This weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to converse with my peers regarding basically the contents of my previous post: the Infinity of God. This has been the subject of much of my personal, internal quandaries, and I feel I have as of yet heard a decent response to my questioning...until perhaps now.
Not that my questioning has been satisfied entirely, but, as it turns out, God is merely more complicated than I had thought. Funny thing to say, I'm sure.
For instance,
God can change His "mind." Example: Moses begging God not to absolutely destroy the Israelites in the desert after having forsaken Him time and again. (Exodus 32-33) God relents His fury. How is this even possible? Things get sticky here, because if one assumes that He had already planned on saving Israel before Moses pleads to Him, then that makes God out to being manipulative, which seems totally out of character. But...how could He not have known?
There are other specific incidents throughout the Old Testament where God holds specific conversations with people, (Walks through the Garden with Adam/Eve, the Burning Bush, the Anointing of David, all the Prophets and them being spoken to...etc) and then, most prominently, The Christ in the New Testament.
Apparently, the conclusion is that God can enter into and out of our time.
???
How can He do that? When He's...here...does He not know everything? But He must...but He can't?
I was told there's a new theology gaining in popularity that says that God has limits to His knowledge, that He can only know that which has already happened. But then, what about prophesy? What about His plan? (Well, I suppose there is a difference between His will and plan). What about purpose?
I don't like this idea that God can have such crippling limits.
So, what then? He is the same, always. Was, is, and will be -- simultaneously. I was asked, does that mean that Christ is concurrently child, dead, and resurrected? Maybe existing in separate time-lines... I can't say. Is He ministering right now to all the people that could have possibly existed now, but aren't due to the decisions made in our time-line? But that's just crazy string-theory, right?
Maybe.
Sounds like you have lots of homework that could/should be getting done.... Nice start :)
ReplyDeleteI think the context of Hebrews 13.8 was meaning his character is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (and the simultaneously? where is that in the Bible?)
ReplyDeleteIts true that God is not of this world and that time does not constrain Him. But how to understand what that means?
Its interesting that you say that God can have such crippling limits. He does in fact. He cant control one iota of our will but I do believe his plan for humanity is being carried out. Of course its not perfect like its original but God is still meeting with His creation that wants to be close to Him.
Also, do you think we can change God's plan?
ReplyDeleteLike Moses did. God was being perfectly just when He said He was going to destroy the idolaters of Israel. But God is a living God and is compassionate. God still punishes Israel because He is still perfectly just but He takes compassion and allows the Isrealites to live.
ps. please correct me if I am wrong.
In regards to Moses... I've heard this. And it profoundly puzzles me. Because to admit that we can change His plan is to admit that there was something about His original plan that He hadn't anticipated... at the very least, based on this line of thought, He couldn't have known that Moses was going to plead for Israel's deliverance from God's wrath. That means that there was something that God didn't know. Therefore, He isn't omniscient (all-knowing)?
ReplyDeleteHowever, if He's still all knowing, then this would be an example of God being manipulative... which seems like a bad thing, but I don't know.
"I think the context of Hebrews 13.8 was meaning his character is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (and the simultaneously? where is that in the Bible?)"
Okay, so it doesn't explicitly say, but I cannot see how He'd be constrained to our timeline solely. I feel I could go on about this... ask me again, more specifically some time! And as an aside, The only way He can describe Himself is with the simple statement of "I AM" which is consistent with being independent from time and space. What else would there be to say? Also, the fact that He is everywhere would be consistent with this line of reasoning.