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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | another hypothetical, applied ethics | James 4:7 | Parable | 47778 | ||
Here's another hypothetical to spark your imagination. Yes, there are many reasons it is silly, but that's why its called a hypothetical: You are a paramedic. You find Satan lying on the ground, injured and bleeding. Without first aid, he will die. Let us also say that if Satan dies, the evil now present in the world would disappear. Your options are: do nothing, let him die render aid, save his life kill him, hasten the removal of evil What should you do? Explain. |
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2 | another hypothetical, applied ethics | James 4:7 | jawz | 47956 | ||
Your hypothetical is flawed from the outset. Satan is not the source of evil in the world, it is OUR disobedience, OUR rebellion against God. Satan dying would not remove evil from the world. I would help him. It would heap insults upon his head :) |
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3 | another hypothetical, applied ethics | James 4:7 | Parable | 47992 | ||
Your objection is noted and illustrates why considering hypotheticals can be instructive. I did not intend to imply that Satan was the source of evil, I meant only to offer an incentive for selfishness, which is always present in every situation we face. I agree that our disobedience is the reason for the Fall, yet in order for our choice to have meaning, there must be a real alternative for us to choose over God. We can choose life with God or without Him and by definition, life without God is evil and wicked. In line with your position, in Matthew 15:19, Jesus said evil deeds spring from our hearts. Yet, from whence that evil came to be in us is a mystery. We acknowledge that God's nature is not compatible with evil, yet also we acknowledge He is supreme. Fortunately, the origin of evil is irrelevant to its reality for us and to the fact we must reject it. Finally, while heaping insults upon his head is biblical, Proverbs 25:22, I submit that is not only reason to render aid. I cite Exodus 21:24, which limits revenge to be proportionate to the offense. Yet, in Matthew 5:39, Jesus tells us to submit to the offense and not retaliate at all and in 5:44, He instructs us to love our enemies. In the case of rendering aid to enemies, the OT would have us do kind deeds so that we may heap burning coals upon their heads, but Christ updates that by having us act out of love for them. Parable |
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