As another point of view to ezekiel3?s excellent post I have pasted a letter I wrote to the WT$ along a similar vein. I was counted unofficially as an apostate (thanks guys) for writing this letter and had a posy of elders come round to my place to give me the response which was from what I could work out from the WT$ was ?we don?t know the answer to this at this time?.
I can?t say I necessarily agree with this anymore but somebody may find it interesting to read.
In the Insight Book on page 853 it states ?Similarly, if, in certain respects, God chooses to exercise his infinite ability of foreknowledge in a selective way and to the degree that pleases him, then assuredly no human or angel can rightly say: ?What are you doing?? (Job 9:12; Isa 45:9; Da 4:35) It is therefore not a question of ability, what God can foresee, foreknow, and foreordain, for ?with God all things are possible.? (Mt 19:26) The question is what God sees fit to foresee, foreknow, and foreordain, for ?everything that he delighted to do he has done.??Ps 115:3.?
There is no doubt that Jehovah can predict the future (along with foreknowledge and consistent with Jehovah?s name there is even less doubt that he causes prophecy to happen compare Am 3:7, 8, Isa 37:24, Rev 12:6 with Mat 24) but is this ability of foreknowledge infinite (Jehovah would have the infinite ability of foreordination Isaiah 55?11 but this is not the subject of this letter), is the belief and teaching of Jehovah?s infinite ability to foreknow the future consistent with God?s word (compare Ecclesiastes 9:11) or is this simply an answer to what Calvin taught?
The text used to prove that Jehovah has an ?infinite ability of foreknowledge? is Mathew 19:26. If we look at this scripture in context with cross reference?s we can see if this proves that Jehovah has an ?infinite ability of foreknowledge?
Mt 19:23-26
?Truly I say to YOU that it will be a difficult thing for a rich man to get into the kingdom of the heavens. 24 Again I say to YOU, It is easier for a camel to get through a needle?s eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.? 25 When the disciples heard that, they expressed very great surprise, saying: ?Who really can be saved?? 26 Looking them in the face, Jesus said to them: ?With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Does the context of this scripture suggest that Jesus was discussing the fundamental design of the universe or was he discussing Jehovah?s ability to save people compared to man?s inability? If someone were to say ?this new job has opened up endless possibilities for me? would we then conclude that this man was claiming infinite ability to foresee the future? Surely the word possible must be taken in context or otherwise we would get into circular arguments such as ?can God create a rock that he can?t lift? or ?can god find something that he finds impossible.? Similarly in Mathew 17 Jesus said ?He said to them: ?Because of YOUR little faith. For truly I say to YOU, If YOU have faith the size of a mustard grain, YOU will say to this mountain, ?Transfer from here to there,? and it will transfer, and nothing will be impossible for YOU?. Would we now conclude that Jesus disciples with enough faith have infinite abilities at foresight?
To get a more balanced understanding of this scripture in Mathew we could look at a similar account in Luke 18 which reads 24 Jesus looked at him and said: ?How difficult a thing it will be for those having money to make their way into the kingdom of God! 25 it is easier, in fact, for a camel to get through the eye of sewing needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.? 26 Those who heard this said: ?Who possibly can be saved?? 27 He said: ?The things impossible with men are possible with God.
Here we see a direct contrast between man?s ability and God?s, rather than an across the board claim of infinite ability. The Reference Bible at Zecariah 8:6 ?Although it shall be impossible in the sight of the remaining ones of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible in my sight?? LXX.? It is noteworthy that in the footnote the word ?impossible? in the Greek Septuagint could also be translated into English as the word ?difficult? by the authors of the New World Translation.
Jehovah is All Knowing
There is no statement in the bible I can find that states Jehovah has an infinite ability at foreknowledge. There is no example of Jehovah foretelling the eternal future of an individual unless their life course had already panned out. We could note the example of ones such as Judas who Jesus later spoke of as the ?son of destruction? in John 17:12. It was not inconceivable that Judas could have been forgiven for his sin but Jehovah judges the heart 1 Sam 16:7. The Insight Book clearly defines how much prediction was involved with Judas.
Paul wrote regarding himself In 1 Tim 1:8 ?From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day?. This scripture written in 65 CE after Paul had spent most of his life serving Jehovah. Before this Paul indicates that this acceptance was something he was still striving to achieve (Phil 3:12).
The way that Jehovah eternally judges people (good or bad) is based on what is in a person?s heart according to their actions. If then Jehovah does not have the ability of infinite foreknowledge, could that be consistent with I John 3:19:20 which states, ?By this we shall know that we originate with the truth, and we shall assure our hearts before him 20 as regards whatever our hearts may condemn us in, because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.??
Yes, because to know all things is to know everything there is to know. If every human?s future was able to be known then according to this scripture Jehovah would know it. Jehovah God is one person who invented and conceived everything down to the tiniest atom. There is nowhere in the bible to suggest that he tunes into the six o?clock news to get updates or has a giant forecasting super computer that he logs into to get predictions on the future. There is also no reason to believe he segregates his mind and puts all the bits of information there that is not convenient to know. Gen 22:12 which reads, ?for now I do know that you are God-fearing in that you have not withheld your son? would be meaningless if that knowledge existed somewhere in Jehovah?s mind. If there is any doubt as to the extent Jehovah goes to know things please review the scriptures listed here (Prov 15:3, Jere 16:17, 23:24-25, Heb 4:13 Zech 4:10).
Jehovah is All Powerful
Does Jehovah not having the ability of infinite foresight suggest that he is not all powerful? Wouldn?t that mean that Jehovah has power over all that he has created? Surely we would not imagine that Jehovah somehow has created a world where he has implanted some kind of back door just in case things go wrong. Why wouldn?t Jehovah have the power to make a world where people have true free choice (Gen 2 16, 17)?
To illustrate;
A team of competent computer programmers are commissioned to spend 2 years to build a secure system. At the end of this period all the passwords are changed so they don?t have system access. Would it be reasonable (especially in light of security flaws highlighted in the news of the world?s major computer systems) to believe they would be able to break into that system again? The reason they could more than likely break in is because no human can make a perfect system.
Mankind?s modern quest to create intelligent machines (neural networks, robots, artificial intelligence) has proved to be an impossible challenge. So while it is difficult or even impossible for man to create intelligent life with a self defining destiny the scripture in Luke 18:27 (He said: ?The things impossible with men are possible with God.?) could apply.
To believe that Jehovah?s almightiness dictates that he must have the ability to infinitely foresee everything is a short sighted, ?knee jerk? reaction to the word all-powerful. Perhaps this one reason Jehovah said to Moses ?I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty [be´El´ Shad?dai´], but as respects my name Jehovah I did not make myself known to them.? (Ex 6:3). Jehovah?s name along with all the other titles that he is known by gives us a far more balanced idea of how Jehovah created the world!
Jehovah?s all knowingness, prophecy, ?possibility to do things men can?t?, foreknowledge, and foreordination describe only his power and ability but not the reason why he did things. Focusing only on Jehovah?s power gives little evidence as to whether intelligent creatures were created with a predictable or an unpredictable future. The articles you sent me agree that Jehovah does not foresee the eternal future of all individuals (from birth etc). If we look at some of Jehovah?s qualities (excluding the ones already used in the articles you sent me proving Jehovah does not ?use? an infinite ability of foreknowledge) does it suggest that he designed the world with this ability in the first place?
Jehovah?s Wisdom
Psalm 104 24 says, ?How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions?. Would it have been wise for Jehovah to create intelligent creatures with a predictable future? It could have been, if the world was eternally perfect (of course, there would be no free will in this world). To create humans with a predictable future without foreseeing that future first would have been folly considering the consequences.
Jehovah?s word in Proverbs 22, 3 says, ?Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along and must suffer the penalty?. Why would Jehovah have ignored his own wise advice? Imagine the pain he must have suffered hearing his own son beg him to ?remove this cup from me? even crying out ?Abba, Father? (Mark 14 36), and then dying painfully as if a common evildoer, all this for predictable humans? Would we consider a father wise if he lost his family on a camping trip to hyperthermia for the sake of tuning into a radio station to listen to a weather forecast?
It would be wise to create beings that were truly unpredictable free moral agents (though considering Jehovah?s position as the ?happy God? 1st Titus 1, 11 it was an incredibly brave and selfless act) because then Jehovah will have individuals serve him eternally not because of law or some genetic advantage but out of love. Unlike law, which Adam broke soon after being created, Jehovah wisely would have known that ?love never fails?. (1st Corinthians 13, 8). The bible clearly shows though that Jehovah wisely has an ultimate outcome and will not allow the world to continually be plagued by wickedness (compare Rev 1, 8 Isaiah 45, 18 Isaiah 55, 11 Psalms 37 10-11, 29).
Jehovah?s Justice
Exodus 21:36 says ?Or if it was known that a bull was in the habit of goring formerly but its owner would not keep it under guard, he should without fail make compensation with bull for bull, and the dead one will become his own.?. Would the argument stand that the owner had chosen to personally not know what his bull had done; now he had the ability to reasonably foreknow the outcome of his bull if left unguarded?
Galatians 5:14 says ?For the entire Law stands fulfilled in one saying, namely: ?You must love your neighbour as yourself?. If we had the ability to foreknow something serious that would affect our neighbour but choose not to look it up; could we say that we fulfilling the scripture above?
If Jehovah was to stand before a court of law; would the judge find it acceptable that six thousand years of human suffering could have been avoided by simply looking up our eternal futures and perhaps giving Adam a different genetic makeup? If Jehovah used the argument that he didn?t look up our futures to protect ?free will?, would not the prosecuting lawyer in this hypothetical court argue that people didn?t really have free will and this was just an excuse to play out some kind of game.
This court will never happen because Deuteronomy 32:4,5 says ?The Rock, perfect is his activity, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; Righteous and upright is he. They have acted ruinously on their own part; They are not his children, the defect is their own. A generation crooked and twisted.?
Acts 10:34, 35 says ?At this Peter opened his mouth and said: ?For a certainty I perceive that God is not partial, 35 but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him?. Would Jehovah have inspired Luke to record Peter?s speech if he had created people with a predictable future? If our eternal futures were predictable would not our genetic makeup?s come into play as to whether we where righteous or not? Is it possible that people have used this belief; that God has some how ?fated? them (whether directly or indirectly) to their lot in life (e.g. taking no responsibility to learn about God or perhaps believing they had a natural superiority because of heritage like the Pharisees of Jesus time)? If this belief where true would not Jehovah be some what responsible for the racial wars that have plagued human history?
A strict belief in fate is the worst of slavery, imposing upon our necks an everlasting lord and tyrant, whom we are to stand in awe of night and day. - Epicurus
