To: kosta50; Forest Keeper; MarkBsnr
No, because God knows our hearts and choices before they are made. In His foreknowledge, He knew Mary would be the person she was and was therefore the only candidate for the role. There is a difference between foreknowledge and predestination.
So Mary's "free will" is a joke? There never was a chance that she would refuse?
11,360 posted on
11/25/2007 12:24:55 PM PST by
OLD REGGIE
(I am most likely a Biblical Unitarian? Let me be perfectly clear. I know nothing.)
To: OLD REGGIE; kosta50; MarkBsnr; irishtenor
So Mary's "free will" is a joke? There never was a chance that she would refuse?Yes, exactly. That's the only conclusion we can come to.
11,363 posted on
11/25/2007 12:56:57 PM PST by
Forest Keeper
(It is a joy to me to know that God had my number, before He created numbers.)
To: OLD REGGIE; Forest Keeper; MarkBsnr
So Mary's "free will" is a joke? There never was a chance that she would refuse? Your question would make sense if God were subject to time. God is transcendental. He doesn't wait for us to make our decisions; He sees our entire life in one instant. He knew Mary's choice, which was as free as Adam's and Eve's. As our Protestant friends would say: God was not surprized. But He did not make the chocie for her either, lest it be His choice and not hers.
11,367 posted on
11/25/2007 2:55:47 PM PST by
kosta50
(Eastern Orthodoxy is pure Christianity)
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