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To: boatbums; stfassisi
"...he[God] is entitled, no, obligated to hate that which is wrong/evil." God is obligated, bb? By whom? This is exactly the sort of heretical thinking that the West is so prone to, namely that God is governed by an implacable and all powerful Necessity, that God really isn't "free" or omnipotent. If God Himself isn't free, how can we be free? The among the greatest gifts which God gives us is our freedom, or so we Orthodox believe, and it is precisely that freedom which creates the milieu within which the "rational flock, us, can become like God. And becoming like God, you will remember, is our created purpose. bb, the next time you look at an icon of Christ, you will notice the Greek words, "Ο ΩΝ" written on it. They mean, very roughly, "the Being which creates Being (or the Existence which creates the state of Existence)". Such a "Being" is not subject to "Necessity". It is the origin of "Necessity", not subject to it. Positing that God is obligated or compelled to do or "feel" anything is dangerous thinking for Christians, bb. A Blessed Thanksgiving Day to you and yours!
3,203 posted on 11/25/2010 3:36:10 AM PST by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated)
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To: boatbums; stfassisi
"...he[God] is entitled, no, obligated to hate that which is wrong/evil."

God is obligated, bb? By whom? This is exactly the sort of heretical thinking that the West is so prone to, namely that God is governed by an implacable and all powerful Necessity, that God really isn't "free" or omnipotent. If God Himself isn't free, how can we be free? The among the greatest gifts which God gives us is our freedom, or so we Orthodox believe, and it is precisely that freedom which creates the milieu within which the "rational flock, us, can become like God. And becoming like God, you will remember, is our created purpose.

bb, the next time you look at an icon of Christ, you will notice the Greek words, "Ο ΩΝ" written on it. They mean, very roughly, "the Being which creates Being (or the Existence which creates the state of Existence)". Such a "Being" is not subject to "Necessity". It is the origin of "Necessity", not subject to it. Positing that God is obligated or compelled to do or "feel" anything is dangerous thinking for Christians, bb.

A Blessed Thanksgiving Day to you and yours!

3,204 posted on 11/25/2010 3:39:01 AM PST by Kolokotronis (Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated)
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