Is God sovereign over the Paris shootings?

[Hammster]

It says that God would not root up the tares because he might root up some of the wheat with them. That means that God will not intervene to stop evil people because it would somehow harm his elect.

Okay. Apply that to the topic.

 

[Achilles6129]

Okay. Apply that to the topic.

I did. Read my post #114. God isn't going to stop moral evil until the interests of the wheat (elect) are secure. Then he will intervene.

 

[Hammster]

I did. Read my post #114. God isn't going to stop moral evil until the interests of the wheat (elect) are secure. Then he will intervene.

There's a huge problem with that. No one does good. The only good we do is what Christ does through us. So He's daily stopping moral evil in believers.

 

[Achilles6129]

There's a huge problem with that. No one does good. The only good we do is what Christ does through us. So He's daily stopping moral evil in believers.

Someone can be good through obedience to God's commands. That's all over Scripture.

 

[Hammster]

No, they cannot. But that's for another thread.

 

[Pedrito]

It would seem that in 125 posts, no-one has mentioned that Satan is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4) (I might have missed it.)

God is permitting Satan to wreak havoc in our world, for a very specific and very wonderful purpose, yet to be revealed.

So, is God sovereign over the Paris shootings?

Yes, most definitely, in that He permitted them because they contributed to His own wonderful purpose.

(If anyone doesn't understand how and why, may I suggest that that person's grounding in the Bible could be a little deeper than what it is.)

 

[RDKirk]

Read the verse about Herod again. You are letting the position you hold blind you. He was executed by that angel.

There is absolutely no grounds to believe that God has suddenly stopped being a God of justice in the New Testament. Those who reject Him are vulnerable to his judgment. Indeed the New Covenant is about what Jesus did on the cross to save us from the price of our sins. Muslims and atheists have not accepted that sacrifice. If you deny that God is a God of justice then you deny the need for the forgiveness that comes via the cross. The godless and the falsely religious are not covered by Christs substitutionary sacrifice.

As the time of the end draws near Gods judgments will become more and more severe as Revelation Bears witness. God will make the choice for unbelievers abundantly clear. Repent or Perish.

That concert despite the misinformation in the media was playing Satanic music and account for 2/3rds of the dead. If you do not believe find their lyrics for yourself and read through them. There is a distinct lack of Christians in this particular massacre despite the claim of ISiS to be targetting the "Crusaders" also. I do not think they would have any problem killing people of the book even though that is deeply unIslamic but they seem not to have in this case.

That god you're talking about is throwing his thunderbolts with his eyes closed, then, because he's missing a lot of bad guys and hitting a lot of good guys.

 

[Hammster]

It would seem that in 125 posts, no-one has mentioned that Satan is the god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4) (I might have missed it.)

God is permitting Satan to wreak havoc in our world, for a very specific and very wonderful purpose, yet to be revealed.

So, is God sovereign over the Paris shootings?

Yes, most definitely, in that He permitted them because they contributed to His own wonderful purpose.

(If anyone doesn't understand how and why, may I suggest that that person's grounding in the Bible could be a little deeper than what it is.)

I'm not sure anyone has said otherwise. But I may have missed it.

 

[Hammster]

Personally, I don't know what God's purpose is in this. I just know that He has one.

 

[Job8]

Could God have stopped it?

Absolutely. But would He stop it? God is allowing evil men (probably demon-possessed) to commit unspeakable atrocities, and God could intervene in every instance, yet He does not do so. How do we explain this? We do not even attempt to explain God's ways and God's thoughts (Isa 55:8,9).

The Koran and Islam originated with Satan about 600 AD. That is very clear from the contents of the Koran, which perverts God's truth from the Bible, and says that Abraham and Ishmael erected the Kaaba (in Mecca). That is a Satanic counterfeit of the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem. Thus Muhammad supersedes Christ, and the Koran supersedes the Bible.

Why did God allow the false prophet Muhammad to create this anti-Christian religion? Why did God allow the false prophet Joseph Smith to create an extra-biblical religion? Because He would allow many false prophets and false Christs to appear before the Second Coming of Christ (Mt 24:4-26). Because He wants men to seek Him with their whole heart and seek the truth above all else (Isa 55:1-11).

God could have stopped sin from entering into the world the moment Lucifer had one sinful thought. But He did not do so. Not only did Lucifer become Satan, but God allowed Satan to become the great Serpent -- a great red Dragon (Rev 12:3) -- and bring about the Fall of man. So we see that within God's sovereignty there is an allowance for sin and evil, but that will be only for a limited time. We should bear in mind that for God a thousand years are as one day, so about six "days" have gone by. The seventh "day" will see an end to all this evil.

 

[Achilles6129]

Absolutely. But would He stop it? God is allowing evil men (probably demon-possessed) to commit unspeakable atrocities, and God could intervene in every instance, yet He does not do so. How do we explain this? We do not even attempt to explain God's ways and God's thoughts (Isa 55:8,9).

Read the parable of the tares and the wheat. That will explain it.

 

[royal priest]

Could God have stopped it?

Arminian theology accommodates the will of God to the will of men. Accordingly, God would not have stopped it because mankind's actions determine the course of history rather than God Himself.

 

[Job8]

Arminian theology accommodates the will of God to the will of men. Accordingly, God would not have stopped it because mankind's actions determine the course of history rather than God Himself.

This issue has nothing to do with schools of theology. Christ prophesied and predicted wars and rumors of wars, and the first five seals of Revelation include wars and slaughter before the Second Coming. Islam is literally at war with the rest of the world, except most politicians and most people don't get it. Some are calling this World War III, and it certainly could be described as such. So if you examine "the course of history" God has allowed men to kill each other ever since Cain. He could have stopped Cain and he could of stopped Hitler and Stalin and Mao. But He allowed these monsters to flourish and wreak havoc. For anyone to come up with a simplistic notion of why God did not prevent these evils is to pretend that they know more than most people.

 

[mindlight]

That god you're talking about is throwing his thunderbolts with his eyes closed, then, because he's missing a lot of bad guys and hitting a lot of good guys.

There is only one Sovereign Lord and He does not miss!

 

[Achilles6129]

Another thing that I think should be taken into account: Christ does promise deliverance to those who obey his commands. Passages like Gal. 1:4, Mt.
7:24-25, Lk. 21:18, etc., come to mind.

 

[Job8]

Another thing that I think should be taken into account: Christ does promise deliverance to those who obey his commands. Passages like Gal. 1:4, Mt.7:24-25, Lk. 21:18, etc., come to mind.

Not sure how these are relevant. More to the point, Christ prophesied persecution and martyrdom for Christians (Mt 24:9,10). ISIS has been slaughtering professing Christians by the hundreds of thousands, but God has not intervened.
http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...ied-tortured-thousands-christians-iraq-syria/

 

[royal priest]

This issue has nothing to do with schools of theology. Christ prophesied and predicted wars and rumors of wars, and the first five seals of Revelation include wars and slaughter before the Second Coming. Islam is literally at war with the rest of the world, except most politicians and most people don't get it. Some are calling this World War III, and it certainly could be described as such. So if you examine "the course of history" God has allowed men to kill each other ever since Cain. He could have stopped Cain and he could of stopped Hitler and Stalin and Mao. But He allowed these monsters to flourish and wreak havoc. For anyone to come up with a simplistic notion of why God did not prevent these evils is to pretend that they know more than most people.

it is an issue that is important to both Arminians and Calvinists. Arminians are offended at Calvinism because it appears to deny that men are free to choose their course of action. Calvinists are offended because Arminians imply that God's will is tied to man's.

 

[com7fy8]

Are those worse sins than you've committed?

I have betrayed trust. This can be worse than anything, more deeply hurting, and damaging with evil example.

When I found out about the Paris terrorist attack, I did not think of how it could be a consequence of sinning against God. But it could. But I think that now we are in the time for being saved and forgiven because of Jesus on the cross. And this takes priority over God making sure people are punished for sinning. First, He is now about grace and mercy and forgiveness for anyone who trusts in Jesus, and then correcting us to become like Jesus (Hebrews 12:4-11, 1 John 4:17, Galatians 4:19).

So, the Paris terrorist attack could be a punitive consequence, but first with God now is to bring up His children as the bride of His Son Jesus.

And 1 Peter 4:17 does say >

"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)

So, if we are right ones, of God, we get judged "first"! So, it "might" be a good idea to first make sure we know however our Father is evaluating us, and seek Him for His correction. And we help one another to get "healed", I understand from James 5:16 > "healed" of whatever in our nature makes us still able to sin and then suffer and fail to love > "healed" together with God, instead, in His love and how He has us loving >

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed; the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16)

 

[royal priest]

This issue has nothing to do with schools of theology... He allowed these monsters to flourish and wreak havoc. For anyone to come up with a simplistic notion of why God did not prevent these evils is to pretend that they know more than most people.

It has everything to do with theology. It's a study of what the Bible says regarding the activity of God. Arminians teach that evil activity happens by mere permission of God.
Calvinists teach it happens according to God's appointment and by His own hand.
Why He appoints and causes such things is a separate question although related.

 

[Steve Petersen]

Discuss.

Was He sovereign during the Holocaust? If not, why would he be for Paris? If so, why wouldn't He be for Paris.

While we are at it, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?