[HarleyD]

If you had the puppet-master type of God, then Jonah wouldn't even be in a position to disagree, God would have moulded his mind and made Jonah DO it without even being in a position to choose.

Who was right; Jonah or God? If you disagreed with God who do you think would be right?

Assuming you agree that in a disagreement between you and God that God is ALWAYS right, wouldn't you want God to do whatever He needed to do to change your heart to conform to doing what is right? Everything comes from God. Even our repentance is from God.

Jonah thought hard and long in that fish but he came around. I'll tell you quite frankly it would have only taken me about 5 minutes before I'd be praying to get out of there. Not three days.

Do you honestly think that is being a "puppet" to God. Don't you want God to lead you on the right path or do you feel confident enough that you can make that decision?

Yes, there are several places in scripture that states that God "changed" His mind or repented. Any reliable commentator worth His salt (and I would suspect a great many Catholic theologians as well) will tell you these verses are more properly translates as God was "sorry" that this had to happen or that it is given for man's edification.

I know of no church father or reliable commentator who would agree with your ascertain that God didn't know what was going to take place and changed the course of the universe. After all isn't everyone's name written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. Surely He could have peeked to see if the people of Nineveh were in it.

[Cronos]

I'll tell you quite frankly it would have only taken me about 5 minutes before I'd be praying to get out of there. Not three days.
Yes, demonstrating your capacity of free will

[Cronos]

Do you honestly think that is being a "puppet" to God.

Nope, that's free will. What you claim as pre-destination means complete mental control.

[Cronos]

will tell you these verses are more properly translates as God was "sorry" that this had to happen or that it is given for man's edification.

Really? First He wanted to destroy Nineveh, then He changed His mind -- was He sorry he didn't destroy it?

[Cronos]

I know of no church father or reliable commentator who would agree with your ascertain that God didn't know what was going to take place and changed the course of the universe.

Nope, that's not my point -- I say God KNEW completely what was going to take place, only He wasn't (and isn't) slave to some plan.