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If this is your first time reading this article, you might want to read up the other parts first. You can follow this links to Part-1, Part-2, Part-3 and Part-4 ===========================================================
Now that you’re satisfied with the explanation given for the previous question about Judas betrayal. We’ll need to test the same theory further with regards to the challenge posed to whether God is truly Omniscience.
The question: “If man’s life is predestined even before he was born then why did God regret that He made Saul the king and why was God sorry that He had made man? (1 Sam 15:10-11; Gen 6:6) Didn’t God know before hand that Saul will fail Him and that man will sin?”
The above question challenges predestination and God’s Omniscience i.e if our life is truly predestinated then God would have known what happens next and therefore God could not have regretted or saddened for something that He already predestined. Otherwise, we’ll have to agree that God is not Omniscience since He does not seems to know that Saul will turn away from Him and therefore, He regretted selecting him.
In order to provide a satisfactory explanation, we’ll need to determine what does Regret and Sad means. Does it means that God does not know that Saul will turn away from Him or that Man will sin?
Simply by the definition of predestination, it may seem difficult to explain why God felt this way. However, if we were to explain predestination as we’ve established earlier in our theory then it became a straightforward answer.
Take the example of Saul, he would have the choice to walk with God or turn away from God. Saul was personally select by God to be king (1 Sam 9:15-16); surely God knows that Saul would fail Him in future. If that is correct, then why God still choose him?
I like to introduce a theory here, which requires your careful consideration. While God had predestinated our life, God also gave us free will. Therefore, before we make a decision – God does not know what would be our decision.
To make this clearer, we use the example of Saul again.
When God selected Saul, He knew there is a chance that Saul will turn away from Him but at that point in time, Saul was the best choice to save the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines.
We all know that God is not limited by time and space but man is constrained. As long as Saul had not lived his life up to the point in time when he turn away from God, God’s view of Saul’s life is still a set of mingled paths of “good” and “bad” decisions. It is this, God had prepared or predestined for Saul - also for each of us, our own unique blueprint.
God will be clear of what is Saul’s outcome when Saul comes close to the turning point. God may, through some events and situations tries to influence him to make a “good” decision, just like He did for Judas but Satan is also working at the same time.
In the end, according to the example of Saul, God regretted that He choose Saul because Saul had made a “bad” decision. At that point when Saul was about to make that fatal decision, God knows that Saul is going to make a “bad” decision and informed Samuel (1 Sam 15:11-23). This is a solid proof of God’s Omniscience.
In conclusion, when God regretted or saddened, it does not mean that God does not know the outcome of man but rather it was the decision that man had made that had causes God to grieve.
God had predestinated our life for “good” and “bad” outcomes and it was up to us to choose how we live out our lives. This is when most of the time, we causes God to regret and be saddened.
My theory supports that God is Omniscience and the reason why God regretted or saddened, is solely due to "bad" decisions on the part of man. Man could have chosen to obey God – so, always consider you decisions and choose wisely.
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You can continue reading this article by following this link to Part-6
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More Reference:
Recently, I came across a set of fantasy game books by Ian Livingstone. Browsing through one of them will give you a very clear understanding of this theory of Predestination that I'm presenting here.
You can also go to Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighting_Fantasy for further information about him and his books.
August 07, 2008
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