I don't believe that questions like "Does God make children by mistake?" or "Can God make a mistake?" are actually valid. Is God fallible? Maybe. I know that in the Torah, God was persuaded to change his mind by Moses at least three different times. See Exodus 32:34- 33:23 for just one example. Was God merely "pretending" to change his mind? A little bit of trickery from the Almighty?
When Jesus died, he LEFT. At least according to John.
"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. - John 14:26"
What he left behind was the Advocate. The Holy Spirit. Which is an entirely different presence than the direct intervention of God. God may or may not make mistakes, but God isn't directly involved in day to day decisions, so it doesn't matter.
I hear similar things in AA. (I'm an alcoholic. But I don't drink, so it's cool.) People always say "nothing happens by mistake. There are no coincidences." Etc. Speaking strongly, here: I consider this the height of arrogance. God didn't shatter someone's prized teacup on purpose, then go and starve a million Nigerian children, or kill a child via some drunk driver. God isn't part of the day-to-day situation.
God doesn't influence the Super Bowl.
On the other hand, I believe in the Spirit. The flow of good on the planet. And I can work to be spiritually aligned with that, or not. I think it's a tangible, internally provable thing. And it's why I have that big-ass tattoo on my right shoulder (see my blogger profile pic). It's a dove, and it represents the moment Jesus was imbued with the Holy Spirit, after being baptized by John.
Some thoughts on the train to NYC from Westchester. Rock on.
5 comments:
I'm a bit confused. If you think God is not involved in our day-to-day events, then you don't believe the Holy Spirit is God? (not a believer in the trinity?) If the Holy Spirit is not God, how do you view the Spirit.. i.e., what is it?
I'm equally befuddled by your comment.
I'd ask you to explain it back to me. If Jesus was God, and the Holy Spirit was God, then why was the Advocate left behind in Jesus' stead? And why was the Advocate left by God, and not Jesus. Who, exactly, is Jesus sitting "at the right hand of?"
The Gospels continually refer to different parts of the Trininty as separate beings, while they are, ostensibly, different forms of representation of the same thing.
I believe that the Spirit is the represenation of God on earth, and that this representation is a general flow of good, a Spirit of good, and not an active, decision-making being. At one point in time, God represented him/herself through Jesus.
Right?
Your spiritual excursions are awesome.
God has given us the free will to choose right or wrong.
Good or bad.
And God is very democratic.
He is not a dictator.
He lays his cards on the table.
He says,"Come let us reason together."
Sometimes God minds His own business and leaves you to sort out yourself. And after the resolution, He comes in to see how you are faring.
1.God did not tell GWB to go to Iraq, but millions of American Christians are harassing God over Iraq when they never asked for His opinion before going to war?
2. God did not ask Americans to drag Him into their constitution and whether you teach the Holy Bible in public schools or not is not his greatest headache right now. His own is that you should agree with Him if you want Him to work with you. He said, "The two cannot walk together, except they agree."
I mean God is straight forward. He does not beat about the bush.
And He does not push.
God does not do it by force, but by choice.
Love me or leave me.
He does not suffer fools gladly.
He said, "Choose whom you are going to serve this day."
And Saint Paul said, "When there was no law, there was no sin."
People need to read the Holy Bible and read in between the lines and ask the Holy Spirit (the breath) of God to interprete the mysteries of His Word.
God is blameless.
Even for Hurricane Dennis.
And sin is not always the cause of human tribulations.
Don't ask Man.
Ask God.
He is the Alpha and the Omega.
Hi. First let me say: I LOVE the feedback I'm getting. All of it. It's tremendous.
When I say "God is not directly involved," I mean: God doesn't specifically pick the outcomes of certain events. In the same way that I don't blame God for the terrible things that happen in the world, I don't believe God sits back and says "Today THESE people will miraculously recover, the New York Jets will make it to the playoffs, and Apple stock will hit $102/share."
Of course I don't know for sure. Nobody does. Heck, it would be pretty neat if I was wrong. But it just doesn't make sense to me: why would God let millions of Nigerian children die? Why would God allow the Holocaust?
The answer, I believe, is that he didn't.
But I believe in the Spirit, and I believe the Spirit is all we've got. Jesus left. And the Spirit took his place.... Just like he said in Matthew 12:32, Mark 3:29, and Luke 12:10. I believe the Spirit is the general and genuine force of good in the world, and in believing in that, I truly think that trying to align myself with the Spirit in thought and action can help me, and those I'm in contact with, have a happier life.
It's a journey I'm on. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm not done learning.
I don't think God makes mistakes. God is always in control. like Einstein said, "God does not play dice with the universe". and we also have free will. which may not make sense, but God also doesn't have to make sense to us. so God can destroy thousands of innocents in a tsunami and still love us.
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