation. Redeemed mankind must be worth it to God.
The answer also accords with many scriptures.
"I call heaven and earth to testify against you today! I've set life and death before you today: both blessings and curses. Choose life, that it may be well with you—you and your children. Love the LORD your God, obey his voice, and cling to him, because he is your life—even your long life—so that you may live in the land that the LORD promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Deu 30:19-20 ISV)
Thank you for listing these verses above as they are pause for thought. I can only respond to one. Many of these quotes listed are emotional laments in hyperbole, real emotion to be sure, but not building a doctrine that non-life is better than life.
I would, if I may, speak to the first tho' as it has apologetic value.
Matthew 26:24
The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Please see the parallel verse John 13:18 I'm not talking about all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: 'The one who ate bread with me has turned against me.' I'm telling you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen, you may believe that I AM. (Joh 13:18-19 ISV)
God used that betrayal to verify the gospel and the redemptive work of Christ according to the Scriptures.
Jesus is referring to the Psalms, written 700 years before the Last Supper. Pslam 41:9, "As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me! " God created time and uses His knowledge of time itself (Isa 44:24 - 45: 6; 46:9-11); to authenticate the scriptures and the identity of His Son as an apologetic to testify to those seeking God, that they can know that Jesus Christ is LORD with a more sure word than prophecy. (2Pet 1:16-20).
Later on Paul, in the clearest statement of the Gospel recorded in Scripture the content of our faith, states, "Now I'm making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand, and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless. For I passed on to you the most important points that I received: The Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and is still alive!— and he was seen by Cephas, and then by the Twelve. (1Co 15:1-5 ISV)
Would God incarnate have preferred death? If so, then why does He now live? He chose the better option and so should we. There was a purpose that was fulfilled.
All this is done so that, among many other things, we would be certain that Jesus is the Savior. God has used time unlike any man could to authenticate the Bible's veracity, authority and relevancy. Since eternal life with God hinges on our redemption and that redemption has been offered. God wants us to know beyond doubting (Acts 1:3) that Jesus is God incarnate and ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25).
Why would Jesus choose to live if death was preferable? Moreover why would He resurrect to life after death? God would be making an incorrect choice which is against His nature, His plan and His purpose. When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane three times to let death pass from Him and if there were any other way for redemption let's do it. Yet he concluded, "Nevertheless not my will but Thine be done." He, son of Abraham, son of David and Son of God, went to the cross, died was buried and has come alive again according to the Scriptures.
I am so sorry I cannot continue this discussion. Perhaps I should not have entered into this conversation in the first place. My apologies. Will you please permit me to excuse my self as I am constrained to other tasks at this time.
God Bless You Reverend,
David Ream
1Co 11:26; 1Cor15:12-28
I don't think we have ever met. Yes, God's perspective is lofty...I am not in a position to speak about God business. My pay grade is too low.
Truth is truth.....we should never worry about brother's in agreement or striving to come to agreement.
Bible > NIV > Genesis 6
◄ Genesis 6 ►
New International Version
Wickedness in the World
1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with a humans forever, for they are mortal ; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.
6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—
for I regret that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
This very peculiar verse of scripture... from my understanding is the only time that the LORD God ever regretted anything. As far as I understand. If there is another scripture...where the LORD regretted any act of creation please inform me.
Peace Love and Soul Train 🚂
Rev. J
Some of your presuppositions are probably false. I recommend Evil and the God of Love by John Hick (see Google for details)
B. SALTER
shalom, shalom, Peace Greetings, That said, if we wish to understand evil, or theodicy, would we not be open to answers from across the globe? Of course the seminaries do navel gazing exercises. They dare not ask what a billion or more Buddhist & at least a billion Hindus think of the PROBLEM. Well, Hindu & Buddhists do not have issues with suffering, pain, and evil per se. To the Eastern (non westernized) humans, SUFFERING is just as natural as is human "sin." Earth is not a paradise, at least after Adam & Eve. Eastern wise teachers find a way to overcome evil; they accept yin-yang and are willing to flow. Most people have a mental or psychological problem: pain & suffering. Evil & pain are not the same for all. Persons define different "evil" in life … nothing is REAL, just senses & eyes perceive "reality." If you lack eyes, senses, there may not be roses, or snow, or a mountain, a flower, even "light." Just darkness! Learn not to "FIGHT everything with aggression and impatience. Be a part of LIFE, the universe. Animals & butterflies do NOT lose living or beauty because they die in weeks, or months, at best! At seminary the Christian professors could not deal with my answer that Sin is the problem. Accommodate with life, Nature. Or do what Buddha did; found peace (without needing religion or doctrine per se). Meditating helps, but it is not easy to find a good teacher. Basically, life is On-Off; yin-yang; life-death; up & down, trough-crest. Waves keep coming; they do NOT die, really. We want to grab, hold … It is part of variety; not a boring universe. We cannot accept & allow CHANGE!
You are making a whole bunch of assumptions about the nature of deity that you will need to defend before asking your question - the idea of an omniscient deity, the idea that deity is always benevolent for starts. Now, I'm a polytheist, a Wiccan priest, so it's pretty obvious to me that goddesses and gods are not moved by what is good for humanity or for individuals, but by what is important to them. This means that both positive and negative consequences follow upon the actions of any deity (from the perspective of the people impacted by their actions).
Mr. Wagar, how do you understand the concept of deity?
I am a believer in the Motherhood of Goddess.
...and Polytheist/Polytheistic?
Do you have a position on Henotheism?
We make assumptions, even in science & math (Why is 2 what anyone says it is, or x and y so useful unknowns, axioms, etc.? Our language is riddled with Greek thinking, including polytheism - knock on wood - and superstitions. Pinch me, break a leg, and "over my dead body." The problem of EVIL, is in narrow Christian terms part of SIN. Until LUCIFER - there's another assumption or two, an ANGEL - male, of LIGHT - caused sin to enter Eden. Wiccan have their own assumptions, but we can begin by knowing even "material" versus "spiritual" and "polytheism and monotheism" are just words of control, hegemony, or labeling "the other." shalom shalom ALL, including the CANVAS called space.
Dear Mary Grey, it is among the 56 previous answers (that Buddhists accept this life entails no bed of roses, or freedom from suffering, pain, "evil.") That seminaries and theologians in the West are obsessed with it, but not the billions of Hindus and Buddhists. It is in Christian terms, inevitable with SIN (or fall of Satan from Heaven). Short answer. The Hindus say, ultimately, good & evil are MAYA, part of God's PLAY, Lila, or dance. shalom, shalom (My most recent answer was my OBJECTION to another changing subject, to the "assumption" there's deity; there is none in Buddhist thought!)
All schools of Thought in Hinduism are not mono...
http://www.vedaboys.com/2016/02/28/what-are-the-various-school-of-thoughts-within-hindu-philosophy/
There are concepts in Hinduism referring to suffering and death.
Sorry, I will give sources in next post...
Hindus adhere to the principles of the Vedas, which are a body of Sanskritic texts that date as early as 1700 B.C.E. However, unlike the Christian or Islamic traditions, which have the Bible and the Koran, Hinduism does not adhere to a single text. The lack of a single text, among other things, also makes Hinduism a difficult religion to define.
Hinduism is neither monotheistic nor is it polytheistic. Hinduism’s emphasis on the universal spirit, or Brahman, allows for the existence of a pantheon of divinities while remaining devoted to a particular god. It is for this reason that some scholars have referred to Hinduism as a henotheistic religion (the belief in and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities). Hinduism can also be described as a religion that appreciates orthopraxy—or right praxis. Because doctrinal views vary so widely among Hindus, there is no norm based on orthodoxy or right belief. By contrast, ritualized acts are consistent among differing Hindu groups
The Upanishadic seers approached the problem differently. They focused upon the hidden causes of suffering and tried to resolve it internally by cultivating purity, fortitude, sameness, equanimity, stability, balance, detachment and indifference through austerities, restraint and renunciation.
Aging, sickness and death are the grim reminders of the nature of Samsara and our existence in it. Every teacher tradition, school of thought and ascetic movement in Hinduism focuses upon them to convey the urgency and the importance of liberation. Liberation in a simple sense means freedom from suffering.
These are the three afflictions of human life from which mankind finds no escape except by way of liberation. Hinduism identifies desires and demonic nature as the root cause of human suffering and the resultant bondage to the cycle of births and deaths as the ultimate suffering. Demonic nature means selfish actions done for the sole purpose of selfish enjoyment.
According to the Upanishads, when organs are put to selfish use, a person becomes impure. For this, desires are the root cause. When beings engage in selfish actions, they become vulnerable to suffering.
Welcome to Hinduwebsite Portal
Hinduwebsite.com is the real Hindu Website in the original sense, providing information on all the Santana Dharmas that originated in the Indian Subcontinent. We provide unique and original resources on the beliefs, philosophy and essential practices of the following religions: Sanatana Dharma, known as Hinduism or Hindu Dharma, Buddhism or Buddha Dharma, Jainism or Jain Dharma, Sikhism or Sikh Dharma, and Zoroastrianism, as articles, videos, essays, translations, commentaries, scriptures, discussions and books.
Khann Academy: Source used... Wikipedia...Ball State University › lib › p...PDF
Parallel Teachings in Hinduism and Christianity - University Libraries
Of this array of topics, the concept of enlightenment is ... But the truly remarkable similarity between Hindu and Christian morality.
Isaiah 45:7
King James Version
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
I really don't see a lot of differences between Christianity and Hinduism. Teaching Science and Spirit!
21] For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil.
[22] For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun?
[23] For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity.
[24] There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God.
[25] For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?
[26] For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Qoh.3
[1] To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[2] A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
[3] A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
[4] A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
[5] A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
[6] A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
[7] A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
[8] A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
[9] What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
[10] I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
[11] He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
[12] I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life.
[13] And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.
[14] I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.
[15] That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past
Verse 15 is only one of the many teachings of a Parallel Universe...the teaching of the Mt. Of Transfiguration is another one. 1000 years prior Moses died...800 years prior Elijah taken away alive... Jesus and disciples in the presence of Eternity.
Ma contribution à cette question consiste d'abord à vous interroger sur le statistique qui vous permets d'affirmer plus de personnes seront condamnées et moins seront rachetées. Si la source de votre statistique est attestée, nous pouvons essayer de répondre à la suite.
Votre question soulève l'épineuse doctrine de la prédestination dont les thèses des différents auteurs principaux s'opposent souvent. Selon Calvin, on a l'impression que c'est Dieu qui prédestine les uns au salut et les autres à la damnation éternelle. Pour augustin, ce n'est pas le cas. La prédestination est en relation au salut acquis pour tous par l'oeuvre rédemptrice et justificatrice du Christ. Il y a une responsabilité individuelle dans le salut, non selon la vision pélagienne ou semi-pélagienne, mais comme acceptation libre par la foi du don de la vie offerte en Jésus.
God is love, love conquers all. As parents, we bring forth children into the world, even while knowing that they will suffer a scraped knee, a broken bone, a broken heart. Why? Because we love. God creates out of love, God sent His Son out of love. It's not the numbers that are the central focus, it is that God so loved US, that He sent forth Jesus to die for us, so that we could be with Him in heaven. John 3:16 We should be humbled, and grateful.
This question parallels the "Problem of Evil": how can a god that is good, all-powerful, and all-knowing, allow evil to exist on the earth? The take-away from that question is that since evil exists, God cannot be all three—good, all-powerful, and all-knowing.
I say this question parallels PoE because they are both getting at the core question asking how God can allow something to happen that we assume is bad. However, I argue the assumption itself is incorrect. Let me explain. The key here is the free-will of humanity.
- If God takes away free will, then we are left with a greater evil than what already exists.
- That evil occurs because God wants relationship, but a relationship in which one person is forced into it is not truly a relationship. In fact, we call the person that forced it an abuser, and the person who was forced, a victim.
- Push this even further, and the person who forces it can be equated to a slaveowner and the victim, a slave.
- How much greater is that evil, especially in a situation where the victim or slave will never, ever have the ability to cast off the abuser or slaveowner.
- Consequently, God is neither an abuser nor a slaveowner. He gives humanity a choice. But, in doing so, he also must abide by that choice.
- Not doing so is a much greater evil.
To apply this to the original question, God did it because it was the only just way to redeem people. Any other choice reduces free will. If he just threw the doors of heaven open and said, "All are welcome," he is actually forcing those who chose other gods to now be in relationship with him. Again, that's abuse.
As for another method completely, that discussing gets into the justness and holiness of God, and is perhaps a topic for another thread.
Since GOD is all-powerful, all means All... Evil is a Force/Power too!
Isaiah 45:7
King James Version
7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
In context, "evil" there is paralleled with "peace." Thus, "evil" is not a moral evil. The Hebrew word for "evil" has a larger semantic domain than the English word. It would include English words like "harm," "destruction," and so on. When Moses confronts YHWH and argues that YHWH should destroy the Israelites, the Hebrew text states, "And then God repented [some Bibles have relented] of the evil..." That wasn't a moral evil. It was a physical evil. It means God turned away from destroying the people. The same phrase is used in Jonah 3 when God again "repents of the evil" he was about to do to Nineveh. This, again, is a physical evil, the destruction of the city. It was not a moral evil.
Professor Wilder.... your Bio states that you are a teacher of Biblical Studies in the Hebrew Scriptures.... specially the Minor Prophets.
You mentioned Isaiah 45:1
Isaiah 45:7 shines through as the truth about GOD and evil.
All Souls Matter...
Be Perfect...
Be Holy...
It's a Choice!
Rev. J
To rely only on the Hebrew Language to understand the context(s) and idea(s) of Hebrew Sacred Scripture limits the volume of truth behind its writers. Phoenician Language/ Lettering System must be part of any and all research regarding Hebrewism and their ancient writings.
Evolution
The Phoenician writing system is, by virtue of being an alphabet, simple and easy to learn, and also very adaptable to other languages, quite unlike cuneiform or hieroglyphics. In the 9th century BCE the Aramaeans had adopted the Phoenician alphabet, added symbols for the initial "aleph" and for long vowels. This Aramaic alphabet eventually turned into modern Arabic. By the 8th century BCE, texts written in the Phoenician alphabet whose authors were probably not Phoenician appeared in Cilicia in southern Asia Minor and in northern Syria. Eventually the Greeks, who were in close trading contact with the Levant, adopted the Phoenician alphabet, added vowel sounds, and thus created the Greek alphabet (upon which our modern Latin alphabet is based)
Christian Wilder elevates the EVIL question, and I am grateful. At the same time, every MORAL controversy that shows all of the Testaments (Bible) as cruel - as in wiping out the Canaanites, including every last woman & child - we hear semantics and word studies. Does this imply the Bible does not use words literally? The context will determine this … wiping out the Canaanites was literally commanded & almost literally executed. Shifting gears , but not really: EVIL and Good, dark and light, heaven & hell, were imported from exile & the then Superpowers of the day (especially Iran, or Persia, specifically Zoroastrian & IMPERIAL concepts). Who recalls when we say "LORD of lords and KING of Kings" for my Jesus, Savior who I adore … we are using colonial language from long ago? No sirs and Ladies, we cannot talk of God as He is - Spirit, as is true of evil - without betraying the limits of language. After all it is axiomatic that WHAT WE REALLY KNOW IS WHAT WE NAME & DEFINE IN OUR LANGUAGES." If you can't describe it, whatever "it" IS ... has little or no existence. Hence the prohibition against icons and idolatry - more respected by Islam than by Judeo-Christian civilization. shalom, shalom (Just flow with Jesus)
Anil Deo, you use the word "Jesus."
Is that name "Colonial Language?"
Because I have discovered, that there are no "J" in the Hebrew or Greek alphabet.
So, how did the name Jesus come to be the proper name for the Son of GOD/Christ?
Letter names
Phoenician used a system of acrophony to name letters: a word was chosen with each initial consonant sound, and became the name of the letter for that sound. These names were not arbitrary: each Phoenician letter was based on an Egyptian hieroglyph representing an Egyptian word; this word was translated into Phoenician (or a closely related Semitic language), then the initial sound of the translated word became the letter's Phoenician value.[29] For example, the second letter of the Phoenician alphabet was based on the Egyptian hieroglyph for "house" (a sketch of a house); the Semitic word for "house" was bet; hence the Phoenician letter was called bet and had the sound value b.
According to a 1904 theory by Theodor Nöldeke, some of the letter names were changed in Phoenician from the Proto-Canaanite script.[dubious – discuss] This includes:
gaml "throwing stick" to gimel "camel"
digg "fish" to dalet "door"
hll "jubilation" to he "window"
ziqq "manacle" to zayin "weapon"
naḥš "snake" to nun "fish"
piʾt "corner" to pe "mouth"
šimš "sun" to šin "tooth"
Yigael Yadin (1963) went to great lengths to prove that there was actual battle equipment similar to some of the original letter forms named for weapons (samek, zayin).[30]
Yes, "Jesus" is part of Greek colonial language. No one 2020 years ago or many years after said "JESUS" His name, as MARY used it - as did Scriptures predicting His birth - is "YESHUA"How does YESHUA become Jesus ((perhaps a prescient parallel, in America my name Anil became Neil)). Because of Greek imperialism, many Jews began speaking Greek, hence Old Testament MS are mostly in Hebrew, but New Testament MS are in Greek. We are losing so much when pastors/theologians try to connect Old & New Testaments. You ought to have kniown about these MS languages (?) shalom, shalom.
Neil...yes, I do have an understanding of the Hebrew Manuscripts and Greek Manuscripts. That's the major problem with both writings... They are "Manuscripts" not "Original Documents!". As a researcher, one should have known better...that Primary Source Materials are vastly superior to Second Hand Knowledge.... Corruption of ideas, knowledge Truth...gets lost in Translation.
That was the very first thing taught to me as a researcher.
Go Owls!
Temple University
Word patterns
" Scholars have attempted to categorize the varied types of nouns in the Semitic languages by organizing them according to their root shapes (usually various vowel changes that modify the basic root word). Scholars often use the root q-ṭ-l as the base for illustrating the patterns. Verbs are categorized differently by using the root p-ˁ-l, except for the most common pattern is qal (just like in Hebrew). A certain semantic range of meaning is often associated with a particular pattern.
Single consonant (q): 𐤐𐤉 pī "mouth", 𐤔 sū "sheep";
Biconsonantal: qal: 𐤀𐤁 ab "father", 𐤃𐤌 dom "blood", qil: 𐤁̄𐤕 bit "daughter", qul: 𐤒𐤅𐤋 qūl "voice";
Triconsonantal (singular - qVtel, plural qitVl, where "V" is a vowel): qatl: 𐤀𐤓𐤑 arts "earth", 𐤁𐤏𐤋 baˁal "master, lord", qitl: 𐤌𐤋𐤊 milk "king";
qatol: 𐤀𐤃𐤌 adom "person", qital 𐤉𐤓𐤇 yiraḥ "moon", qatul: 𐤒𐤈𐤍 qatun "small", qital: 𐤆𐤓𐤏 dziraʿ "seed";
Furtive "a" roots: ̄𐤌𐤅𐤇 mūaḥ "brain", ̄𐤋𐤅𐤇 lūaḥ "tablet";
Weak roots (roots, once containing "w" or "y"): 𐤁𐤉𐤕 bêth "house", 𐤔𐤉𐤓 sīr "song".
Verbs
Verbal consonantal roots are placed into derived verbal stems, which mainly serve to indicate grammatical voice. This includes various distinctions of reflexivity, passivity, and causativity. Verbs of every pattern have three non-finite forms (one participle, two infinitives), three modal forms (cohortative, imperative, jussive), and two major conjugations (prefixing, suffixing). These two conjugations have different functions. The meaning of the prefixing and suffixing conjugations are also affected by the conjugation, and their meaning with respect to tense and aspect is a matter of debate. The basic root type of the suffixing conjugation is qatol (other types are less common). Here is an example of a suffixing conjugation of the verb:"
Source: Linguifex
Rev. Johnese, thanks much. Of course, you are familiar with the MS issues (Yes, Go Owls!)
Now Biblical MS are closer to the time of the "speakers" including Jesus, than Homer's epics, or any of the Greek greats of civilization. Therefore, our Bible is more solid in sources (especially the 66 books in Isaiah, almost unchanged for 2000 years). Is it not fascinating that ISAIAH, the most complete and most accurate mirrors the 66 books of the Bible most Protestant Christian churches use?
Reverend, forgive me, if my earlier question about MS looked abrupt/uncivil. shalom, shalom in Yeshua haMashiach!
Neil Sook Deo
Brother, I am not offended, nor, do I have thin skin. Lol....I am a minister....we have been prepared and called to "die daily, go out as sheep before wolves and have people possessed by unclean entities approach us.
http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/isaiah
God gave as a free choice to choose heaven or hell.
Good point Effah Kwaku Korsah I'm pretty sure that non authentical interpretation of the Godspell guides to that conclusion
In fact, in Islam, we believe that God alone is the one who sets this plan, and that He chooses special people for it. No human being can bear the weight of the message, but there are people whom God has chosen for that and certainly possess supernatural qualities and qualifications that enable them to do so. They are the prophets, peace be upon them... Then comes the choice of the guardians for them, and this is also by the God, as no human being can determine this, and they are also people with supernatural qualifications... Therefore, we believe that God gave knowledge to those people and also to the righteous in the earth to confront evil and to spread good, the earth will still be fine as long as there are good people chosen by God to be his soldiers against evil.
By reading through the various given answers, it is apparently clear, that they are unable to understand the true problem, you presented,
The All-Knowing God Problem,
If God is literally all-knowing, He needs not to plan anything (there is an international contradiction),
1 - God is Literally All-Knowing,
2 - God Makes Plans
P - Inconsistent Reasoning
Solution: Defining and explicifying all-knowing, is what matters (Modern thinkers are leaning towards something called free-will Theism), Open Theism (that God isn't literally all-knowing), but all-knowledge holder and there is no future Contingents to be known,
thus God makes His plan, which He will execute (not knowing them in advance).
Problem Solved (Far Most Consistent).
There hides another problem is your question (third part of the question), which I won't be touching upon, maybe some other day (Deus Vult)
PS: Once you accept Open Theistic View, the rest of your question becomes fully fruitful to take, and Manal Hadi Kanaan gave one of the connective response (that satisfies the second part of your question).
POWER OF AN ANSWER IS IN CONVINCEMENT,
Truth Measure is Greatly Ignored,
Kind Regards,
Arhum Tajammal
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