I asked two questions. Most answerers said God does not change; most answerers said God suffers (sadness at human sin is a form of pathos, of suffering). How do you reconcile this contradiction? Is God suffering eternally, changelessly?
2007-02-14 10:40:47 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It's irreconcilable of course, but you're not going to get a satisfactory answer from Christians because they refuse to see the inherent conundrum of assigning anthropomorphic qualities to their God on one hand while simultaneously maintaining God's "eternal, infinite unfathomability" on the other.
There's a reason for this, however. The first part, God's sadness/grieving/whatever, is for Christians to use whenever they want to berate some behavior or belief you have as wrong in an attempt to browbeat you into thinking like they do.
The second part is their crutch for whenever they get caught in one of the multitude of inexplicable absurdities about the nature of God. They simply shrug and say "well the mind of God is unfathomable/God works in mysterious ways we humans can't comprehend" in order to avoid addressing the fact that some of their beliefs are absolutely patently absurd, while at the same time blissfully ignoring that they just assigned definite, knowable, human qualities to God in the previous breath as they were berating you.
Either God exhibits these humanlike qualities, or he's unfathomable/incomprehensible. But it can't be both at the same time.
Unfortunately, like the other absurdities, Christians don't see this contradiction for some reason. In their willful ignorance of these glaring contradictions they happily get to have it both ways.
Apparently ignorance truly is bliss.
Otherwise, you'd have to face up to the fact that the mere idea of God is an absurdity in itself.
2007-02-14 11:01:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
your term of suffering is not what we are saying---HE GRIEVES over sin--not really suffers--so you see it is the choice of words people have used.
God will never suffer for eternity- God has the victory! He has no sin, and He is holy and perfect!
He hates sin.
That is why he made a way through Jesus Christ--for us to be forgiven.
2007-02-14 18:43:26 · answer #2 · answered by Mandolyn Monkey Munch 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
i am sorry but the wonders and power of the Creator and King of Kings is beyond the ken of my finite mind. the Bible says that God is "unsearchable" and "past finding out", the book of Ephesians.So, if you care for a really good answer, read the Bible.
2007-02-14 18:47:04 · answer #3 · answered by Jerry_S. 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The bible teaches both - His eternal changless transcendent nature ( "God is light and in him is no darkness at all") and His ability to feel emotions, sadness, grief, etc.
some day we shall know more....
god bless
2007-02-14 18:47:11 · answer #4 · answered by happy pilgrim 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If a parent wants a child to love life, and the child commits suicide, even though more children can be produced, how does the parent feel?
2007-02-14 18:47:17 · answer #5 · answered by ben 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The God not changing refers to morality. If he has done anything then he would have changed. But morality is what doesn't change.
2007-02-14 18:44:58 · answer #6 · answered by Edward J 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
crying is an emotion.....real suffering is more like hunger thirst all that He doesnt experience..
2007-02-14 18:46:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋