Still, would a perfect God need to test the integrity of others? Presumably if he is perfect, God is also all-knowing, which means he wouldnt need to put Abraham through the cruel test, he would already know.
God is all knowing, but God also gave humans the knowledge to choose, which means God did need to test abraham. As a sinful human, Abraham could have blown God off.
You are talking about predestination and that is not what this is about. He gave Adam and Eve a test too. he gave Jesus a test. he gave pretty much everyone in the Bible a test of some sorts. Col
You are avoiding the question? Let me help you. 1. Is God perfect or imperfect (if you chose perfect, go to #2, if you chose imperfect, go to #3). 2. If God is perfect then he is all-knowing and therefore, does not need to give anyone a test. 3. If God is imperfect, then he is fallible, just like human beings. Not really worth praying to a deity that is fallible, if you ask me.
Not avoiding it. Just busy posting...LOL 1. Yes 2. This is not a question. 3. This is not a question. Col
If God is perfect, then he is all-knowing. If God knows everything, then he knows what I am going to do in the future with perfect accuracy. But then I can't have free will, because I can't act differently then how God knows I will act. So because I can't act contrary to what God knows, I cannot have free will. So take your pick, either God is imperfect, or we have free will.
That is a philosophy and that's all I give it credit for. What makes you so sure God knows your every move? On what basis does God being perfect mean that he is all knowing? Col
No he does not and the Bible does not teach that. There are certain things that God knows that will happen and we can only know what these things are from the prophecies written in the Bible. To actually say he knows what you personally are going to do is incorrect. According to the Bible. Col
The Bible is not a credible peice of literature. That's why it takes faith to believe what's written on it; that's why Christianity is a religion.
Why would you ever believe something on faith? Have faith that there is a magical teapot in orbit around the earth. No, there isn't any evidence for it, but you simply must have faith. Faith = another way of saying, "believe something for no reason,"
Since you've quoted me, I'm going to assume that you're addressing me specifically when you say "you". Why anyone would have faith in the Bible is beyond me. I do, however, have faith in humanity. Is that so wrong?
Christianity is not a religion at all. Many who claim to be Christian have done atrocious things in God's name. To be Christian is to follow the teachings of Christ. Just as Jesus said that there will be many false prophets and many will do things in his name. But he also said "I never knew you". Meaning, those who were not following his teachings. Col
How many religions are out there professing to be Christian? There's hundreds of them. You think they are all right about how to go about being a Christian? Well, if they use the Bible as a measuring stick you will find they fall short of actually being a Christian. Col
Faith in humanity. Of course. A great record humanity has too. What was that death toll for children worldwide again?? Oh..never mind that. We can look at the amount of deaths from wars...hmmm. OK...let's try another thing....how about death from suicide, murder and drugs.....hmmmm. Humanity is not looking so good now huh? Sure, there are some who show great humanitarian qualities and try real hard to do something about providing for ones who can't help themselves. But in reality, there is no chance of catching up. Humans are hopeless at governing themselves. We have a very bad record in doing so. It's time for a new government with a King who deserves to be King. Col