Does God change his mind?

[OnceConvinced]

A Christian member of our forum recently pointed out a bible contradiction for all to see:

This verse was presented first:
Numbers 23:19 "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind."

The Christian then attempted to trump it with a contradictory scripture where God DOES change his mind, thus exposing a blatant bible contradiction:

Jeremiah 18:8 "But if that nation about which I spoke turns from its evil way, I'll change my mind about the disaster that I had planned for it."

Here are further verses that show God changing his mind:

Exodus 32:14
So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Amos 7:3
The LORD changed His mind about this. "It shall not be," said the LORD.

Jeremiah 18:10
if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. (wow this is a verse where God says he will break his promise!!)


So questions for debate:

Does Got change his mind?
If he does change his mind, how do we know he hasn't changed his mind about much of what he expected from us in the New Testament?
If he does change his mind, how can we really know what he wants of us today?

[hoghead1]

[Replying to post 457 by Danmark]

I'm still not sure I follow you here, so please be [patient. if you know certain passages are definitely flawed, then obviously those aren't from God, right? Now, are you trying to argue that we don't know if the unflawed ones are from God or not? I mean, are you arguing that if Scripture had absolutely no flaws, you would accept it was all dictated by God, or what? Or are you arguing that regardless of if the accuracy of Scripture, you can't tell if it is from God or just from us? After all, we can be inerrant judgments, not everything we say is flawed, though we do make many mistakes. If you argument is that reading the Bible in any way does not in and of itself prove God, I am inclined to agree with you. Here, you have to make a leap of faith, or resort to some form of extra-biblical arguments.

[Blastcat]

[Replying to post 469 by marco]



[center]Still not answering[/center]

Yeah, you keep repeating that.
But that's not what I just asked.

The discussion is losing its entertainment value, Blastcat.

But that's not what I just asked.

You STILL aren't taking the question very seriously, are you?
What is it.. TABOO or something to answer a direct question?

Some people come in here to discuss things in a serious manner.
Have fun in your debates.

Pretend that I don't have anything serious to say at your peril, sir.
Are you going to finally answer the question, or avoid it AGAIN?

[hoghead1]

[Replying to post 458 by Danmark]

OK, you have raised some good questions. However, I'm getting really concerned now, caught up as I am in this discussion, that we are getting way, way off the OP. The OP assumes God and then asks if God changes. I think we should stick with that topic. It's good to get into discussions as to whether God exists, proofs for the existence of God, etc. However, that is really material for another OP.

[Blastcat]

[Replying to post 471 by hoghead1]

I'm still not sure I follow you here, so please be [patient. if you know certain passages are definitely flawed, then obviously those aren't from God, right?

Wrong.
We have a FLAW.. we don't KNOW where it originates.

[Blastcat]

[Replying to post 473 by hoghead1]

[Replying to post 473 by hoghead1]

The OP assumes God and then asks if God changes. I think we should stick with that topic. It's good to get into discussions as to whether God exists, proofs for the existence of God, etc. However, that is really material for another OP.

Disagree completely.
If God doesn't even EXIST, it cannot CHANGE.

So, God's non-existence is a strike against God's being able to change.

That one in the NO CHANGE category.

[Danmark]

[Replying to post 457 by Danmark]

I'm still not sure I follow you here, so please be [patient. if you know certain passages are definitely flawed, then obviously those aren't from God, right? Now, are you trying to argue that we don't know if the unflawed ones are from God or not? I mean, are you arguing that if Scripture had absolutely no flaws, you would accept it was all dictated by God, or what? Or are you arguing that regardless of if the accuracy of Scripture, you can't tell if it is from God or just from us? After all, we can be inerrant judgments, not everything we say is flawed, though we do make many mistakes. If you argument is that reading the Bible in any way does not in and of itself prove God, I am inclined to agree with you. Here, you have to make a leap of faith, or resort to some form of extra-biblical arguments.

Yes to "If you argument is that reading the Bible in any way does not in and of itself prove God."
I'm also saying the seriously flawed parts and self contradictory parts are not from God, and they cast grave doubt upon the whole.
I'm also arguing there is nothing in the Bible that does not sound like a human wrote it. Tho' there is a passage I'm impressed with, that could indicate godly authorship. That's the passage where Moses wants to know God's name, and God indicates he is beyond naming, that he simply is who he is, "I am that I am."

It is very clear that the Bible as a whole indicates a changing god and a god that changes its mind. To me THAT is not a god, at least not an omniscient one.

[marco]

Pretend that I don't have anything serious to say at your peril, sir.

Are you going to finally answer the question, or avoid it AGAIN?

By the fruit shall ye know the tree, Blastcat.

I seem to have forgotten what your question was but I recall it had nothing to do with anything I said. Maybe somebody else will help you. Have a good day.

[marco]

You can't dump books because some readers do not use discretion.

I smile at the conclusions you attribute to me. I would not dare to open my mouth were my thoughts so aligned.

I think you too glibly wrote off my analogy. There is a solid reason for it. if we have genuine freedom, and I believe we do, then no, God cannot micromanage us. God cannot decide for us. We have to decide for ourselves. And in the process, there is considerable possibility of error or sin or whatever you want to call it on our part. That holds for us all and also for all the biblical writers as well.

Hoghead, I accept that the orthodox God of the Bible is perhaps a static being. We sing hymns about him being above all change - O thou who changeth not....
If your God is affected by events, as your system suggests, then he changes and changes constantly. It is not really possible to argue against this view since it is assembled from premises to which we cannot properly assign true or false.

The present discussion looks at the source of some of the grounds for your idea of God, namely Biblical truth. When you say there are errors, you are open to the charge that your whole view may be built on error. No, you say, since you build on the truths that the Bible contains. This is fair enough, but who decides which verses are true and which are false. Those who believe the Bible is inerrant do not have this problem.

As I see it, your God emerges from modern thought, taking account of what the ancients could not have known. Your God has sophistication, and rightly or wrongly, you endow him with compassion and love, claiming he is evident by the ubiquity of beauty. This is an article of faith, redeeming your belief system from the impersonality of, say, pantheism. Perhaps, in seeking God, we must always cross that Red Sea of faith and leave cold reason behind. And possibly, miraculously, for some the waters do indeed part at the will of God. A beautiful idea.

[Blastcat]

[Replying to post 477 by marco]




[center]Avoidance number 6

The question was is it possible to talk directly to God?[/center]

Pretend that I don't have anything serious to say at your peril, sir.

Are you going to finally answer the question, or avoid it AGAIN?

By the fruit shall ye know the tree, Blastcat.

?????????

HUH?

?????????

I seem to have forgotten what your question was but I recall it had nothing to do with anything I said.

WOW.. and you don't seem to know how to LOOK FOR IT?

Amazing dance... quite tippity tip toe tap dancy.

Not any kind of answer.
Just another kind of AVOIDANCE.

You forgot?
LoL

So charming that excuse.

The dog ate your homework?

You were almost mugged on the way to the church and just had to go to the bar all day in order to recover from the shock instead of getting married?

_______________

LET ME REMIND:

"Are you saying that it's possible to talk to God directly? "
_______________

Are you going to find yet ANOTHER way to avoid answering it?

[Blastcat]

[Replying to post 478 by marco]



[center]A CORRECTION[/center]

I think you too glibly wrote off my analogy. There is a solid reason for it. if we have genuine freedom, and I believe we do, then no, God cannot micromanage us. God cannot decide for us. We have to decide for ourselves. And in the process, there is considerable possibility of error or sin or whatever you want to call it on our part. That holds for us all and also for all the biblical writers as well.

CORRECTION:

I didn't write what you attributed to me.
I think you meant "hoghead1", instead.