Re: [asa] Re: asa-digest V1 #6228

Quoting David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com>:

> *Abraham argues with God over Sodom, and the passage reads like
> someone who expects God to behave in a certain way, and not once does
> God shut him down and say "just who do you think you're talking to?"*
>
> But God essentially *did* say that to Job.
>

And that (Job) is a great example of the sovereignty side. But even there it
is interesting that his friends (with the exception of Elihu!!?) are so sharply
reprimanded by God even though they were essentially trying to defend God (just
as we are here) against the charge of unrighteousness. To be sure, God doesn't
relent with Job as you point out, but nor does he have anything good to say
about Job's friends who were busy bending over backwards trying to make God not
look bad.

(B.T.W. this may have been addressed in another thread I've forgotten, but does
anyone know why Elihu alone among Job's friends was not singled out for
repentence? If we put Elihu's exhortations next to those of Bildad, Eliphaz &
Co., could anyone tell the difference?)

I'm not a "process theologian" who thinks God changes with us as we grow in
knowledge, but nor do I want to ignore scriptures. While there is a plethora
of passages (Janice has pointed to some) that emphasize God's unchangeability, I
still think those are not the complete story. God's incarnation into humanity
(the relationship aspect of God with us) shows us this. Jesus grew and learned
(even during his ministry years) -- he was capable of being amazed and
surprised. And as I bet George would point out, the incarnation is timeless and
eternal from the beginning. I think God allows himself to "act like a human"
sometimes (ultimately in Jesus himself) just for the purpose of relating to us.
 The psalms and prophets are full of a God who has quite the human-like mood
swings. Abraham, Moses, & presumably the psalmists are not punished for
questioning God. Others may be. I just don't want to leave that side out.

--merv

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Wed Oct 18 17:06:57 2006