Originally posted by @bigdoggproblem
In these conversations, I can't help but notice that Satan gets the short shrift. He gets to run hell, but doesn't get to decide who goes there.
Isn't his eternal frustration enough to fuel hell?
He gets to run hell, but doesn't get to decide who goes there.
Where did you get this idea?
-Removed-That is an odd version of the loving Jesus who did not mean what He said in the New Testament.
Then again you may also want to subtract out of His mouth that -
New American Standard Bible
Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." (Matt.10:27)
( I borrow the phrase here for its truth value. I did not say I interpret here the meaning of that passage). What is impossible with man is possible with God.
Perhaps in your "less odd" version of Jesus, Jesus never said that "for all things are possible with God." .
Maybe in your "less odd" version of the Bible the laws of physics forbade God from causing the clothing of the Israelites not wax old and decay as they were wandering 40 years in the desert. God says He altered the typical effects of aging material.
"And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothing did not wear out from upon you, nor did your sandal wear out from upon your foot." (Deut. 29:5)
It seems that God Who in the beginning "created the heavens and the earth" has also the power and authority to circumvent His own laws of physics should He want to.
Again in Nehemiah 9:21
English Standard Version
Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
Perhaps in your "less odd" version of God in your "less odd" Bible He could not cause an iron axe head to float on the water miraculously as the prophet Elisha did.
Second Kings 6:4-7
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
4 So he went with them. They came to the Jordan River and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. He cried out, “Oh no, master! It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed Elisha the place, Elisha cut off a piece of wood. He threw it into the water at that place and made the ax head float. 7 Elisha said, “Pick it up.” The disciple reached for it and picked it up.
Maybe your "less odd" Bible doesn't include the story of the Hebrew men thrown into the fiery furnace, walking around, coming out, and not even the smell of smoke on any of their clothing.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” 25 He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” 26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (See Daniel 3:19-27
My "odd" Bible says God overruled the typical expected scientific result.
Since "God is not mocked" I wouldn't put any trust in any lampoon from the minds of fallen men that expects God to be limited such that He will not be ABLE to do as He has said He will do. And that though I may not know how.
Originally posted by @romans1009For once, we agree on something. [Other than Chuck Norris jokes.]
What a persuasive argument!
Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-dukeProbably not. But they were easy. The target is easy. I'm just hoping that the frequent criticism from all directions eventually sinks in. This forum is poorer for the presence of this sad person.
Have there ever been 4 quicker thumbs up?
Originally posted by @suzianneSee, now that is a good point. There ought to be a separate thread about this. The OT God clearly has "blind spots". Clearly, he is not omniscient.
Go back to Genesis and read from Gen. 3:8 onwards. It seems like God apparently doesn't know EVERYthing going on around him.
Edit: Thread 177068 created.