There are certain claims made by Christians which are so
ingrained into their theological advertising about
"God" that it's useful to examine them for accuracy.
Some key elements of Christian advertising include claims about
"free" will, the nature of Satan and evil, and doing
what God wants people to do.
Naturally, all of these commonly employed assertions are supposed
to be backed up by the very "word" of God, called the
Holy Bible, which Christians say they believe in it's entirety.
Christian assertion:
Everything God created was originally good (including freedom --
which implies the existence of a *potential* for evil).
So Satan did not create the idea of evil; as an idea it was
inherent in the idea of free will.
But Satan did make /actual/ evil.
Commentary:
Once again, the dysfunctional and bogus free will claim is put
forth by a Christian.
The Bible God, who predestines at least some people to
their fate, and who manipulates some humans by hardening their
hearts, is claimed to have instituted a universal policy of free
will.
However, the Bible does not support this out of control
advertising.
The scriptural evidence for manipulation is clear.
Deut 2:30
But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for
the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart
obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as
appeareth this day.
Josh 11:20
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts,
that they should come against Israel in battle, that he
might destroy them utterly, and that they might have
no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded
Moses.
Eph 1:4-5,11
According as he(God) hath chosen us(Christians) in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of
children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of the
glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved.
In whom also we(Christians) have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him(God) who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will:
As the verses clearly show, God will harden the hearts of those
he wishes to manipulate so that they will resist God.
Part of God's cosmic plan is to destroy some people by hardening
their hearts so that they behave in a certain way.
God also predestines all things according to the counsel
of his purpose and his will.
To predestine means to determine in advance. According to
whose will?? According to His(God's will), and not the
will of the individual.
Once again, a Christian demonstrates that they have mentally
written their own version of the Bible, where God does
what they want him to do and says what they want
him to say.
Christians will simply ignore Bible verses that don't
conform with what they want to hear, and then they chatter on and
on about God creating a "free will" universe.
This practice is so common that it renders the term "Bible
believing Christian" just about meaningless.
When many of these Christians declare that they believe the Bible
is the word of God, it means next to nothing when examined in
detail. Perception and advertising trumps substance at every
turn.
This Christian also attempts to distance God from his creation.
If something is present which is deemed "good"
in the eyes of this Christian, they will say God created it.
If something is present which is deemed "evil"
in the eyes of this Christian, they will say God created only the
possibility for it to be present.
In this fashion God can be portrayed as a holy deity which
creates nothing but good and who is only a bystander to evil.
Evil becomes a byproduct of God's so-called "free
will" universe.
The Christian claim that it was Satan who created evil is utterly
fraudulent according to the Old Testament.
Isa 45:7
I(God) form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the LORD do all these things.
God creates all things, not simply good things.
There isn't a single verse in the entire Old Testament
which states that Satan ever created evil or ever disobeyed a
command from God.
Satan is an obedient servant of God in the Old Testament who
serves the role of man's accuser in God's court.
Satan only becomes a wicked, rebellious angel in the New
Testament, which quite likely evolved the character called Satan
into an evil angel and enemy of God based on theological Persian
dualism where such a construct is present.
Christian:
Prayer is just about always a good thing, and James 1
prescribes prayer for wisdom.
But if it's guidance one seeks, why not consult the Bible and see
what sort of church is described there?
You may find that God has already *told* you what His people
ought to be doing, and that a pattern for worship and ethics
already has been revealed -- it's just a matter of following the
Book.
Commentary:
I would suggest that Christians actually follow this advice.
They can demonstrate their willingness to "follow the
Book" by properly and fully observing the Sabbath(Exo
31:14-15), which is the 6th* day of the week(Saturday), they
can start fully obeying all of God's perfect(Psa 19:7) and
eternal(Psa 119:152,160, Psa 111:7-8) laws as laid down in
the Old Testament, and they can stop observing heathen holidays,
such as Christmas and Easter, which God told them not to adopt as
customs into their lifestyles(Jer 10:2-5).
When Christians demonstrate they are really serious about the
Bible and doing God's will, I'll take their advice on prayer
seriously.
They should have no problem showing what they "ought to
be doing".
After all, it's just a matter of following the Book.
*Under the popular modern custom, which defines Monday as the
first day of the week.
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