Tag: mercy
-
Has Allah Forgiven You?
Muslims and Christians both speak about the assurance of forgiveness.But they say opposite things. We see that very clearly in what their holy books claim about the assurance God gives us. The Qur’an (Surah 7:99):* أَفَأَمِنُوا۟ مَكْرَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَلَا يَأْمَنُ مَكْرَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَ ٩٩ Did they then feel secure against the plan…
-
Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 6 The Potter
God is all powerful. But that does not mean he is pleased with all things that happen, nor that he gets all that he desires. That is a logical leap made by the influential Reformed theologian John Calvin that led to him being confused about what the Bible says about God’s power. Calvin claimed that…
-
Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 5 Exodus, Pharaoh, Mercy and Hardening
God: (1) Wants all people to be saved. (2) But has mercy on whom he wills and hardens whom he wills. I do not know how those two truths fit together logically because God does not tell me. John Calvin introduced confusion into the Reformed churches by trying to explain how they fit together logically.…
-
Calvin’s Confusion about Predestination: 3 Summary of Romans 9-11
John Calvin, and so many who later followed him, was confused about predestination, thinking that God chose some people to be damned. But God wants all people to be saved and takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. This is the third in a series of posts responding to Calvin’s explanation of predestination…
-
God’s Not Waiting to Vent
God is not frustrated with you, waiting to vent. He doesn’t have mountains of pent up anger and frustration. If you come to him, he doesn’t need to unload on you before you can both be square. Other people in your life are like that. And—at least to some extent—you are like that. Human beings…
-
I Don’t Feel Good Enough
Everything around you, and inside you, is screaming that you have to measure up. You need to meet a certain standard. You need to achieve something. They are all wrong. Those voices either crush you because you fail, or turn you into a proud, self-righteous person. Neither leads anywhere good. So, those voices aren’t just…
-
A Robot Monk Is the Perfect Buddhist
The first ever robot monk was released this week. But that’s not as crazy as it sounds. In many ways, a robot is the perfect Buddhist. Because Buddhism of whatever flavour—Zen, Tibetan, Western—isn’t religion in the true sense of what religion is. Buddhism is a collection of mind techniques, with an option mix of philosophical…
-
God is Good. I Am Not.
God’s positive attitude to you doesn’t depend on you—not even on your faith. So much so that in Our Father, when explaining the request about forgiveness, Martin Luther—the “justified by faith alone” guy—doesn’t even use the word “faith” once! In life, people are so used to conditional relationship and qualified love, that God’s unconditional, unqualified,…
-
Does Allah Love the Wicked?
Muslims and Christians both speak about God—the one who created us.(Allah is simply the Arabic word for “God”.)But what they say about him is very different. We see that very clearly in what their holy books claim is God’s attitude to the wicked. The Qur’an (Surah 3:57):* وَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ ۗ…
-
God Is Not Angry with You
You assume God is angry with you and that you need to do something about it. That assumption is the problem. It’s understandable why you think that way: We often feel like God is angry with us.The world often looks as though he’s angry with us.And the Bible often sounds like he’s angry with us.…