Posted by rayww on April 15, 2004, at 10:26:17
In reply to Re: Free Will » simus, posted by Flipsactown on April 15, 2004, at 8:15:31
I don't recal ever reading the words, "free will" in the Bible.
http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=%22free+will%22&search.x=31&search.y=10
I couldn't find a single reference to anything being "free". There is a price to pay for freedom. It takes effort. http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=free+to+choose&search.x=15&search.y=10The only free gift that I am aware of is salvation, but even then it isn't the same for everyone. As absense of light is darkenss, so is the resurrection of the dead. Head for the light and do what is right. Look to Christ and live.
Free will is the same as agency, and that is similar to trust. If we are created in God's image, we are capable of not betraying his trust in us. Betrayal, rebellion, persecuting the followers of Christ is like kicking against the thorns.
http://scriptures.lds.org/query?words=kick+against+the+pricks&search.x=20&search.y=8And the time will come, but is not yet when all those who do not follow the "ensign" will be cut off from God's presence (spirit)
http://scriptures.lds.org/isa/11/1-16#10God's will takes the whole free will thing very seriously. Soon all that refuse to follow him will be cut off from his presence (spirit), and then all organizations of this world which are void of the support of God will fall. I have my personal church belief of what the ensign mentioned by Isaiah, Joel, and Paul is referring to, but I'd be interested in knowing how other religions interpret this serious matter.
http://scriptures.lds.org/js_h/1/40#40
Isaiah 11, Acts 3:22-23, and Joel 2:28 to the end.Those who fight our wars for freedom may make the connection that the fight for their own soul is much the same. We must overcome the forces of evil that are inside and all around us in order to capture and obtain free will.
There is nothing that destroys free will as fast as an addiction to something and that list is endless. But "Endless" is also the name of God--endless goodness, blessings, gifts that are so glorious we cannot even imagine them.
http://scriptures.lds.org/isa/64/4#4
http://scriptures.lds.org/1_cor/2/9#9If you want to understand free will begin with sincere prayer, and then really listen to everything around you, and you will find the answer, (to all things). Don't do as some believers do and close your mind to anything outside of the verse-and-word-in-context in the Bible. Open your mind to communication with God and I guarantee he will speak to you. One way he speaks to me is through the scriptures. A phrase here or there read out of context can give a personal meaning to a private question. If you notice, God has slipped in a lot of those "out of context" verses in the middle of a dialogue, that are placed there just for those who are searching for answers. I wish everyone could understand this. Jude 1:6 http://scriptures.lds.org/jude/1/6#6
I slip some of those in too sometimes when a phrase pops into my head as I'm writing. (as is the resurrection of the dead)You have brought up a very interesting topic, and one that we should all study and pray about. Man, I wish I could be an ensign to someone. Yes, that's what I want to be when I grow up. An ensign. Someone who helps others find and discover Jesus Christ. Now I'm rambling.
> That was the exact post that got me to thinking about free will. God is all Good and Perfect. So since we are created by an all Good and Perfect God that means God created us perfectly. Out of God's Love, God gave us free will. Now this is where I am confused. Since God is all Good and Perfect and we are created in God's image, then when God gave us free will to know good from bad, we would always choose good because we were created in God's image to be all Good. As I am wanting to continue to strengthen my faith in God, can someone please explain this to me.
>
> God Bless,
> FST
>
>
> > > But God is all Good and Perfect, so how can God create something not perfect?
> >
> > Hi-
> > I posed this a month ago here, and I thought it may give you something to ponder. I appologize I do not know who wrote this, so I can't give credit to the person.
> >
> > DID GOD CREATE EVIL?
> >
> > Did God create evil? This will make you think for a while.
> >
> > At a certain college there was a professor with a reputation for being tough on Christians. At the first class, every semester, he asked if anyone was a Christian and proceeded to degrade them and to mock their statement of faith. One semester, he asked the question and a young man raised his hand.
> >
> > The professor asked, "Did God make everything, young man?"
> >
> > He replied "Yes sir, He did!"
> >
> > The professor responded, "If God made everything, then He made evil."
> >
> > The student didn't have a response and the professor was happy to once again proved the Christian faith to be a myth.
> >
> > Then another man raised his hand and asked, "May I ask you something, sir?"
> >
> > "Yes, you may," responded the professor.
> >
> > The young man stood up and said, "Sir, is there such a thing as cold?"
> >
> > "Of course there is, what kind of a question is that? Haven't you ever been cold?"
> >
> > The young man replied, "Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. What we consider to be cold, is really an absence of heat. Absolute zero is when there is absolutely no heat, but cold does not really exist. We have only created that term to describe how we feel when heat is not there."
> >
> > The young man continued, "Sir, is there such a thing as dark?"
> >
> > Once again the professor responded, "Of course there is."
> >
> > And once again, the student replied, "Actually, sir, darkness does not exist. Darkness is really only the absence of light. Darkness is only a term developed to describe what happens when there is no light present."
> >
> > Finally, the young man asked, "Sir, is there such a thing as evil?"
> >
> > The professor responded, "Of course, we have rapes, murders and violence everywhere in the world. Those thing are evil."
> >
> > The student replied, "Actually, sir, evil does not exist. Evil is simply the absence of God.
> > Evil is a term developed to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. It isn't like truth, or love which exist as virtues like heat or light. Evil is simply the state where God is not present, like cold without heat, or darkness without light."
> >
> > The professor had nothing to say...
> >
> >
>
>
poster:rayww
thread:336288
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20040408/msgs/336601.html