RE: Intercessory prayer is pointless
September 28, 2018 at 11:32 am
(This post was last modified: September 28, 2018 at 12:09 pm by SteveII.)
(September 28, 2018 at 10:44 am)RobbyPants Wrote:(September 28, 2018 at 9:53 am)SteveII Wrote: Option #4: From the foundations of the world, God knew that person x would pray. Prayer has significant benefits to the person praying that goes beyond just the request. Depending on the butterfly effect of answering that prayer and his overall will, God has already decided if it will be answered.
Abaddon_ire already pointed out the problems of this option and agency.
You're also running into the scenario of "God caused you to get cancer because he knew you'd ask him to help out, and the act of you asking has benefits for you."
I'd submit that's just as bad, or worse, than my old college roommate who'd create problems just so he could fix them. Again, we all hated that guy and cut all ties with him. I mean, no one here is arguing that YHWH, according to the apologetics, isn't a massive narcissist. You're really only further proving my OP.
Nope. I am a Molinist (God's middle knowledge lets him see what people will freely choose to do). Free will lives on.
You are asserting that God caused the cancer. It might be that you simply chose to smoke or go to the beach. So, I don't accept that God caused any cancer. Actually that's not a belief that Christians generally hold (if at all)--so it is a straw man argument.