From: Josh Bembenek (jbembe@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Jun 26 2003 - 10:57:09 EDT
George: "Certainly what Abraham is pictured as being engaged in is natural
theology. I agree with your analysis of the origin of such legends, but
this isn't simply a matter of building of Abraham. By doing that the
capability of human beings in general to discover something of the truth
about God on their own is built up. If we take this legend seriously we're
flattering not just Abraham but ourselves."
I agree that the presentation of Abraham discovering God is giving credit
where credit is not due. However, it seems that your description of our
coming to faith is solely placed in God's hands (as much scripture
supports.) It comes across almost like a natural law: God chooses and we
believe, much like magnets are drawn to one another naturally. I would love
to hear how you see free will participating in this process, and how we are
given enough freedom to remain responsible for our actions and commitment or
lack thereof to Christ, yet it is God who predestines and calls… (a magnet
has no choice to pull toward another magnet, according to natural law and
-besides it not being a moral agent- would not be held accountable for
acting according to magnetic forces.) I had a conversation about this with
some friends recently and would love to get some feedback, perhaps some
citations. Not to elevate the credit humans have, but to develop an
accurate and complete picture...
Josh
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