This is demonstrated many ways. One example is seeing the patriarchs arguing with God. Take the time when God was going to destroy Sodom for its sinful ways in Genesis 18. Abraham starts to argue with God.
(Genesis 18:23 KJV) And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?He then proceeds to make a deal with God. It starts with the hopes of finding 50 righteous in the city and Abraham bargains it down to 10. God agrees that if there are 10 He will spare it. Unfortunately for Sodom there were not even 10. The point isn’t that God probably knew that when He agree. The point is He let Abraham have his say and did not zap him for impertinence.
Then in Exodus 32 we see God planning on destroying Israel because they made the golden calf. Moses argues Him out of it and we find this verse,
(Exodus 32:14 KJV) And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.There is a lot of give and take between the God of the Bible and His people.
Other religions have a different rational. One reason Muslims don’t argue with Allah is that they are not allowed to. Allah is sovereign, which Christians and Jews would agree with about YHWH, but in Islam man is not created in Allah’s image. I don’t think there is an equivalent to the patriarchs arguing with YHWH. Allah is above logic and fair play. He is above justice and righteousness. Those terms mean whatever he wants them to mean and as the line in the small print says, “Subject to change without notice.”
Eastern religions do not argue with God because he is not a person and not necessarily powerful. The Greek Gods were powerful and personal but lacked wisdom so either it did no good to argue or it was all you did. They were really no more wise than humans. Contrasting these views of God with the concept of a God who is personal, powerful and wise.
Religious leaders often don’t want you to speak your mind or think for yourself. The masses who have not developed their minds and don’t think accept this kind of leadership but real Christians can’t get by with that because God expects more.
Happy thinking.
homo unius libri
It's a wonderful thing that God really wants a relationship with us. The coolest thing I learned after becoming a Christian was about how the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn from TOP to BOTTOM when Jesus died, giving everyone access to God. How awesome is that!
ReplyDeleteAt last. A genuine and appropriate use of the word "awesome". What a joy to approach the throne with confidence.
DeleteGrace and peace.