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Struggles by Non-Christians
I am starting to hate free will
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<blockquote data-quote="subtlecollision" data-source="post: 77084628" data-attributes="member: 425943"><p>Satan isn't more powerful than God at this moment. God does allow the devil to do evil. However, God is the one in control.</p><p></p><p>I believe God wanted the fall to happen. If there was no fall, there would be no redemption.</p><p></p><hr /><p></p><p>Here are some excerpts taken from The Gospel Coalition website:</p><p></p><p>"If God’s primary purpose in creation and redemption is the display of his glory, what does that tell us about why he allowed the fall? Both logically and chronologically, the fall comes between creation and redemption. Without a creation there could be no <em>fallen</em> creation; without a fallen creation there could be no <em>redeemed</em> creation. Salvation presupposes sin; restoration presupposes a fall. Thus it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase his glory both in the original creation and also in his powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption."</p><p></p><p>"God created the world not primarily to promote human happiness, but to manifest his own glory. Indeed, God’s purpose in creating the world had to be his own glory, because God is by nature the greatest good and the ultimate end of all things. He is surely concerned about human happiness—it’s not a zero-sum game—but our happiness serves a higher purpose by finding its true fulfilment in God’s supreme goodness and beauty."</p><p></p><p>"One might think an unfallen creation would be preferable to a fallen creation—and all else being equal, that’s true. But all else is <em>not</em> equal, for our world is not merely a fallen creation. It’s a fallen creation into which the eternal Son of God has entered, taking on human nature, perfectly expressing God’s likeness in our midst, living a morally flawless life, making atonement for our sins through his sacrificial death, rising in triumph from the grave, and ascending into heaven, where he continually intercedes and secures for us an eternal joyful dwelling-place in God’s presence."</p><p></p><p>"A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether <em>less</em> God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation."</p><hr /><p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the reason you're upset is because you wouldn't have created things the way God has? The fact of the matter, though, is that you never could've created yourself. You have no power to bring yourself into existence. That is one way in which you are not truly free. You didn't get to decide that you were born. However, you were born. For your psychological well-being, you have to accept that you were born into a world where things maybe aren't exactly how you would've chosen them to be. You can't spend your whole life thinking about "I wish things weren't this way" or "Why aren't things the way I want them to be?" You have to face what has already been done.</p><p></p><p>Here's another way to think of it-- would we know the utterly beautiful delights of goodness if we never experienced bad things in our life? I don't know that we would truly appreciate goodness and beauty if that was all there was. I think in some ways bad things have to be around for us to enjoy goodness to the maximal degree. At least in this life, God has chosen to allow bad to happen so that we might better understand goodness. Goodness is maximized because God allows evil. God's act of sending His son to the world as a human to sacrifice himself and free us of our guilt and sin is the maximal good. And this could not happen if there was no fall.</p><p></p><p>If you don't see what Jesus did in his death and resurrection as the highest good, I would pose these questions to you-- Do you ever struggle with shame or guilt or not feeling good enough or loved enough? I know I sure do. But I have found much freedom in knowing my identity in Christ. I am a person who struggles a lot with guilt especially. I tend to dwell on my mistakes a lot and feel bad about myself. I tend to feel less than everyone else and have low self esteem. However, I have found SO much freedom from these things by dwelling on what Christ has done for me. My slate was wiped clean and I was born again as God's beloved child.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="subtlecollision, post: 77084628, member: 425943"] Satan isn't more powerful than God at this moment. God does allow the devil to do evil. However, God is the one in control. I believe God wanted the fall to happen. If there was no fall, there would be no redemption. [HR][/HR] Here are some excerpts taken from The Gospel Coalition website: "If God’s primary purpose in creation and redemption is the display of his glory, what does that tell us about why he allowed the fall? Both logically and chronologically, the fall comes between creation and redemption. Without a creation there could be no [I]fallen[/I] creation; without a fallen creation there could be no [I]redeemed[/I] creation. Salvation presupposes sin; restoration presupposes a fall. Thus it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase his glory both in the original creation and also in his powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption." "God created the world not primarily to promote human happiness, but to manifest his own glory. Indeed, God’s purpose in creating the world had to be his own glory, because God is by nature the greatest good and the ultimate end of all things. He is surely concerned about human happiness—it’s not a zero-sum game—but our happiness serves a higher purpose by finding its true fulfilment in God’s supreme goodness and beauty." "One might think an unfallen creation would be preferable to a fallen creation—and all else being equal, that’s true. But all else is [I]not[/I] equal, for our world is not merely a fallen creation. It’s a fallen creation into which the eternal Son of God has entered, taking on human nature, perfectly expressing God’s likeness in our midst, living a morally flawless life, making atonement for our sins through his sacrificial death, rising in triumph from the grave, and ascending into heaven, where he continually intercedes and secures for us an eternal joyful dwelling-place in God’s presence." "A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether [I]less[/I] God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation." [HR][/HR] Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the reason you're upset is because you wouldn't have created things the way God has? The fact of the matter, though, is that you never could've created yourself. You have no power to bring yourself into existence. That is one way in which you are not truly free. You didn't get to decide that you were born. However, you were born. For your psychological well-being, you have to accept that you were born into a world where things maybe aren't exactly how you would've chosen them to be. You can't spend your whole life thinking about "I wish things weren't this way" or "Why aren't things the way I want them to be?" You have to face what has already been done. Here's another way to think of it-- would we know the utterly beautiful delights of goodness if we never experienced bad things in our life? I don't know that we would truly appreciate goodness and beauty if that was all there was. I think in some ways bad things have to be around for us to enjoy goodness to the maximal degree. At least in this life, God has chosen to allow bad to happen so that we might better understand goodness. Goodness is maximized because God allows evil. God's act of sending His son to the world as a human to sacrifice himself and free us of our guilt and sin is the maximal good. And this could not happen if there was no fall. If you don't see what Jesus did in his death and resurrection as the highest good, I would pose these questions to you-- Do you ever struggle with shame or guilt or not feeling good enough or loved enough? I know I sure do. But I have found much freedom in knowing my identity in Christ. I am a person who struggles a lot with guilt especially. I tend to dwell on my mistakes a lot and feel bad about myself. I tend to feel less than everyone else and have low self esteem. However, I have found SO much freedom from these things by dwelling on what Christ has done for me. My slate was wiped clean and I was born again as God's beloved child. [/QUOTE]
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I am starting to hate free will
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