Thursday, November 19, 2009

SO WHAT DO I DO WITH MY GOD GIVEN EMPATHY?



BACKGROUND

A REGENERATED SON'S VISCERAL RESPONSE

HOW do I feel about the GOD who ostensibly created Creation with evil built in, populated by a people, who are sentient beings created in HIS priceless incomparable image, intimately acquainted with grief and pain, whom He designed and destined to fall in His Image, and has determined to punish, because of their fall, eternally, in unfathomable pain, without recourse or availability of relief from that God?   and how do I re-write this sentence shorter?

(Some moderate determinists may argue:  "A person can choose to Believe in Jesus Christ [or whatever their price for entry is], they just never have, and never will.")

Regardless, all are equally lost, condemned under the righteous Judgement of  The Sovereign God whose Sovereign will, no-one has ever resisted.


Unequal  JUSTICE Under GRACE

God has long since decided [human perspective, actually God has never decided, being omniscient, He has always eternally known what He would do] that a portion of the population of people created in HIS image should be chosen out of the others, to receive GRACE, God's unmerited favor, to save them for eternity.
The basis for HIS selection is, according to the determinist view, humanly unknown.  It could not be by lottery [they would argue], else GOD would not be Sovereign.  It could not be the impoverished and the rejected, else a large portion of the presumed elect of the reformed faith would be excluded, and there would be many more homeless, and disenfranchised, more slaves than Professors.  What is known, is that according to determinism, God has created two races of sentient beings:  One will be eternally condemned, the other eternally blessed.
It could have been the darker races were elect and the lighter races condemned, or visa versa,  who could find fault with GOD?  All were equally condemned, justly under the law, so if HE chose to have mercy on the Europeans to show HIMSELF merciful, who can find fault?  If humanity is to follow God by example, then two in the old south in the U.S.  (say, 1950's) could be convicted of murder.  The one of African decent could be promptly, justly, executed. The one of European decent could have his sentence commuted by the Governor and later be paroled.    If the Governor finding two men worthy to be condemned, is willing to have mercy on one,  who can find fault?

Then there is favoritism with God.
When I was little, my Mom's stepdad wanted to lavish his love and extravagance on one grandson.  My 2 older brothers were his first grandsons, so the oldest was chosen.
Mom did not go for that:  "If you can't love them both equally, then keep it".  Eventually, one of my younger cousins got the pony, and the favored sports attention etc.  We picked up a life lesson there.  "Johnny have I loved, and Billy have I hated" is not fair.  Actually, Grampa didn't hate us, we just did not garner his favor.  Neither was Esau literally hated, nor was the disparity in treatment without human cause (unless you are one of those rare biblical literalists: "unless a man hate his father and mother"...).  But the unelect are hated and sent to eternal perdition (according the determinist view).

SO MUCH FOR NOW,
A SHORT GALLOP TO ROMANS!










1 comment:

DUANE WATTS said...

Hi all ye lurkers and would be commenters!

My sincerest apologies!
I thought I had set this thing to allow comments. Not so.

I fixed that. Have at it!

IN CHRIST