Msgr Pope ping.
Ping!
No question that He did harden some human hearts - the real question is whether He continues to do so under the New Covenant...
It seems that atheists have their hearts hardened by the thought of God and gets harder as time goes on. I think it is a process that God affects everyone. Hearts are changed by all. The hearts of those who fear him turn toward him and those who hate him turn away. The more we are exposed the more we either harden or soften. Its a our reaction to God that causes change.
Thank you for posting those. Msgr. Pope is a great homilist.
A couple more passages on the subject:
(BBE)
Rom 9:18 So then, at his pleasure he has mercy on a man, and at his pleasure he makes the heart hard.
(BBE)
Rom 11:5 In the same way, there are at this present time some who are marked out by the selection of grace.
Rom 11:6 But if it is of grace, then it is no longer of works: or grace would not be grace.
Rom 11:7 What then? That which Israel was searching for he did not get, but those of the selection got it and the rest were made hard.
Rom 11:8 As it was said in the holy Writings, God gave them a spirit of sleep, eyes which might not see, and ears which have no hearing, to this day.
Good article.
If one remembers that God is love and everything that He does is for love, then we understand that every heart He hardens, every act of wrath that is outpoured, is in response to our rebellion and God breaking through our rebellious spirit.
For the Jewish nation the heart was the place where decisions were made. So, for us, it is like saying Pharaoh was hard headed. This is easier for us to understand.
Was Job’s heart hardened?