Subject: The Problem with WoF in a nutshell |
Bible Note: "Do the Scriptures teach that human beings are (or can become) "little gods"? "No. If it were true that human beings are "little gods," then one would expect them to display qualities similar to those known to be true of God. This seems only logical. However, when one compares the attributes of humankind with those of God, we find more than ample testimony for the truth of Paul's statement in Romans 3:23 that human beings "fall short of the glory of God." Consider the following: * God is all-knowing (Isaiah 40:13,14), but man is limited in knowledge (Job 38:4). * God is all-powerful (Revelation 19:6), but man is weak (Hebrews 4:15). * God is everywhere-present (Psalm 139:7-12), but man is confined to a single space at a time (John 1:50). * God is holy (1 John 1:5), but even man's "righteous" deeds are as filthy garments before God (Isaiah 64:6). * God is eternal (Psalm 90:2), but man was created at a point in time (Genesis 1:1,26,27). * God is truth (John 14:6), but man's heart is deceitful above all else (Jeremiah 17:9). * God is characterized by justice (Acts 17:31), but man is lawless (1 John 3:4; see also Romans 3:23) * God is love (Ephesians 2:4,5), but man is plagued with numerous vices like jealousy and strife (1 Corinthians 3:3). If man is a god, one could never tell it by his attributes! Man's ignorance of his alleged divinity proves that he is not God. If human beings are essentially God, and if God is an infinite and changeless being, then how is it possible for man (if he is a manifestation of divinity) to go through a changing process of enlightenment by which he discovers his divinity? "The fact that a man 'comes to realize' he is God proves that he is not God. If he were God he would never have passed from a state of unenlightenment to a state of enlightenment as to who he is." To put it another way, "God cannot bud. He cannot blossom. God has always been in full bloom. That is, God is and always has been God." [Taken from "The Complete Book of Bible Answers" by Ron Rhodes, 1997, Harvest House Publishers, pgs. 287-288] |