God is in control, what does that mean?

[pearl]

Sorry, but you made allusion to the idea that the power you suppose created the universe is powerless to act within it (has no "hands but ours"). That's bizarre.

One may think God has the power to overrule the law of gravity in order to stop a plane from crashing in order to same the passengers etc. Really?

 

[InChrist]

Just that control and responsibility are linked.

If someone is in control, then they're responsible for the outcome. If they're not responsible, then this implies they weren't in control.

Do you know what God’s planned outcome is?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

One may think God has the power to overrule the law of gravity in order to stop a plane from crashing in order to same the passengers etc. Really?

And again, you are picking one thing based on a logical impossibility, and trying to pretend it applies everwhere, including where logical impossibilities have no bearing at all.

I'm merely pointing out the pathetic logical problems inherent in the notion of God as presented to me by the Abrahamic religions. It takes "faith" to get around those illogicalities -- and I don't happen to possess that faith. You appear to possess it, and so the illogic doesn't bother you.

But it is still there....

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Do you know what God’s planned outcome is?

The people who say "sin" exists claim to know, and they also claim that God has failed to achieve it.

If sin is falling short of God's standard, then sin should not exist in any universe with a God that's omni-whatever enough to ensure that his standard is met.

IOW, the existence of sin indicates a failure of God to meet his own standard.

 

[Aupmanyav]

It is not God's responsibility to banish evil acts, it is a human responsibility.
You are not the fruit of Baha'u'llah's tree, you are the fruit of God's tree.

If everything is our responsibility, then why do we need this fictitious entity Allah / God?
I am the fruit of my parents efforts, not of any God.

 

[halbhh]

Last night I heard about a road rage incident on the TV wherein a six-year old child was shot to death in the car his mother was driving.

I copied down exactly what the school pastor said:

“I try to just lay it out to them in a simple way so that they can understand that bad things happen even to a godly situation…

God’s in control, we try to make them understand what that means.”

What is that supposed to mean? Is that supposed to make people feel better? Are people who say that rather naive, or do they just have strong faith?

I believe that God is I control, but I do not understand what that means to this pastor. I only know what it means according to my Baha’i beliefs, as noted below.

“Know thou, O fruit of My Tree, that the decrees of the Sovereign Ordainer, as related to fate and predestination, are of two kinds. Both are to be obeyed and accepted. The one is irrevocable, the other is, as termed by men, impending. To the former all must unreservedly submit, inasmuch as it is fixed and settled. God, however, is able to alter or repeal it. As the harm that must result from such a change will be greater than if the decree had remained unaltered, all, therefore, should willingly acquiesce in what God hath willed and confidently abide by the same.

The decree that is impending, however, is such that prayer and entreaty can succeed in averting it.

God grant that thou who art the fruit of My Tree, and they that are associated with thee, may be shielded from its evil consequences.” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 133

To me, God is in ultimate control -- He keeps vigil on our eternal souls, urging us towards Him, if we will (to return to what we had at first). It's not this temporary body He saves from its natural end, except when needed temporarily for the ultimate goal.

 

[Trailblazer]

If everything is our responsibility, then why do we need this fictitious entity Allah / God?

We need God because God sends Messengers.

I am the fruit of my parents efforts, not of any God.

That's true.

 

[F1fan]

Bad GPS.

Well American right wing extremists need to get better GPS if they want to cross the Delaware and don't "accidentally" ransack the Capitol again. I means what an embarrassing "mistake". BTW, Biden won the election. Trump lost.

 

[F1fan]

If you are not interested in what the Bible actually says, then don’t tell me I’m playing mental gymnastics with interpretation.

It's not being interested in your interpretation of the Bible.

Humans have freedom to choose now. God is letting humanity live out their choices and consequences. There will be no doubt concerning God’s ultimate control and justice on Judgement Day.

It's almost as if your god doesn't exist. Kinda funny.

And when do you think Judgment Day will be?

 

[Trailblazer]

To me, God is in ultimate control -- He keeps vigil on our eternal souls, urging us towards Him, if we will (to return to what we had at first). It's not this temporary body He saves from its natural end, except when needed temporarily for the ultimate goal.

It is so refreshing to hear a Christian that actually believes that the physical body is only temporary.

 

[Trailblazer]

Humans have freedom to choose now. God is letting humanity live out their choices and consequences. There will be no doubt concerning God’s ultimate control and justice on Judgement Day.

That's right, but Judgement Day is already upon us:

The Day of Judgment

 

[Trailblazer]

And when do you think Judgment Day will be?

It has already arrived:

The Day of Judgment

 

[Aupmanyav]

We need God because God sends Messengers.

To create strife in the world? Which person who claims to be Allah's messenger has not done that? For his own interest or for the interest of his progeny!
Krishna and Buddha were not messengers, they were "Swayam Bhagawan" (God Himself, avataras of Lord Vishnu).
God of Abraham has no connection with us.

 

[F1fan]

It has already arrived:

The Day of Judgment

How long will the Day of Judgment last? More than a day? They need a better PR firm.

 

[InChrist]

That's right, but Judgement Day is already upon us:

The Day of Judgment

Not according to the biblical scriptures. Thanks for the link, but I don’t consider Baha’i teachings or interpretations of the Bible accurate.

 

[Trailblazer]

To create strife in the world? Which person who claims to be Allah's messenger has not done that? For his own interest or for the interest of his progeny!

Not one of the Messengers of God created strife in the world, it was the religious followers who created the strife.
Not one of the Messengers of God did anything in His own interest or in the interest of His progeny.
All of the Messengers of God suffered and sacrificed for the sake of God.

 

[Trailblazer]

How long will the Day of Judgment last? More than a day? They need a better PR firm.

The great Day of Judgment will last no less than 1000 years, as long as the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah lasts, until the coming of the next Messenger of God. After the next Messenger comes there will be another Day of Judgment, and so on and so forth...

"In the Bahá’í interpretation, the coming of each Manifestation of God is a Day of Judgment, but the coming of the supreme Manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh is the great Day of Judgment for the world cycle in which we are living. The trumpet blast of which Christ and Muhammad and many other prophets speak is the call of the Manifestation, which is sounded for all who are in heaven and on earth—the embodied and the disembodied. The meeting with God, through His Manifestation, is, for those who desire to meet Him, the gateway to the Paradise of knowing and loving Him, and living in love with all His creatures. Those, on the other hand, who prefer their own way to God’s way, as revealed by the Manifestation, thereby consign themselves to the hell of selfishness, error and enmity." Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era, p. 220

To read the entire chapter: The Day of Judgment

 

[F1fan]

The great Day of Judgment will last no less than 1000 years.....

They should have called it the Judgment Millennium. Big mistake on their part. Misleading. Deceptive.

 

[InChrist]

The people who say "sin" exists claim to know, and they also claim that God has failed to achieve it.

If sin is falling short of God's standard, then sin should not exist in any universe with a God that's omni-whatever enough to ensure that his standard is met.

IOW, the existence of sin indicates a failure of God to meet his own standard.

I am not sure what you refer to that God has failed to achieve or who it is that says He has failed. Clarify if you like.

Neither do I see how the existence of sin indicates God has failed to meet His own standard. On the other hand, human sin certainly indicates people fail to meet God’s standards. Just as the scriptures say... “ all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

 

[F1fan]

Not one of the Messengers of God created strife in the world, it was the religious followers who created the strife.
Not one of the Messengers of God did anything in His own interest or in the interest of His progeny.
All of the Messengers of God suffered and sacrificed for the sake of God.

Assuming a God exists. And assuming the messengers are actually directed by an actual God, which they cannot confirm. So, dubious.