What is God responsible for?

[Willum]

Many things were done in God's name:
But what is he responsible for?

When the Catholic Nazi Germany attempts a genocide, a man is blamed.
When Hebrews commit genocide on the Canaan, it is his will.

We have plagues, on Catholic countries, for example. The Dark Ages were committed in Yahweh's name. Were they?

Why would Yahweh plunge the civilization of Rome, with health, farming and sanitation, back into the primitive squalor of ancient Jerusalem, if so?

If not, why did he not stop such a terror? It seems to be in His purview.

How does one determine if an act is done in God's will, or men's will?
Does the Bible tell us?

Understanding that free will is a constraint - we can also understand that mob's and large numbers of people lose free will, does this fall into God's purview, then?

In short, how does one know what God is responsible for;
Any group decision?
A decision influenced by prayer?

The position is that presented by Romans 13:

Obey the rulers who have authority over you. Only God can give authority to anyone, and he puts these rulers in their places of power. 2 People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done, and they will be punished. 3 Rulers are a threat to evil people, not to good people. There is no need to be afraid of the authorities. Just do right, and they will praise you for it. 4 After all, they are God’s servants, and it is their duty to help you.

The position of the OP is: those atrocities committed by governments, God's will, and he is responsible for them.

[onewithhim]

I do not believe that people who act in His name are really acting in His name.

You mean OTHERS who are not JWs, for of course JWs act in his name and if we were all doing things that way there would be no wars, no Holocaust and no mosquitoes to give us malaria. That is one giant presumption, sort of belittling the multitudes of saintly people who love their God and help others unselfishly.

He does not run countries either. Those are Satan's domain.

Oh dear. God has made a non-intervention pact with Satan, allowing him to run countries? Plausible.

I've said what God is responsible for, and we can know this from reading Bible prophesies and realizing that every prophecy in the Bible has come true up to this point.

No, prophecies don't come true. They are made to coincide with events that have happened. As you are doing with the end of the world scene, people guess what words might mean and attach some interpretation. Invariably they are wrong, certainly about apocalyptic predictions.

Jehovah's Witnesses also help others unselfishly. Check out their website and see for yourself. They don't make this stuff up. JWs also go directly to the people to show them what the truth of the Bible is. In that face-to-face approach, we can help people to align their lives with God's principles and thus live a better, more secure, happier life.

Prophesies HAVE come true. Take for example the prophecy of Babylon being destroyed. The prophecy was written hundreds of years before it actually happened. The man who would conquer the city was even named. Cyrus. Then there is the prophecy of the destruction of Tyre on the coast of Israel. It happened just as Jehovah said it would. Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (which happened in 70 A.D.), over 35 years in advance. It happened just as he said it would, in detail.

All we can do is give a warning. It is the individual's prerogative to ignore it if he so chooses.


(Yes, God allowed Satan to have control of the nations. It was because of Satan's challenge, as I cited from the first chapter of Job. The Bible completely supports this idea. It's pretty clear from Luke 4:5-7: "And [Satan] led him [Jesus] up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, 'I will give you all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if you worship before me, it shall all be yours.'")

.

[hoghead1]

[Replying to post 261 by onewithhim]

I take issue with you claim that"Jehovah's Witnesses also help others unselfishly. Check out their website and see for yourself. They don't make this stuff up. JWs also go directly to the people to show them what the truth of the Bible is. In that face-to-face approach, we can help people to align their lives with God's principles and thus live a better, more secure, happier life." I don't see a word of truth in this claim. However, a fuller discussion of this matter belongs over at the JW forum.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 261 by onewithhim]

I second that: talking to people face to face is a good way to communicate. We allow people to ask us their question directly and make an effort to answer them from their own bibles.

[dio9]

[Replying to post 253 by dio9]
Maybe the penalty was actually physical death. Maybe God relented and the sentence was reduced to banishment? Or is God incapable of simple forgiveness?

wouldn't banishment from God be spiritual death.

[dio9]

[Replying to post 258 by dio9]
I would imagine if that were true Christianity would be united in thought and action?

Jeremiah 32:39
I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them.

Not robot like but indeed one in the spirit . We would sense God's presence in each other , translating this sense into loving one another as God has concern for each of us and we have concern for God. True Christians live in a give and take of love and good will toward others of good will.

[Willum]

[Replying to post 261 by onewithhim]

So you are saying God is responsible for what He prophesies?

Certainly if he foresaw it, he could prevent it. That means responsibility.

Yes, so I believe Psalms is correct,

Psalms 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Proverbs 16:9 - A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

And as ToN mentioned:

Psalms 139:
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (NIV)

According to the Bible, everything has already been written in God's book. Everything that occurs is part of God's plan, including Hitler and the holocaust.

[Replying to post 247 by ttruscott]
TS, it is somewhat insulting that you speak out against what you haven't looked at.

It is funny, if you don't ask what the obvious statements in the Bible mean, and accept what they say, the Bible is pretty clear.

[Monta]

[Replying to post 261 by onewithhim]

"(Yes, God allowed Satan to have control of the nations. It was because of Satan's challenge, as I cited from the first chapter of Job. The Bible completely supports this idea. It's pretty clear from Luke 4:5-7: "And [Satan] led him [Jesus] up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, 'I will give you all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if you worship before me, it shall all be yours.'") "

Satan 'led' Jesus, did not force Him against His will.

If God allows satan to have control over nations it is because nations have
already given its control to satan.

[2timothy316]

If God allows satan to have control over nations it is because nations have
already given its control to satan.

This is true. Humans gave Satan the reigns a long time ago when the first humans rebelled against God and didn't want Him to tell them 'right from wrong'. They wanted to rule for themselves. Today, there is no national government that I know of that gives control to God. Even when there was a national government (the ancient Israelites) they were spotty at best when it came to who was in control, sometimes Jehovah but many times they gave it over to Satan.

[Willum]

[Replying to post 261 by onewithhim]

If God allows satan to have control over nations it is because nations have
already given its control to satan.

So let me get this straight. NATIONS are cogent enough to give themselves over to Satan? and God allows this? There is no Biblical reason for him to do this!
How and why? and how does one know which nations are acting under God's directives, and who is acting under Satan's?

Which ones are God responsible for? How do you know?

[postroad]

[Replying to post 264 by dio9]

God is not in the garden.