Mercy is a trait of God. So Him showing mercy, is Him not changing.
Peace,
tammy
If a scripture can be shown that Jehovah God "changes" his mind then are we to believe anything he says in the bible?
by booker-t 15 Replies latest watchtower bible
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John Kesler
booker-t:Then a friend of mine who is atheist showed me a scripture in the bible that caught me totally off guard. It is in the book of Jeremiah. I don't know exactly the chapter and verse but it is when Jehovah says if he predicts destruction of a city or people and the people repent then he will relent from the destruction he promised. My friend asked me about Jonah and the people of Niveah and how god changed his mind because they repented. But Jonah told them "40" days Niveah will be destroyed. So what are we to believe if people repent then Jehovah will pospone Armaggeddon? I am not trying to sound "blaspemous" I am just abit confused.
booker T, it sounds like you are referring to Jeremiah 18. If so, then you may want to read the post I made 5-31-12 titled "Yahweh's False Promise About Judah." The issue isn't that Yahweh promised one thing but left open the possibility of reversing course, but that in the case of this passage, one prophet claimed that Judah could avert disaster by repenting, while other texts claim that the wickedness of King Manasseh sealed Judah's fate, even though the righteous King Josiah ruled when Jeremiah made his proclamation. Let me know what you think.
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Ultimate Axiom
It seems to me that not only does He change His mind, but He then regrets His original action as well, e.g;
Gen 6:6-7
Ex 32:14
1 Sam 15:10-11
2 Sam 24:15-16.
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John Kesler
It seems to me that not only does He change His mind, but He then regrets His original action as well, e.g;
Gen 6:6-7
Ex 32:14
1 Sam 15:10-11
2 Sam 24:15-16.
You may want to read chapter seven, page 107 ff of James Kugel's book How To Read The Bible, which discusses the "two models of God." As Kugel points out, the earlier conception of God--found in narratives in Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, and Judges--is an anthropomorphic one of a deity who has a body and is not omniscient and omnispresent. The latter perception often gets read into the former.
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Ultimate Axiom
Interesting JK, it kind of makes the proposition that all of the Bible is equally inspired from God and consistent look a bit lame. So booker-t, you should not be surprised to find Jehovah changing his mind, for He is quite a different person in different books. And He must have had lots of regrets, for even as late as Jeremiah he was getting tired of them (Jer 15:6). But then He doesn't just feel regret for the bad things He had planned, He even had some for the good things He did as well (Jer 18:10).
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prologos
Does the meaning of "Jehovah" not imply change? He becomes who He chooses to become?. The idea that Jehovah does not change does not mean that he can not react to changing situations. Free will implies that we can change our minds and take new directions. . My picture of Jehovah existing in time as gleaned from the scriptures is scetched at beabeorean.com.
I picture jehovah existing unmoving in time eternally past and future, we are MOVING into our future. Jehovah is already there! waiting for us, so to speak. The events in our travel into the future time are not totally determined, and Jehovah will react appropriately as our future unfolds. While certain outcomes are inevitable and predictable by him, I believe we have genuine choices of conduct within the laws of nature that we are subject to. He likes to see how we react to the exposing of myth and all now available. Can we not have great confidence in a capable creator and the resilience of his creation (life after dinosaurs)?
blessings.