Posted on 09/20/2007 5:47:06 PM PDT by TFFKAMM
(09-20) 17:30 PDT Lincoln, Neb. (AP) --
A legislator who filed a lawsuit against God has gotten something he might not have expected: a response. One of two court filings from "God" came Wednesday under otherworldly circumstances, according to John Friend, clerk of the Douglas County District Court in Omaha.
"This one miraculously appeared on the counter. It just all of a sudden was here poof!" Friend said.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha sued God last week, seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty for making terroristic threats, inspiring fear and causing "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
Chambers, a self-proclaimed agnostic who often criticizes Christians, said his filing was triggered by a federal lawsuit he considers frivolous. He said he's trying to makes the point that anybody can sue anybody.
Not so, says "God." His response argues that the defendant is immune from some earthly laws and the court lacks jurisdiction.
It adds that blaming God for human oppression and suffering misses an important point.
"I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you," according to the response, as read by Friend....
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
The best live forever.
Best regards,
No freakin screechin replies from the Sam FrnkDickso peenut gallery to this story? I *am* surprised. Figuring how many of them have freely chosen the ways of the Devil.
Did you mean on the original source, or here on FR? (Hint: if you click the story link, you’ll see responses to the former.)
ping
Um... I think John Calvin and Martin Luther would have a thing or two to say about that. It appears the response from God is a forgery. I see nothing about free will in the original Word from God.
If the author was actually trying to fool someone, he got a little too cute.
So, Salvation freely given from God is shoved down one’s throat? Not so...we have the free will to accept or reject God through Jesus Christ who died for our sins. Hence, salvation is freely given and freely accepted. That defines free will. The choice is yours.
Jos 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
My Bible has that little typo about choosing who you serve. That can’t be right. That would be free will.
It's right there in Genesis. God says not to eat from this one certain tree and they do which proves they had free will. If they don't have free will they would be unable to disobey. And commands would be pointless.
Said God: “If you want it tough guy, come and get it.”
ping
No no He just tricked them with reverse psychology. Do over!
Remember, you only understand the doctrines of Grace because God has willed for you to. It won’t be so with much of your audience!
Can't have choice without free will.
There ween’t any replies at SFG when I piosted that. :o)
So, God isn't a Calvinist?
Atheist Holiday
Something interesting to consider...this is just one of those funny little things but it makes a good point! I have no idea if this is a true story or not...but I certainly hope it is.
In Florida, an atheist became incensed over the preparation of Easter and Passover holidays. He decided to contact his lawyer about the discrimination inflicted on atheists by the constant celebrations afforded to Christians and Jews with all their holidays while atheists had no holiday to celebrate. The case was brought before a wise
judge.
After listening to the long passionate presentation by the lawyer, the Judge banged his gavel and declared “Case Dismissed.”
The lawyer immediately stood and objected to the ruling and said, “Your Honor, how can you possibly dismiss this case? Christians have Christmas, Easter and many other observances. Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah......yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.”
The judge leaned forward in his chair and simply said “Obviously your client is too confused to even know about, much less celebrate, his own atheists holiday!”
The lawyer pompously said, “Your Honor, we are unaware of any such holiday for atheists. Just when might that holiday be, your Honor?”
The judge said, “Well it comes every year on exactly the same date.....April 1st! Since our calendar sets April 1st as April Fools’ Day, consider that Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53 states, The fool says in his heart, there is no God. Thus, in my opinion, if your client says there is no God, then by scripture he is a fool, thus April 1st is his holiday!”
Pray that someday our courts will be full of these kinds of judges.....maybe then, we can put God back where He belongs.........in everything we do.....
Way to go, Judge!
Wayne Grudem puts it right: Man has “apparent free will”. Certainly limited free will. Absolute free will is not taught nor represented in Scripture. The absolute sovereignty of Almighty God IS clearly taught in the Bible.
While we see man has some freedom to choose, it is limited by what so ever God decides.
One example (2 Chronicles 20:5-7): “And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?”
That isn't to say that God doesn't have ANY say in our lives. Sure He controls some situations, but within that framework, we still have choices to make.
Acts 17:26- 30 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stonean image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Yes, He does exercise some control, as in placing us when and where we live, but He leaves that decision up to us.
If man had no free will, then when God commands all men everywhere to repent, they would have to. Clearly they don't. They couldn't refuse if they had no free will.
No, your will is transformed to conform to the will of God.
Show me in scripture where "free will" is taught.
That some here are busy debating the theological bona fides of "God's" response just brings me back to earth and reminds me that man truly is unworthy of God.
No that’s just a command. It doesn’t imply the ability to obey. Is anyone able to obey all the commandments? Yet Jesus commands us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect.
OK I would grant that possibly before the fall they did.
Will we be free in heaven?
I know. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t supposed to preach them.
Apparently not according to the author!
It’s explicit in the doctrine of original sin.
Mankind sinned and separated itself from its creator by exercising free will.
Individuals can use that free will to reject Christ’s sacrificial gift which restores the relationship between God and individual humans.
[Will we be free in heaven?]
Lucifer was.
Also:
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Once again, choice. We are all gifted from God with this free will thing, individual volition.... I believe the Bible is pretty clear that God’s desire is for ALL to be saved, ALL to choose Him. But He has allowed US to make, or not make, the choice. To believe or not to believe....
cheers
pattyjo
So then how was Christ slain from the foundation of the world?
So will you be free to choose to sin in heaven?
And I wasn’t asking about angels, I am asking about us. You see what the result of his ‘choice’ was. Would it be heaven if you had the possibility of losing it?
[So will you be free to choose to sin in heaven?]
I believe so.
Another question you might ponder — is God free? Can he choose to sin?
[Would it be heaven if you had the possibility of losing it?]
Yes. I think so.
[So then how was Christ slain from the foundation of the world?]
God knows all possible outcomes.
Romans 9:18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.Seems pretty clear to me.
19 You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?"
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, "Why did you make me like this," will it?
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? 23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
How can he know something that isn’t going to happen? Are you saying he doesn’t know what is going to happen?
Sin is the condition of being separated from God.
Answer you own question.
when I was a kid we had “choose your own adventure” books. you made your choices throughout the book and th storyline went according to what you chose. I always thought God works that way. we have free will. we make choices and what happns i a consequence o our decisions.
Sometimes, the question is not “Can God?,” the question is “Will God?”.
Randomness exists in our universe because God put it there.
God transcends infinity. I think He could know the outcome but chooses not to. He knows all infinite possible outcomes, but allows us to choose the path. Maybe its more interesting for Him this way. Whatever His motivation, the end result is that we are responsible for the state of the human condition - and that condition requires reconcilation if we are to know our creator.
So, given the path chosen by our ancestors, He manipulated events insofar as was required to implement His plan for reconciliation, which was culminated with the birth and sacrifice of Christ - which you can choose to reject.
This State Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha is an idiot. So let him have the time in court to prove it. If the judge doesn't throw the case out. Even that would be news.
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