Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Acts 4:24 And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 4:24 And when they heard it, they raised their voices together to God and said, "O Sovereign Lord [having complete power and authority], it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM, [Ex 20:11; Ps 146:6] |
Subject: Is God in absolut contrl over all things |
Bible Note: Final response to this thread ............................................. Dear John, As you know this thread is being shut down by the authorities who control this site. They have requested that this be the last post made to the thread. I regret this decision, as it means that any future consensus that we are able to come to on this issue will be missed by anyone who has read this far. However, we have both decided to abide by their decision in this matter. .................................................................... I was glad that you decided to respond to the analogy. Basically you said that a boy with no legs actually has a choice whether to walk to the store or not. You said that he had “liberty” or was free, but just lacked the “ability”. I suppose we just have a different definition of freedom. According to my thinking if a person does not have the ability to do something, then they are not “free” to do it. For instance, you are not “free” to fly like a bird by flapping your arms, because it is impossible. I don’t understand what the word “freedom” means to you if it is impossible. .................................................................... Your answer to the second question was similar. You said that a boy whose desire is determined by someone else to be irresistably drawn to ice cream has the liberty to not go. How can he have the liberty to not go if the desire is irresistable? And how can it be “liberty” if the desire is put upon the boy by someone else? Once again, you seem to have some alternative meaning for the word “liberty”. .................................................................... Finally, you asked me a question about whether a person could ever choose something contrary to their strongest desire. I would say that the answer is no. I agree with you that a person must act based on their strongest desires. In fact, that is why I think that if a person’s desires are determined by someone else, then they are not truly “free” or “able” to make their own choices. .................................................................... Let me just finish by thanking you for your participation in this thread. It has been an enjoyable discussion, and I think that we will continue it through email. Hopefully, we will end up at consensus, but regardless, you have conducted yourself with reason and calmness on a subject that can easily cause dissention. If anyone has been reading this thread and would like to discuss these issues further, please contact either John Reformed or myself at our email addresses listed in our personal profiles on this website. |