Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Relationship between God and human
Personal responsibility in the world
Personal responsibility in the world
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Relationship between God and human
Since the beginning of time, it has been human nature to be curious creatures and try and explain all experiences in life. Questions such as where we came from, how we got here and more importantly why we are here. Religion has always been a way to explain our existence on this planet. More recently, our Lord who came and saved us from our sins is a perfect example of how we explain our way of lives. God is the overseer of us all and He loves us and wants what is best for all His “children.” Curious creatures as we, humanity, are we tend to ask questions of why bad things happen to good people if He oversees and cares for us all.
Theodicy
Theodicy comes from the Greek word Theos meaning God and dikē meaning justice. Theodicy by translation
…show more content…
God once promised us that His direct interference in our matters would no longer happen and that He would let us be responsible of our own lives (Ge 9:11 New International Version). In essence, we are all responsible for the evils present in this earth. Every malevolent action, every deprived action we commit is a direct responsibility of our own decisions. For example, if I choose to steal something from any store, why would God stop me if it was a decision that I made and free will was given to me. It is not saying that He could not stop me if He wanted to, He chooses not to because he promised that he would not interfere directly again. It could be by his hand that I trip on my shoelace and drop what I stole and therefore get caught but he did not directly untie my shoe and made it so. Explaining in a way we can all understand, if your boss tells you what to do how to do it and is on his high horse and expects his team to follow the probability of that happening is slim to none. On the other hand, if your boss encourages you to grow and gives you the guidelines for you to operate in you are more likely to flourish and be successful at any task you are given and therefore excelling at your job in its entirety. I believe this is how God wants us to flourish in our faiths and our lives to reach Him and what He demands of
Although I read the Genesis2:4b-4:26 and Genesis 1:1-2:4a stories to try to understand why God create us, I still do not understand why, why god create us? Is it because he feel lonely? Or because he wants to have fun? Or “According to the Atrahasis story, the gods created human beings to do the work that the gods themselves refused to do (p.4)”. Why god use so much energy to create us and still need we to believe in him/her and give us pain and suffer, then he comes to save us or redemption? And also, how the Jahwist/Yahwist and the Priestly source knew what God said, and did they see God, like people saw Jesus? The story is God told them or they made it up to make people believe. “These two specific texts are mythic or symbolic narratives, not scientific theories (p.5)”. Krieg is right, not everything can use scientific to determine right and wrong or reason, especially the religion. But I do not think that is good answer for t...
In order to understand the truth, people must have solid justified beliefs to prevent diminished autonomy. As humans, we are motivated to practice morally good actions since God provides love. His act of caring is compelling and promotes gratitude.
In his essay, "The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy," Peter van Inwagen alleges a set of reasons that God may have for allowing evil to exist on earth. Inwagen proposes the following story – throughout which there is an implicit assumption that God is all-good (perfectly benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient) and deserving of all our love. God created humans in his own likeness and fit for His love. In order to enable humans to return this love, He had to give them the ability to freely choose. That is, Inwagen holds that the ability to love implies free will. By giving humans free will, God was taking a risk. As Inwagen argues, not even an omnipotent being can ensure that "a creature who has a free choice between x and y choose x rather than y" (197)1. (X in Inwagen’s story is ‘to turn its love to God’ and y is ‘to turn its love away from God,’ towards itself or other things.) So it happened that humans did in fact rebel and turn away from God. The first instance of this turning away is referred to as "the Fall." The ruin of the Fall was inherited by all humans to follow and is the source of evil in the world. But God did not leave humans without hope. He has a plan "whose working will one day eventuate in the Atonement (at-one-ment) of His human creatures with Himself," or at least some of His human creatures (198). This plan somehow involves humans realizing the wretchedness of a world without God and turning to God for help.
... way Dr. Haber in The Lathe of Heaven does. Dr. Habers use of power misses the most vital point society needs: change. I prefer to go with the Quechua speaking peoples view of not being able to see your future but being able to make glimpses. I like to think of having obstacles come my way so that I in turn can become a better person. I also believe that challenges in life our good because that is when you see how strong your faith is. If there were no obstacles in the world and only what you wish for, the world is a place that I would not like to be found at. So as for now, and with the many obstacles I will have to face in the future, I will let the God that I believe in decide what my future will consist of. As far as Im concerned, I am safer with letting God be in control because I know he ultimately knows what in fact is the best for me and not my own desires.
The problem of reconciling an omnipotent, perfectly just, perfectly benevolent god with a world full of evil and suffering has plagued believers since the beginning of religious thought. Atheists often site this paradox in order to demonstrate that such a god cannot exist and, therefore, that theism is an invalid position. Theodicy is a branch of philosophy that seeks to defend religion by reconciling the supposed existence of an omnipotent, perfectly just God with the presence of evil and suffering in the world. In fact, the word “theodicy” consists of the Greek words “theos,” or God, and “dike,” or justice (Knox 1981, 1). Thus, theodicy seeks to find a sense of divine justice in a world filled with suffering.
Well, one has to consider the other option, which would be almost a robotic following of the Lord by humankind. God, being the ultimate good, chooses the ultimate good for his creation, which is free will, a better choices than involuntary obedience. God chooses to be a father to his children, instead of the mastermind behind a well-oiled machine. God creating free will is a perfectly good act. It is what we did with that free will that gave birth to evil.
Some believe in the power of grace and almost do not believe in the existence of free will. There are those who grace creates the best in people, while free will plunges us into sin. And the last kind of people are those who believe there is a clear need for, and free will is a myth. God said that If you obey my commandments - will live - if not, you die. Here God tells us what to do as I command and get reparation, if you disobey, you will get punished. Is not that what can be called free will - the right to choose their own destiny (Erasmus, 1961, pp.
The reconciliation of God's nature and Man's free will has long been a subject of debate for philosophers and theologians. Christianity rests upon certain ideas about the nature of God and the universe. The Bible speaks of God as eternal, all-knowing, and as the very author of reality. The concept of God as a benevolent, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent entity is rooted in thousands of years of church tradition. This tradition is so ingrained in Western culture, that, when one mentions "God", these ideas almost invariably come to mind.
Religion comes from religare, which means have a reunion. Aneel Baquer says that humans have a need to connect with others, the ability of myths and thoughts of religion is a desire that humans need to bond. In most civilizations, religion is the reason why civilizations are successful. Religion give, people a motive to survive or do what they do. Sometimes the religions actually make their civilization expand and even more successful. not only does religion give us a motive to survive. Still today, religion is one of the biggest factors in modern civilizations. In several religion motives are used for example, christianity. In christianity to meet with god, you must do good. Religion can change a persons personality by aiding from stress, to giving hope. Religion can also reduce the fear of death. In ancient civilizations, egyptians did not fear death. In their religion they believed that living on earth was the beginning of life. Once dead it sends you to the beginning of happiness or horrible. Religion can also expand. If you have a strong connection to your religion, some people spread the word of their religion to other people. It also teaches manners and the difference between the good, and the evil. Vikings were such a significant civilization than any other because of their religion. Religion for the vikings have given them motivation to expand territories, learn between the good and the bad, and not to fear death but to welcome death; reasons why are from being taught was from viking mythology, heroic people and their warlike god.
Reason can be defined as trying to understand God and the explanation behind his decisions. We can understand God, and reason gives us hope at understanding God through scripture. Reason is a tool that we can use to discern and interpret God’s word and to gain insight into God’s character and personality. The nature of God is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, and supernatural, and reason provides a lens to look at the behavior of God through his nature. “God is not irrational,” and there is a reason behind everything that he does (WQL 5). Reason is a valuable tool for the Wesleyan Quadrilateral but reason does not stand
What this quote says, is that how can we possibly be responsible for our own actions if God knows what we are going to do anyways, and if God does know everyth...
Lonegran states that being human means having an unlimited number of questions regarding life and the universe; in order to answer these questions many turn to religion. Religion has traditionally been a major force in humanity’s search for meaning. Religi...
Life is an interesting journey that every living creature is a part of. Human beings are born into a family they do not pick and society that they do not choose. Within this unit, they are taught values and morals, which are ingrained into their daily lives. Ever since I was a child I have been exposed to many different influences, religion being one of them. To this day I can still remember my grandmother saying “God has a purpose for your life, follow Him.”
Predestination: the doctrine of the Bible, says that God has a purpose and He is working all things out according to His own will and purpose. Predestination teaches that God neither does nor permits anything except what serves. His purpose, this means that GOD IS the SELF-GOVERNING of the world, the one who does all things as he wills. (Houdmann.2013)
Religion helps establish mankind’s place in the order of the universe. As civilization began to be established through the domestication of animals, the irrigation and cultivation of agricultural crops, and life became more complex (moving from mainly a hunter/gather existence to one that could settle down and have more time to consider advanced ideas) people began to consider questions such as, where life comes from, is there a creator or creators who helped make the world, and what happens after we die. Religion helped answer some of these questions. It gave people purpose, meaning, and perspective. Religion helped establish nations in the case of religious theocratic governments. In many of the ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and even Mesopotamia, the priests and other religious leaders played prominent roles in help shaping the laws and government of these civilizations. As his...