Say \u201cYes\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
We accompanied our son and his fianc\u00e9 when they met with her priest to sign some pre-wedding ceremony papers. While filling out the form, our son read aloud a few questions. When he got to the last one, which read: \u201cAre you entering this marriage at your own will?\u201d He looked over at his fianc\u00e9. \u201cPut down \u201cYes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Lilyan van Almelo, in 5\u201393 Reader\u2019s Digest, p. 138<\/p>\n
Albert Einstein<\/b><\/p>\n
Einstein gave grudging acceptance to \u201cthe necessity for a beginning\u201d and eventually, to \u201cthe presence of a superior reasoning power,\u201d but never did he accept the doctrine of a personal God. Two specific obstacles blocked his way. According to his journal writings, Einstein wrestled with a deeply felt bitterness toward the clergy, toward priests in particular, and with his inability to resolve the paradox of God\u2019s omnipotence and man\u2019s responsibility for his choices. \u201cIf this being is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also His work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an almighty being? In giving out punishment and rewards He would to a certain extent be passing judgment on Himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to Him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Seeing no solution to this paradox, Einstein, like many other powerful intellects through the centuries, ruled out the existence of a personal God.<\/p>\n
The Finger of God, Hugh Ross, Promise Pub., 1991, p. 59<\/p>\n
God\u2019s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility<\/b><\/p>\n
During his days as guest lecturer at Calvin Seminary, R. B. Kuiper used the following illustration of God\u2019s sovereignty and human responsibility.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liken them to two ropes going through two holes in the ceiling and over a pulley above. If I wish to support myself by them, I must cling to them both. If I cling only to one and not the other, I go down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI read the many teachings of the Bible regarding God\u2019s election, predestination, his chosen, and so on. I read also the many teachings regarding \u2018whosoever will may come\u2019 and urging people to exercise their responsibility as human beings. These seeming contradictions cannot be reconciled by the puny human mind. With childlike faith, I cling to both ropes, fully confident that in eternity I will see that both strands of truth are, after all, of one piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Morren, Lake City, Michigan<\/p>\n
Resource<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Decision Making and the Will of God, p. 205, illustration of marriage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Say \u201cYes\u201d We accompanied our son and his fianc\u00e9 when they met with her priest to sign some pre-wedding ceremony papers. While filling out the form, our son read aloud a few questions. When he got to the last one, which read: \u201cAre you entering this marriage at your own will?\u201d He looked over at … Continue reading “Will, freedom of”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}