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To: jo kus; kosta50; Forest Keeper; Kolokotronis; Cronos; annalex
"What is interesting is that God reproves those whom He loves, and allows those who have turned from Him to continue in their ways of self-destruction. Thus, men DO choose the vomit - and God allows them to destroy themselves."

You only understand the first half of Augustine's paradox: 1) God commands what He wills and 2) He gives what He commands. God has to give us what He commands. Men will choose the vomit unless God gives them the grace and faith to overcome their blind obedience to sin. We can't do it on our own because there is not one thing that we have that has not been given to us by God, including whether we want to choose the vomit or not. God must give us what He has commanded. He doesn't give us 50% worth of knowledge to see if we'll chooose the vomit. He gives us enough faith to reject the vomit.

If you ONLY understand the first half of Augustine's paradox then you are living the Pelagius heresy.

2,586 posted on 02/13/2006 4:54:45 AM PST by HarleyD ("Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way?" Prov 20:24)
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To: HarleyD
If you ONLY understand the first half of Augustine's paradox then you are living the Pelagius heresy.

If you ONLY understand God's sovereignty without understanding at the same time man's free will to choose, you are living the Calvinism heresy of double predestination - that God actively chooses to create and send men to hell. Only with man's free will is God's justice left intact.

If God creates something that cannot do a command of His, then how can He judge the creation as a failure?

Of course God gives what He commands. But He does not overwhelm nature. The fact that man can ignore God's graces is clear from Scripture, and shows that man DOES have a choice to make.

Regards

2,588 posted on 02/13/2006 8:32:00 AM PST by jo kus
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