Guest LoneSoldier Posted September 24, 2007 Posted September 24, 2007 Hi, Something that has been playing on my mind for some time is the issue of God and his supposed attributes. It's been a long time since I was involved with the whole Bible scripture teachings and the beliefs that Christians hold. I don't know if they explicitly taught it like this, but I have ended up taking it on assumption that Christians hold the view that God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Can anyone confirm if this is the explicit view they tend to hold? I guess the reason why I want to know is because when I now reflect on Biblical teachings from my childhood, the God of Revelations etc. and the warring angels and demons and satan, I see that this is not compatible with an all-powerful God. Why would he waste his time on spiritual warfare? That would make him a sadist. So, basically, does anyone recall if the attributes of God were ever explicitly defined by their Christian group, and do Christians ever bother to consider the mismatch this presents with stories from the Bible concerning the battle of good over evil? For example, do they ever contend that God is not all-powerful, but rather the most powerful, thus allowing the possibility of a need for spirtitual battle?
Deva Posted September 24, 2007 Posted September 24, 2007 Well, its been many years since I was in the Baptist Church, but I always understood that God was all-powerful (omnipotent) omniscient and omnipresent. With situations such as those described in your second paragraph, I think it was explained that God voluntarily chose to limit his power in certain ways for his own purposes. You know this "for his own purposes" pretty much explains everything. I know, LoneSoldier, not much of an explanation. But hey, being raised with it I accepted it for years. Part of the brainwashing.
Guest LoneSoldier Posted September 24, 2007 Posted September 24, 2007 Well, its been many years since I was in the Baptist Church, but I always understood that God was all-powerful (omnipotent) omniscient and omnipresent. With situations such as those described in your second paragraph, I think it was explained that God voluntarily chose to limit his power in certain ways for his own purposes. You know this "for his own purposes" pretty much explains everything. I know, LoneSoldier, not much of an explanation. But hey, being raised with it I accepted it for years. Part of the brainwashing. For his own purposes. Yep that rings a bell. Arguing in a circle to say the least. God has his own purposes for these things. We are not to know what these purposes are. But we are to believe in these things because they are in the Bible. Very frustrating.
mwc Posted September 25, 2007 Posted September 25, 2007 Yep. Omnipotent. But he believes in your free-will so blah, blah, blah otherwise some other nonsense "robots" and some other crap. He loves you this much. You should love him too...sinner. mwc
1oddmanout Posted September 25, 2007 Posted September 25, 2007 The Reformed Confesssions usually have a specific chapters on the Atttributes of God, with the Westminster Standards probably the most thorough. Here's one article: http://www.graceonlinelibrary.org/articles...d=13%7C14%7C801 I still find this wonderfully interesting, in what I now realize was a purely academic manner.
garrisonjj Posted September 26, 2007 Posted September 26, 2007 Yep. Omnipotent. But he believes in your free-will so blah, blah, blah otherwise some other nonsense "robots" and some other crap. He loves you this much. You should love him too...sinner. mwc Sure, he gave me free will to be an atheist even after a lifetime of praying for greater faith. Some fuckin test. Well, I finally learned that prayer is talking to yourself.
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