RE: Potter to the clay
September 16, 2011 at 10:55 pm
(This post was last modified: September 16, 2011 at 10:59 pm by lucent.)
Well, let's examine. There is no authority higher than God, so there is nothing from the outside which could impose restrictions upon what God can do. Therefore, as the only real authority, God has free reign to do what He wants with His creation. His rule is in fact sovereign. The only thing restricting Him would be His own morality.
The only real question is, is God good or evil? If God is evil then there is nothing we can do..we're all doomed. God claims to be good, however, In fact, He says He is goodness itself and there is no evil in Him at all. Are we qualified to evaluate this? Certainly we know the difference between good and evil. However, there are some things people would call God evil for that aren't necessarily evil. For instance, for allowing evil and suffering in the world, or judging people for their sins. The question is, are they calling that evil because its really evil, or is it because they are in rebellion against Gods authority over them? Of course someone who is inclined towards wicked behavior is going to resent an authority which tells them it is wrong.
If God has good and justifiable reasons for these things, for evil in the world, and eternal punishment, then no it wouldn't be evil. However, it is questionable as to whether we are actually capable of evaluating it in the first place. Now, I think the clay and potter analogy is appropiate. The distance between us and God is actually much greater than the distance between the potter and the clay. So, it is really quite absurd for us to think we could judge God. For one, every human being is a hypocrite. None of us have ever lived up to our own standards, let alone Gods standards. So, to judge God when we are ourselves are morally deficient is just hypocripsy. We also have no real idea about what is going on outside of our own minds, or even what is going on inside of them. All we know is what we hear and observe, which is the thinnest slice of the actuality. Even that we cannot be sure about. Without a *lot* more information, it would be impossible to evaluate Gods planning. We would have to be God in order to say whether what God is doing is really right or wrong. For now, from our limited nature, it is just like the pot saying to the potter, what have you done? Ridiculous.
The only real question is, is God good or evil? If God is evil then there is nothing we can do..we're all doomed. God claims to be good, however, In fact, He says He is goodness itself and there is no evil in Him at all. Are we qualified to evaluate this? Certainly we know the difference between good and evil. However, there are some things people would call God evil for that aren't necessarily evil. For instance, for allowing evil and suffering in the world, or judging people for their sins. The question is, are they calling that evil because its really evil, or is it because they are in rebellion against Gods authority over them? Of course someone who is inclined towards wicked behavior is going to resent an authority which tells them it is wrong.
If God has good and justifiable reasons for these things, for evil in the world, and eternal punishment, then no it wouldn't be evil. However, it is questionable as to whether we are actually capable of evaluating it in the first place. Now, I think the clay and potter analogy is appropiate. The distance between us and God is actually much greater than the distance between the potter and the clay. So, it is really quite absurd for us to think we could judge God. For one, every human being is a hypocrite. None of us have ever lived up to our own standards, let alone Gods standards. So, to judge God when we are ourselves are morally deficient is just hypocripsy. We also have no real idea about what is going on outside of our own minds, or even what is going on inside of them. All we know is what we hear and observe, which is the thinnest slice of the actuality. Even that we cannot be sure about. Without a *lot* more information, it would be impossible to evaluate Gods planning. We would have to be God in order to say whether what God is doing is really right or wrong. For now, from our limited nature, it is just like the pot saying to the potter, what have you done? Ridiculous.
(August 29, 2011 at 4:32 pm)searchingforanswers Wrote: In my apologetic class we are reading te book crazy love by francis chan. It sucks ass. But tommorow we are gonna discuss it. Now chan ususes the passage in the bible which says it is absurd for clay to tell the potter how to shape it. He compares this to our relationship with god saying we have no right to question him an he is free to do as he pleases. Now lets just suppose for a minute this god does exist, doea he truly have the right to treat humans as he sees fit? In my opnion i dont think so. Just because human are capable of feeling and thinking-something clay lacks. However, i havent thought about this in depth. So what are your opnions? Would a divine creator have the authority to do whatever he wanted with his creation? Is it absurd for a creation to question their maker? Again im not saying i believe in a creator i just know this discussion will come up and wanted to see the forums opinion. Thanks.
