Does God Value Liberty?

How the fall and the book of Judges can answer this question.

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Does God value liberty?  There are two ways to answer this question. The first is with reason. Evil exists because God values free creatures that choose good (and therefore are capable of choosing evil) more than he values the absence of evil. The fall of man is evidence of this. God created man and gave him opportunity to choose freely. God values Liberty.

 

Islam, Freewill, and the Theologian of Glory

Martin Luther describes two very different ways to justify ourselves before God

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Islam and the Fall of Man

The Quran includes a version of the story of the fall of Adam (Surah 7). Adam and Eve sinned but they asked Allah for forgiveness. He punished them with a mortal life on earth until the resurrection. Since they were forgiven, we can be forgiven. Islam teaches that man is born in a state of submission to God and through submission to God, he can be righteous. His failings can be forgiven. Martin Luther describes this type of theology as a theology of glory.  

 

The Origin of Meekness

Humans value humility in each other so what should we expect from God?

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 Have you ever wondered why people value humility?
 

The Qur'an speaks of humility. In surah 3:159 Muhammed is praised for his humility by dealing gently with those who could have been in rebellion to him.

"And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently. And had you been severe and harsh-hearted, they would have broken away from you." [Al Imran 3:159]
 

Where does this value come from? If Muhammed is praised as meek then shouldn't we expect this to be an attribute of God's? How does the Muslim God demonstrate meekness?

 

The Essential Church

The bona fides of the Church that Christians must consider

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Politicians have told us that we must follow the science. Models were presented that caused us to brace for impact for up to 2 million dead from this virus. We complied. We submitted. The Executive Branch of our states have the legal authority to curtail rights in the face of an attack or national emergency. The emergency was originally the risk of overwhelming our healthcare infrastructure with too many infections. We shored up hospitals, erected tent hospitals, and boats to care for the sick. We were called upon to not assemble, to stay at home, to flatten the curve so that we are not all sick at once. The curve was flattened. The hospitals were not flooded, the tents are empty, and the boats have sailed away. The estimates were overblown, the models flawed, and the science trumped by politics.

Paul the Philosopher

Acts 17 and becoming all things to all people

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Paul the Apostle said that...

 

"I have become all things to all people, so that by all means I may save some."  (1 Corinthians 9:22b)

 

Acts 17 is an example where Paul becomes a philosopher to reason with philosophers. Of particular interest is Paul's willingness to provide reference to God with the idol of the unknown God.

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