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THE STATEMENTS
GOD "IS"
- GOD IS SOVEREIGN - GOD WILLS ALL
INTRODUCTION
This web site is devoted
to the simple concept that "GOD WILLS ALL"
Concepts about
God, the creation of the universe, and life after death are beyond our comprehension. We discuss, compare different views,
and argue, in an attempt to understand.
But it may be simpler than we think.
In all humbleness we present nothing new here except simplicity. The subject has been covered by wiser
mortals over the centuries. We will try to present the concept with minimal philosophical and metaphysical discussion.
God chooses that you believe as you do according to His Will and purpose.
As God wills -- "Different strokes for different folks."
So, we hope you stay with us for another look.
And for the lighter side see the Quotations.
Perhaps the way to understand the topic is for us to compare our knowledge and experience to that of an infant
and then compare that to the infinite breath of knowledge that separates God and mankind. As you think of guiding a child,
God guides you for His purpose.
God simply reveals to each of us as He wills according to His purpose and His pleasure.
If a statement in this commentary implies a "choice" just assume that God already knew that "choice" and He
wanted you to make that choice or take that action in accord with His purpose.
OUR ATTITUDES
Attitudes about the existence of God and concepts about free will vary. These attitudes
may change throughout your life depending on factors over which you have absolutely no control.
The spectrum of common
attitudes are --
*I don’t think about it.
*I don’t understand it because it is beyond comprehension.
*I
don’t care since it really does not matter that much and I can't do anything about it anyway.
*There are things in
my life right now that are of more important to me.
*I leave it to the theologians and the philosophers to debate these
issues (and obviously, they don’t understand it either or least many cannot agree).
OUR EXISTENCE
We exist as we know "existence".
We may call it a dream, as we know "dreams". We may have existed in another form. We know not. It is a state that
God wills. And the relationship between the mind, soul and body we understand only as God wills us to understand.
GOD'S
EXISTENCE
God "is". Religious belief systems throughout history defer to a greater Power, God (or Gods), Spirits
or nature. It matters not whether you are an atheist, agnostic, evil worshiper, indifferent, or incapable of deciding
since God has willed your decision and thoughts according to His purpose.
St. Anselm (1033-1109), a member of the Benedictine Order, stated that God is "a being that which none greater
can be conceived." The concept that there is someone greater emanated not from man but from God. We certainly did not come
to that conclusion by our own free will.
If it be said that a believer cannot prove that there is a God, then an atheist cannot prove that there is
no God.
Whether or not you believe in His existence, God wills it so, it is not by own free will. It is His choice,
not yours.
THE NATURE OF GOD
If you believe in a God, it would be appropriate to assign some attributes to God --
* Creator - (God creates and sustains everything);
* Omniscient - (all knowing);
* Omnipotent - (all-powerful);
* Perfect - (God is infallible);
* Self-existent (own source of existence and is self-caused);
* Eternal - (has
been and will always be); and
* Transcendent -(present
in and exists beyond the universe).
All creation by an omniscient and omnipotent God is perfect as He wills.
While Christianity, Judaism, and Islam accept the concept of a supreme being, the major non-Western religions
- Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism - conceive God differently or do not include a supreme being at all. If God's
purpose was not to have this diversity He would have willed it so.
ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS
The alternative concepts (with its many variations) regarding beliefs about free will include:
*Free will
*Predestination
*Determinism
*Indeterminism
*Fatalism
Free Will
Free will is the
power or ability of a person to choose a course of action or make a decision without being subject to restraints imposed by
antecedent causes, by necessity, or by divine predetermination. A completely freewill act is itself a cause and not an effect.
It is beyond causal sequence or the law of causality.
The primary argument for free will is that a system of ethics must imply free
will, for the denial of the ability to choose a course of action would seem to negate the possibility of moral judgment. A
person without moral judgment is not responsible for his or her actions.
Most Christians accept the concept of free will, although the Scriptures,
without question, embrace grace and predestination.
Generally, the doctrine in which freedom of the will is affirmed
is termed libertarianism.
Predestination
Predestination states that the eternal destiny of a person is predetermined by God's unchangeable
decree. God who is omniscient and omnipotent foreordains all events. Predestination is determination plus the belief in a
supernatural power that has established a determining natural sequence of all causes.
Some believe that
predestination does not necessarily imply a denial of free will stating that it is only the individual's final destiny that
is predetermined, not the individual's actions, which remain free. The doctrine customarily takes one of two forms -- single
predestination or double predestination.
Single predestination
is the less severe form of the teaching. It is based on the understanding that God grants the gift of his presence as an act
of grace. In order to emphasize that God's gift is independently willed by him and is in no sense a response to some human
act, some Christians have asserted that their relation to God depends only on God and on God's eternal decree established
before the foundation of the world.
Double predestination
is a conclusion deduced from single predestination. If some are to enjoy God's presence by his eternal decree, others must
then be eternally separated from God, also by his decree. Because salvation and glory are predestined, it follows that condemnation
and destruction must also be predestined.
The first theologian to enunciate a doctrine of double predestination was
St. Augustine in the 5th century. The best-known exponent of double predestination was the Swiss reformer John Calvin.
Determinism
Determinism
is a view that every event, mental as well as physical, has a cause, and that, the if the cause is given, the event follows
invariably. In the concept of determinism human action is not willed freely, but is rather the result of such influences as
physical conditions, passions, desires, and external circumstances beyond the control of the individual. Determinism denies
the element of chance or contingency (a possible or unforeseen occurrence).
Indeterminism
Indeterminism introduces an element of indeterminacy in nature. It suggests
that there is a degree of freedom of action at the most basic level of physical existence, and by analogy, that such freedom
occurs in man. Most often cited is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which asserts that there is a fundamental indeterminacy
in our knowledge about physical particles or quantum physics. Because there are physical limitations to our acquiring complete
knowledge of particle systems it does not necessarily mean that these unexplained occurrences are indeterminate or by chance.
Fatalism
Fatalism is a concept that all events occur according to a fixed
and inevitable destiny that individuals neither control nor affect. According to fatalism, preceding events have no causal
connection with the events that follow. A fated event takes place not according to a natural law but in accordance with some
mysterious decree issued by some supernatural power, perhaps ages before.
Fatalism
frequently is confused with determinism.
Fatalism
appeared among the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans and today is particularly prevalent among Muslims. In the modern Occident,
though, it has retained a degree of acceptance only where science has not had a controlling influence in developing the doctrine
of causality.
GOD'S WILL AND FREE WILL
Throughout history the most brilliant
minds have contemplated the issue of free will, determinism, and predestination. Proof on this issue as we humans would
like to have has not been demonstrated one way or another and may never be resolved.
Acceptance of the concept of “God wills all” is different for a little child or an adult regardless
of intelligence, mental condition, when one is dying, or when you were born.
Furthermore, your concepts about the nature of God may
change during your lifetime as God wills. A good example for Christians is the conversion of Paul (Saul) from a persecutor
of Christians to one of its staunchest advocates.
Many who strongly believe in free will, interestingly, also affirm, "Thine will be done", "What will be will
be", "It was his or her time", "We are in His hands" and "By the grace of God go I".
GOD WILLS ALL
I believed,
So God wills.
I believed not,
So God wills.
I was not sure,
So God wills.
Others a chance never
had,
So God wills.
And you ask "Why is this so?"
Because GOD WILLS ALL.
-- Philip Paregian
God is sovereign - supreme in power and authority. Either God determines all, or else
He is not sovereign. And if He determines all, then there are no self-determined acts.
All creation by an omniscient and omnipotent God is perfect
as He wills.
Since God is omniscient, omnipotent, and perfect – the issue of individual choice
becomes one of alternative concepts mentioned above which God allows.
God wills the concept that each of us will have -- about Him, freewill, life after death,
etc. You attitude and concepts will change as He wills.
The French
Roman Catholic prelate Jacques Bossuet, not being sure about it, stated that free will and divine foreknowledge are certain
truths that must be accepted even though they are not logically connected.
CHOICES
What choices have we really made by our own "free will"?
For example, important choices we did not make - Being born (conception a millisecond later and "you" is not
you), our parents, sex, genetics, siblings, physical, mental, and emotional characteristics, schooling, religious affiliation,
accidents, vocational interests, family status, employment opportunities, selection of a mate (your spouse may have made the
"decision" for you), your family, friends and acquaintances, and eventually the time and manner our demise.
These “choices” were determined by others or by previous events all known and predestined by God.
If a person accepts the concept of free will, exactly when did you make your first "free will" decision?
When did you every make a free choice that was not subject to restraints imposed by antecedent causes or required
by necessity?
In God's plan there is purpose for each and every individual and a reason for every event no matter what you
will.
RELIGIOUS WRITINGS
Words spoken by religious leaders have been written down and preserved over the centuries. These writings have
been modified and "corrected". The same writings are interpreted differently, and are no means accepted by every group
or denomination of the same faith.
Among the scared texts different religions use to understand the mysteries of life are -- The Holy Bible (Christianity),
Qur'an and Hadith (Islam), Tanach (Judaism), The Vedas (Hinduism), Tripitaka (Buddhism), Guru Granth Sahib (Sikhism), Lun
Yu (Confucianism), and Most Holy Book (Baha'i Faith).
In addition, many tribal religions still continue in the oral tradition.
So, what is the Word of God? God's Word and will is in everything that is uttered or written to the last
dot according to His purpose. If the religious text was considered in error, unclear, or not understood by our standards
it is the way God wanted it to be at that time.
PERSPECTIVE OF EVIL AND CONFLICT
Evil and conflict have always been present. Conflicts exist between individuals, families, groups, within nations
and among nations.
Our life span on earth is only a millisecond in comparison to the time span of the universe. And if you believe
in eternity then our life span here on earth is insignificant in comparison.
We see good and evil during this instant period from our very limited prospective. From God's viewpoint
all is perfect according to His purpose and His pleasure. How would we know what to consider "good" if "evil" as we
know it did not exist? In the eternal picture what we consider evil may really not be "evil".
Let's look at God's actions expressed in selected writings in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament) and the
New Testament about some of our moral concerns today.
We will see changes in the world according to God's purpose and
pleasure. Peace and harmony will occur according to God's timetable , not ours.
The Flood - Death of all people except Noah and his family
Genesis 6:6-7
War -
... seven nations greater and mightier than thou; and the when the Lord
thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shall smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with
them; nor show mercy unto them:
Deuteronomy 7:1-2
Genocide - The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Genesis 22:1-26
Command
of human sacrifice - God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar
Genesis 22:1-13
Family conflict
Jesus said:
Think not that I am come to send peace on
earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter
against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foe shall be they of their own household.
Matthew
10:34-36
Mass murder
And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn
of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all of the firstborn of cattle.
And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he,and all his servants, and all of the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for
there was not a house where there was not one dead.
Exodus 12:13-14
Infanticide
And he (Elisha) went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little
children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back,
and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare
forty and two children of them.
2 Kings 2:23-24
Slavery
The institution of slavery has been accepted for more than 2000 years. It continues to be a major ethical concern.
Slavery
is humanely regulated in the legal portions of the Old Testament, and in the New Testament slaveholders are exhorted to show
kindness to slaves.
Nowhere in the Bible is there anything that can be interpreted as a disapproval of slavery. Neither Jesus nor
St. Paul, nor any other Biblical figure is recorded as saying anything in opposition to the institution of slavery.
In the old Testament the following instructions are given:
When you buy a Hebrew slave, six years shall he serve; and in the seventh shall he go out free, for nothing.
If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master
has given him a wife, and she has borne him sons or daughters, the wife and the children shall be her master's, and he shall
go out by himself. And if the slave shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
then his master shall bring him unto God, and he shall bring him to the door or unto the door-post, and his master shall bore
his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever. Exodus 21:2-6.
In the New Testament it is written:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sicere heart,
asyou would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from
the heart.
Ephesians 6:5-6
Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you;
but even if a chance of freedom should come, choose rather to make good use of your servitude. 1 Corinthians 7:21 (REB)
Paul writes a letter to Philemon, who was a slave owner. One of his slaves, Onesimus,
had apparently stolen from him and then run away, which under Roman law was punishable by death. Paul asks that when Onesimus
returns that Philemon accept him as a Christian brother. No mention is made about his release from slavery.
Philemon 1:1-25
Jesus said:
A student is not above his teacher, nor a servent above his master. It is enough for
a student to be like his teacher, and the servent like his master...
Matthew 10:24-25
Jesus said:
Since he was not able to pay, the master was ordered that he and his wife and his children
and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
Matthew 18:25
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