Josh Hamilton says God told him he was going to hit a home run

[Cieza]

Josh Hamilton says God told him he was going to hit a homer - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports

I've got some questions about this:
Is this not simply the same as a person of the secular world saying, "I had an intuition that I would hit a home run", but expressed using different words?

As Hamilton didn't say this until after he hit his home run, how can we know God didn't tell him he would also hit a single, strike out, ground out, pop out or foul out, but he chose to go public with the one that actually matched with what he did so it would look like an accurate prophecy?

If God told Hamilton he was going to hit a home run, why would he have not told the opposing pitcher than he was going to give up a home run?

 

[Hakan101]

Josh Hamilton says God told him he was going to hit a homer - Big League Stew - MLB[bless and do not curse]Blog - Yahoo! Sports

I've got some questions about this:
Is this not simply the same as a person of the secular world saying, "I had an intuition that I would hit a home run", but expressed using different words?

Only if you don't believe in God.

As Hamilton didn't say this until after he hit his home run, how can we know God didn't tell him he would also hit a single, strike out, ground out, pop out or foul out, but he chose to go public with the one that actually matched with what he did so it would look like an accurate prophecy?

God never gives a false prophecy.

If God told Hamilton he was going to hit a home run, why would he have not told the opposing pitcher than he was going to give up a home run?

Hamilton must be a pretty humble guy.

 

[Cieza]

I've got some questions about this:
Is this not simply the same as a person of the secular world saying, "I had an intuition that I would hit a home run", but expressed using different words?

Only if you don't believe in God.

I mean from an objective standpoint. While the two can mean the same or different things to two different people, in reality they either mean the same thing or they mean different things - regardless of whose perspective its being viewed from.

As Hamilton didn't say this until after he hit his home run, how can we know God didn't tell him he would also hit a single, strike out, ground out, pop out or foul out, but he chose to go public with the one that actually matched with what he did so it would look like an accurate prophecy?

God never gives a false prophecy.

How can you know this? What evidence is there to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

If God told Hamilton he was going to hit a home run, why would he have not told the opposing pitcher than he was going to give up a home run?

Hamilton must be a pretty humble guy.

Actually what I meant was why God would not have told the opposing pitcher he would have given up a home run.

 

[Hakan101]

I mean from an objective standpoint. While the two can mean the same or different things to two different people, in reality they either mean the same thing or they mean different things - regardless of whose perspective its being viewed from.

Right.

How can you know this? What evidence is there to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

I feel like we've been through this already...

Actually what I meant was why God would not have told the opposing pitcher he would have given up a home run.

Hamilton must be well-tuned to the Holy Spirit.

 

[Nephi]

Is this not simply the same as a person of the secular world saying, "I had an intuition that I would hit a home run", but expressed using different words?

It appears as though, if he's being honest, he believes that God told him beforehand and actually intervened. This is different than having the feeling that you're going to do well. So no, it is not the same.

It's like this:
"I feel like I'm going to win the lottery today after doing so bad lately!"
"God told me he's going to allow [or make] me to win the lottery today since I haven't in a while!"

As Hamilton didn't say this until after he hit his home run, how can we know God didn't tell him he would also hit a single, strike out, ground out, pop out or foul out, but he chose to go public with the one that actually matched with what he did so it would look like an accurate prophecy?

We have no way of knowing. However, we can assume based on our degree of skepticism, our preferences, and our biases. But to be specific he didn't make any kind of prophecy - he stated it after the fact that he received revelation. That's it. Now do I believe he received revelation as he claimed? No.

Article further reinforces my contempt for sports.

 

[Sketcher]

I've got some questions about this:
Is this not simply the same as a person of the secular world saying, "I had an intuition that I would hit a home run", but expressed using different words?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

As Hamilton didn't say this until after he hit his home run, how can we know God didn't tell him he would also hit a single, strike out, ground out, pop out or foul out, but he chose to go public with the one that actually matched with what he did so it would look like an accurate prophecy?

You can't absolutely know that. I don't have a problem with it as a Christian, personally. I believe in a God who has given prophecies, worked miracles, and sustains nature as we speak. He could have told Hamilton he was going to hit a home run, and ensured that it happened. I also believe that humans aren't the best at hearing and following God's voice, and are easily fooled in this matter. God's still who the Bible reports him as.

If God told Hamilton he was going to hit a home run, why would he have not told the opposing pitcher than he was going to give up a home run?

Obviously because he wanted Hamilton to hit the home run. If God in fact was controlling the situation that actively, which he may or may not have been.

 

[Cieza]

I mean from an objective standpoint. While the two can mean the same or different things to two different people, in reality they either mean the same thing or they mean different things - regardless of whose perspective its being viewed from.

Right.

Are you saying "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" really mean the same thing, but are merely expressed differently based on personal preference?

How can you know this? What evidence is there to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

I feel like we've been through this already...

Is there any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

Actually what I meant was why God would not have told the opposing pitcher he would have given up a home run.

Hamilton must be well-tuned to the Holy Spirit.

I'm not talking about how well tuned someone is to the Holy Spirit. I'm asking why God would tell one person he's going to hit a home run but would not tell the opposing pitcher that he's going to give up a home run.

 

[Hakan101]

Are you saying "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" really mean the same thing, but are merely expressed differently based on personal preference?

You answered your own question, it's why I said "Right." In reality they either are the same thing, or different, depending if God exists, or if God doesn't. Guess what I believe?

Is there any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

Like I said, we've been through this. We live by faith and not by sight. Maybe you could present evidence to support God giving false prophecies?

I'm not talking about how well tuned someone is to the Holy Spirit. I'm asking why God would tell one person he's going to hit a home run but would not tell the opposing pitcher that he's going to give up a home run.

It's pretty obvious. Methinks you're playing dumb again . If not, give it some thought.

 

[razeontherock]

Actually what I meant was why God would not have told the opposing pitcher he would have given up a home run.

This is based on what, the assumption that G-d speaks to everyone equally? Or that all hear Him equally, being attuned to His voice?

 

[Hakan101]

This is based on what, the assumption that G-d speaks to everyone equally? Or that all hear Him equally, being attuned to His voice?

This is what I mean by "playing dumb." It's obvious that this is not the case, so I don't see why he'd ask this question.

 

[razeontherock]

Yeah, but sometimes people need things spelled out. Remember, he is currently w/o a Savior, and quite possibly being agitated about that ...

 

[Hakan101]

Yeah, but sometimes people need things spelled out. Remember, he is currently w/o a Savior, and quite possibly being agitated about that ...

You are right. I really must stop overlooking that...

 

[Cieza]

Are you saying "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" really mean the same thing, but are merely expressed differently based on personal preference?

You answered your own question, it's why I said "Right." In reality they either are the same thing, or different, depending if God exists, or if God doesn't. Guess what I believe?

I think you believe the two have different meaning. But I'm not asking the question from a subjective point of view where to one person they might mean the same thing while to another they might mean different things. I'm asking if from an OBJECTIVE point of view, "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" mean the same thing?

Is there any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy?

Like I said, we've been through this. We live by faith and not by sight. Maybe you could present evidence to support God giving false prophecies?

Since you didn't say yes, I gather this to mean that you don't know of any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy. Is there any evidence that God has given a true prophecy?

I'm not talking about how well tuned someone is to the Holy Spirit. I'm asking why God would tell one person he's going to hit a home run but would not tell the opposing pitcher that he's going to give up a home run.

It's pretty obvious. Methinks you're playing dumb again . If not, give it some thought.

I'm not playing dumb. I'm asking a legitimate question about something I have little or no knowledge of. If you'd like me to speculate, then say so. Can I give it some thought? Yes. However, it's difficult for me to give this any thought unless we're on the same page as to what the definition of "God" is. Then again, I could give it some thought based on several different definitions of "God".

 

[Hakan101]

I think you believe the two have different meaning. But I'm not asking the question from a subjective point of view where to one person they might mean the same thing while to another they might mean different things. I'm asking if from an OBJECTIVE point of view, "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" mean the same thing?

I'm not speaking about subjective views. Again, God may or may not exist in reality. This is not subjective, it is objective. Whether they mean the same thing or different things is dependent on the objective truth of God's existence.

So it depends on whether God exists, or if God doesn't exist. Guess what I believe?

Since you didn't say yes, I gather this to mean that you don't know of any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy. Is there any evidence that God has given a true prophecy?

Isaiah, David, and Micah made prophecies about Jesus, which came true. Isaiah said Micah said he would be born in Bethlehem, David said he would be crucified, pierced, but his bones would not be broken. Also, God told Moses his people would reach the Promised Land, and after 40 years they did.

These are the ones I've read, but I've heard a crazy rumor that there are even more.

I'm not playing dumb. I'm asking a legitimate question about something I have little or no knowledge of. If you'd like me to speculate, then say so. Can I give it some thought? Yes. However, it's difficult for me to give this any thought unless we're on the same page as to what the definition of "God" is. Then again, I could give it some thought based on several different definitions of "God".

Please elaborate on what these several definitions of "God" are. Perhaps I was wrong, but I was under the impression there was only one definition that mattered on this forum.

Not asking for speculation, rather I think it's simple for you to deduce the answer, especially since you've asked a similar question before in another thread. How could you have forgotten about it? This is why I believed you were playing dumb.

As for legitimate question..."Why wouldn't God tell a baseball pitcher he was going to give up a homerun?" The question to ask is, why would he? And this should be after you've asked that same question about the batter first.

 

[Cieza]

I think you believe the two have different meaning. But I'm not asking the question from a subjective point of view where to one person they might mean the same thing while to another they might mean different things. I'm asking if from an OBJECTIVE point of view, "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" mean the same thing?

I'm not speaking about subjective views. Again, God may or may not exist in reality. This is not subjective, it is objective. Whether they mean the same thing or different things is dependent on the objective truth of God's existence.

I disagree. Let's say God exists and they mean the same thing to each person. Then it's clearly a matter of how one processes the message and what they take it to mean.

Now let's say God doesn't exist. It's still a matter of how one processes the message and what they take it to mean.

So it doesn't matter if God exists or not. "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" either mean the same thing or don't mean the same thing - regardless of whether or not God exists.

So it depends on whether God exists, or if God doesn't exist. Guess what I believe?

I think you believe God exists. But what physiologically happens with respect to how one gets the message is no different if God exists vs. if God doesn't exist.

Since you didn't say yes, I gather this to mean that you don't know of any evidence to support that God never gives a false prophecy. Is there any evidence that God has given a true prophecy?

Isaiah, David, and Micah made prophecies about Jesus, which came true. Isaiah said Micah said he would be born in Bethlehem, David said he would be crucified, pierced, but his bones would not be broken. Also, God told Moses his people would reach the Promised Land, and after 40 years they did.

These are the ones I've read, but I've heard a crazy rumor that there are even more.

What evidence is there that Isaiah, David and Micah made prophecies about Jesus? How can one be sure that the authors of the books in which Jesus fulfills these alleged prophecies didn't merely say Jesus fulfilled the prophecies to meet his own agenda of showing that Jesus fulfilled propheciesA?

I'm not playing dumb. I'm asking a legitimate question about something I have little or no knowledge of. If you'd like me to speculate, then say so. Can I give it some thought? Yes. However, it's difficult for me to give this any thought unless we're on the same page as to what the definition of "God" is. Then again, I could give it some thought based on several different definitions of "God".

Please elaborate on what these several definitions of "God" are. Perhaps I was wrong, but I was under the impression there was only one definition that mattered on this forum.

My definition of "God" is obviously different from your definition of "God". Since no one has ever clearly defined God to me, I can only attempt to figure out what "God" means by listening to the context in which "God" is used.

"Act of God" = natural events such as tornados, lightning, rain, wind gusts, etc. This means God is the force behind these natural events or is nature.

"God told me I would hit a home run" = I had an unexplained intuition that I would hit a home run. This means the speaker substitutes God for the source of his unexplained intuition - either because he's not intelligent enough to know that the intuition can really be explained or he's intelligent, but still can't understand why he got the intuition.

"His life lies in the hands of God" = It is no longer in the hands of the doctors. In this case, they are using "God" as a substitute for "being outside the control of man".

Not asking for speculation, rather I think it's simple for you to deduce the answer, especially since you've asked a similar question before in another thread. How could you have forgotten about it? This is why I believed you were playing dumb.

Not playing dumb. I'm asking legitimate questions. I think you get the sense I'm playing dumb because I'm merely making responses based on what is presented to me.

As for legitimate question..."Why wouldn't God tell a baseball pitcher he was going to give up a homerun?" The question to ask is, why would he? And this should be after you've asked that same question about the batter first.

Well, it depends on the method of deliver and one's definition of God. If Josh Hamilton thought God told him he would hit a home run and subsequently told the pitcher he would give up a home run, would that not equate to God telling the pitcher he would give up a home run?

 

[Hakan101]

I disagree. Let's say God exists and they mean the same thing to each person. Then it's clearly a matter of how one processes the message and what they take it to mean.

Now let's say God doesn't exist. It's still a matter of how one processes the message and what they take it to mean.

So it doesn't matter if God exists or not. "God told me I would hit a home run" and "I had a strong intuition I would hit a home run" either mean the same thing or don't mean the same thing - regardless of whether or not God exists.

The two phrases do depend on God's existence. If God exists they mean different things. One person has merely an intuition, the other has divine revelation from God. If God doesn't exist then logically they both are having mere intuitions.

I think you believe God exists. But what physiologically happens with respect to how one gets the message is no different if God exists vs. if God doesn't exist.

Right. Communion with God is spiritual, not physical.

What evidence is there that Isaiah, David and Micah made prophecies about Jesus? How can one be sure that the authors of the books in which Jesus fulfills these alleged prophecies didn't merely say Jesus fulfilled the prophecies to meet his own agenda of showing that Jesus fulfilled prophecies?

Such behavior is inconsistent with the character of the Apostles, and of Jesus. Considering the Apostles suffered for the remainder of their lives, and were all killed, I don't think they'd have done such a thing for a lie. These are the men who walked with Jesus, saw Jesus' miracles, and saw him crucified, and rise again.

I haven't seen any good arguments or evidence that suggests they wrote false things about Jesus, and such accusations are inconsistent with what I know about them, so I believe they did not do such things.

My definition of "God" is obviously different from your definition of "God". Since no one has ever clearly defined God to me, I can only attempt to figure out what "God" means by listening to the context in which "God" is used.

If no one has done it for you, I recommend Google searching the matter.

I don't know if you've ever noticed this before, but many non-believers also speak of God. They'll use his name as a curse word, they'll say things like, "You're trying to play God!", or "I swear to God I didn't do it!" They'll use it as a casual saying ("God knows why he'd do such a thing"). Using this talk to discern who God is will not get you very far, because nonbelievers don't believe in God, and don't know much about who he is. Listening to how Christians speak of him is a better idea.

"Act of God" = natural events such as tornados, lightning, rain, wind gusts, etc. This means God is the force behind these natural events or is nature.

You know, I've never seen a Christian say this before. I've only seen non-believers say this, which makes me think they don't really believe God is the force behind it. Rather, it's a figurative way to say that what happened is beyond anyone's control.

"God told me I would hit a home run" = I had an unexplained intuition that I would hit a home run. This means the speaker substitutes God for the source of his unexplained intuition - either because he's not intelligent enough to know that the intuition can really be explained or he's intelligent, but still can't understand why he got the intuition.

This is what I meant by "playing dumb." You say the speaker "substitutes God for the source of his unexplained intuition", but this presupposes God doesn't exist. Either I'm overestimating your intelligence, or you really are playing dumb. This is a Christian forum, when we answer your questions we don't share this presupposition. So when you ask us questions about God, you need to consider our answers with presupposition we are using, that God exists.

The context is clear, you know Hamilton is a Christian, he's not "substituting" anything with God. He believed God told him he'd hit a homerun.

"His life lies in the hands of God" = It is no longer in the hands of the doctors. In this case, they are using "God" as a substitute for "being outside the control of man".

No. They are acknowledging the man's life is in God's control.

Not playing dumb. I'm asking legitimate questions. I think you get the sense I'm playing dumb because I'm merely making responses based on what is presented to me.

And there's the problem. You also need to take context, prior information/discussions, and our perspective into account when responding. Otherwise you seem to be dumb. If I was coming to you for questions about your beliefs, I would do these things as well. I would not act like I've never met you or learned anything from/about you.

Well, it depends on the method of deliver and one's definition of God. If Josh Hamilton thought God told him he would hit a home run and subsequently told the pitcher he would give up a home run, would that not equate to God telling the pitcher he would give up a home run?

Only one definition matters here. It's not hard to deduce.