Does God make Mistakes?

[Anthony]

Does God make mistakes?
Does God have a learining curve?
Do God and We have to wait and see what will happen?

 

[Breetai]

Does God make mistakes? No
Does God have a learining curve? No
Do God and We have to wait and see what with happen? No

1 John 3:20
God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Psalms 102:27
But you(God) remain the same,
and your years will never end.

Malachi 3:6
I the LORD do not change.

James 1:17
(God) does not change like shifting shadows.

John 21:17
Lord, you know all things.

 

[Godz Marine]

Does God make mistakes?

No but we mistake God way to often!

Does God have a learining curve?

No, but because of His mercy and grace he has to continually bend a new one for us!

Do God and We have to wait and see what will happen?

God doesn't and we shouldn't but too often we have the tendency to adopt Thomas' faith of I will believe it when I see it!


Love, Peace, and Grace!

Greg

 

[victoryword]

Does God make mistakes?

No! But he does sometimes regret an action that he previously took. For example:

And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved at heart. (Gen. 6:6; Amplified Bible)

Does God have a learining curve?

God certainly knows all things (1 John 3:20), but when He created free-will being, He left open the possibility of them doing things He did not expect. The Bible is clear that God gets to know some things about us as He observes us:

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. (Gen. 22:12)

Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I will send down bread from heaven for you; and the people will go out every day and get enough for the day's needs; so that I may put them to the test to see if they will keep my laws or not. (Ex. 16:4; Bible in Basic English)

They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: (Jer. 19:5)

There are way more Scriptures than this but I believe that this will suffice for making my point at this moment.

Do God and We have to wait and see what will happen?

Not sure in what respect you may be referring to in this question. God certainly has a plan and there is nothing that is going to stop Him from fulfilling His ultimate plan. Nevertheless, there are certain things God will not do on behalf of certain individuals until they fulfill His conditions. So yes, in some sense, God may wait to see what is going to heppn, i.e., will a person pray and seek Him for His help or will they attempt to do it on their own. The same is true when God is testing people's faithfulness. As in the case of Abraham, God di wait to see what Abraham would do. When Abraham displayed his complete obedience to God, Jehovah was able to say, "NOW I know ..."

 

[Anthony]

Do God and We have to wait and see what will happen?

Not sure in what respect you may be referring to in this question. God certainly has a plan and there is nothing that is going to stop Him from fulfilling His ultimate plan. Nevertheless, there are certain things God will not do on behalf of certain individuals until they fulfill His conditions. So yes, in some sense, God may wait to see what is going to heppn, i.e., will a person pray and seek Him for His help or will they attempt to do it on their own. The same is true when God is testing people's faithfulness. As in the case of Abraham, God di wait to see what Abraham would do. When Abraham displayed his complete obedience to God, Jehovah was able to say, "NOW I know ..."

Since God works through a network or web of "free-thinkers" and "free-willers", his plans are subject to, to an extend to surprises by his elect? Which means that God doesn't know the future as it relates to his created people? How does this level with prophecy?

 

[Svt4Him]

Does God have feathers?
Does God have wings?
Does God leave a shadow?

 

[victoryword]

Do God and We have to wait and see what will happen?


Since God works through a network or web of "free-thinkers" and "free-willers", his plans are subject to, to an extend to surprises by his elect? Which means that God doesn't know the future as it relates to his created people? How does this level with prophecy?

Simple. If God has declared that something will come to pass, it will come to pass. God is omnipotent and what He says will come to pass, at least, as far as His overall plan is concerned. Nonetheless, even prophecy itself and it's fulfillment is sometimes conditioned upon the free-will actions of God's creatures.

Jonah is a good example. He prophesied that NInevah would be destroyed in three days. Jonah gave no conditions whatsoever. He did not say "unless ye repent" or anything of the kind. His prophecy was firm. Yet, due to the repentence of Ninevah, Jonah's prophecy went unfulfilled.

The same is true of Hezekiah. He was told through prophecy to get his house in order because he was going to die. Yet, after praying, God sent the prophet back to tell him that He (God) changed His mind and that He would add 15 more years to Hezekiah's life.

I could cite more examples but these are the two that stand out the most. The principle is made clear in Jeremiah 18:

[At what] instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy [it]; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And [at what] instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant [it]; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. (Jeremiah 18:7-10)

So as we can see from the above, most prophecy is often CONDITIONAL. Certain things that God has declared that He will do will get done (the sending of the Savior, His death and ressurection, the coming of His millenial reign and the ultimate defeat of Satan, etc.) and no one can stop Him. Nevertheless, those temporal or individual purposes that God has can be thwarted or fulfilled based on individual freedom (Luke 7:30).

 

[victoryword]

Does God have feathers?
Does God have wings?
Does God leave a shadow?

I get it!!! The anthropomorphic approach, right?

Now, here is the problem: What authority do we have in interpretting certain passages as anthropmorphic and others as literal?

We must base our interpretations of what is anthropmorphic and what is literal on God's Word and not on theological prejudices. For example, the three things you mention above about God are found in Psalm 91.

Faethers - Psalm 91:4
Wings - Psalm 91:4
Shadow - Ps. 91:1

Now, reading the full Psalm itself and other Scriptures that allude to these things mentioned above, we find them a symbol of God's protection and safety of us (Psalm 91 is known as the Psalm of protection).

Therefore an anthropomorphism is usually a symbol of a LITERAL TRUTH. It is not usually clouded in mystery.

Now, if God says to Abraham, "Now I know that thou fearest God ..." and we desire to interpret such as anthropomorphic language, we would have a very difficult time finding the literal interpretation within the text itself. We then have to resort to our own theological bias. But then, people like myself will have to decide which is more authoritative: The Bible or one's theological interpretation of the Bible.

My thoughts.

 

[Svt4Him]

I get it!!! The anthropomorphic approach, right?

Now, here is the problem: What authority do we have in interpretting certain passages as anthropmorphic and others as literal?

We must base our interpretations of what is anthropmorphic and what is literal on God's Word and not on theological prejudices. For example, the three things you mention above about God are found in Psalm 91.

Faethers - Psalm 91:4
Wings - Psalm 91:4
Shadow - Ps. 91:1

Now, reading the full Psalm itself and other Scriptures that allude to these things mentioned above, we find them a symbol of God's protection and safety of us (Psalm 91 is known as the Psalm of protection).

Therefore an anthropomorphism is usually a symbol of a LITERAL TRUTH. It is not usually clouded in mystery.

Now, if God says to Abraham, "Now I know that thou fearest God ..." and we desire to interpret such as anthropomorphic language, we would have a very difficult time finding the literal interpretation within the text itself. We then have to resort to our own theological bias. But then, people like myself will have to decide which is more authoritative: The Bible or one's theological interpretation of the Bible.

My thoughts.

Any time the character of God is mentioned, it is anthropomorphic language. That is the only way we could understand. God is spirit, so what happens when He changes His mind or repents? Does He weigh the alternatives out and then choose one above the other? When man looks on the outside, God looks at the heart, do you picture God actually standing before you looking through you? For that matter, when God sees you, how does He look at you? Even saying God sees you is again anthropomorphic.

 

[victoryword]

Any time the character of God is mentioned, it is anthropomorphic language. That is the only way we could understand. God is spirit, so what happens when He changes His mind or repents? Does He weigh the alternatives out and then choose one above the other? When man looks on the outside, God looks at the heart, do you picture God actually standing before you looking through you? For that matter, when God sees you, how does He look at you? Even saying God sees you is again anthropomorphic.

By what authority do you determine the above?

It seems to me that when Scripture doesn't fit your theological concept of what you envision Him to be like, it must be interpretted as Anthropmorphic. Many Liberal theologians do the same thing. The story of Adam and Eve is just allegory meant to teach us a "higher truth". The same is applied to the flood, the parting of the Red Sea, etc.

While I believe that there are some anthropmorphisms in the Bible, the Bible is clear when it is being LITERAL and when it is using ANTHROPOMORPHISM.

Otherwise, you claiming that "Even saying God sees you is again anthropomorphic" must mean that God is actually BLIND. After all, His seeing me is only anthropomorphic. Too bad there seems to be no real literal meaning to this anthropomorphism, huh?

 

[Anthony]

So as we can see from the above, most prophecy is often CONDITIONAL. Certain things that God has declared that He will do will get done (the sending of the Savior, His death and ressurection, the coming of His millenial reign and the ultimate defeat of Satan, etc.) and no one can stop Him. Nevertheless, those temporal or individual purposes that God has can be thwarted or fulfilled based on individual freedom (Luke 7:30).

I would say prophecy is often EDUCATIONAL

 

[Anthony]

God has a body? Yes - Jesus Christ

God the father has a body? Who has seen it? everything else is speculation. Thank God it doesn't affect our salvation.

 

[Svt4Him]

By what authority do you determine the above?

It seems to me that when Scripture doesn't fit your theological concept of what you envision Him to be like, it must be interpretted as Anthropmorphic. Many Liberal theologians do the same thing. The story of Adam and Eve is just allegory meant to teach us a "higher truth". The same is applied to the flood, the parting of the Red Sea, etc.

While I believe that there are some anthropmorphisms in the Bible, the Bible is clear when it is being LITERAL and when it is using ANTHROPOMORPHISM.

Otherwise, you claiming that "Even saying God sees you is again anthropomorphic" must mean that God is actually BLIND. After all, His seeing me is only anthropomorphic. Too bad there seems to be no real literal meaning to this anthropomorphism, huh?

You seem to be mixing my description of God with Biblical truth. The story of Adam and Eve is true, but how that relates to the discussion is beyond me.

Do I think God is blind? No. Do I think God sees you like you see another person, you focus your eyes on them, are able to close your eyes, or focus on one particular person and not another? No. As for no real literal meaning, your definition of anthropomorphisms is a bit different than mine then. We describe God's traits in human ways, so we'll understand them. This doesn't mean that because I say that the term 'God sees us' is anthropomorphisms, that I am saying He's blind.

It seems to me that when Scripture doesn't fit your theological concept of what you envision Him to be like, it must be interpretted as Anthropmorphic

Now I don't really know how to take this. Seems to me that now the issue is attacking me, and you've lost all site of anything I've said. That's too bad. If you have a concern about a theological concept that I've posted that Scripture doesn't fit, post it here. Otherwise refrain from these type of comments please.

 

[victoryword]

Now I don't really know how to take this. Seems to me that now the issue is attacking me, and you've lost all site of anything I've said. That's too bad. If you have a concern about a theological concept that I've posted that Scripture doesn't fit, post it here. Otherwise refrain from these type of comments please.

I'm sorry. I did not mean this as a personal attack. Sometimes I am a little strong in my posts. Please accept my apologies. I am very sorry that I offended you.

 

[Svt4Him]

I'm sorry. I did not mean this as a personal attack. Sometimes I am a little strong in my posts. Please accept my apologies. I am very sorry that I offended you.

Apology accepted mate. The thing about posts is we can't explain the emotions behind them sometimes.