Freewill (part 1)

November 23, 2008, 7:19 am by dc-agape.

     Today I want to start something that is much more difficult than reading the Word of God.  I want to also explore topics in the Word.  The reading of Genesis chapter 15 YHWH gives Abram a vision to Abram about the future.  This concept that YHWH knows the future brings up an interesting topic…freewill and predestination.  If an omnipotent, omnipresent YHWH exists can mankind have freewill?  I will look into the Word and see what other verses relate to our “freewill”.  I will be breaking this up into three parts.  The first part will be about specific people that did not have freewill in the Word.  The second part will be specific verses that indicate that we, all of us, do not have freewill. 

I will start with the Pharaoh of Egypt in Moses’ time.  Let’s look at this verse:

^{Exodus 10:1} Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them ^10:2that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the Lord.”

In this verse YHWH hardened the hearts of the Pharaoh and his officials.  This is the first official reference to YHWH purposely manipulating men’s hearts.  The Pharaoh did not have freewill; he was a puppet to YHWH.  To make matters worse YHWH then punishes the whole nation of Egypt for his own act of hardening Pharaoh’s heart.  Christians, this is your loving god, one who can manipulate a leaders heart for one purpose…to kill innocent bystanders (the people of Egypt)!

     Yes, christians, I know that your argument is that YHWH has the right to do this, or he needed to do this, or he just wanted to do this, and as a result it’s OK.  But it is not OK!  YHWH has the power to manipulate human hearts to acts of sin!  And he uses this ability with horrible consequences.  In this case he plagues the Egyptian with polluted waters, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locust, darkness, and finally killing the all firstborn children.  This is not the act of a loving creator; this is the act of a vile, hateful, monster!

     Another story from the Word about YHWH manipulating human freewill is in this verse:

^{Joshua 11:20} for it was the Lord himself who hardened their (the Hivites) hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

With the concept of these people already being separated from YHWH, “exterminating them without mercy” is beyond cruel.  It is not these peoples responsibility for the war against Israel, no; YHWH has chosen to force them to wage war.  The outcome of the war with Israel was total annihilation, and then burning in hell for eternity.  What a guy!  If this is love, no thank you!

     I also want to look at Saul.  In Samuel 9:15-16 YHWH chooses Saul to be the first King of Israel.  That’s one thing, YHWH chose Saul because he was the son of a “man of standing” and Saul was an impressive young man without (1^st Samuel 9:1-2).  So after YHWH chose Saul to be king, he also chose to give Saul and evil spirit:

^{1st Samuel 16:14} Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

Now this evil spirit, from YHWH, (and sorry it was not controlled by YHWH it was YHWH’s evil spirit) did much more than punish Saul.  In fact it is the evil spirit of YHWH that makes Saul throw a spear at David to kill him (1^st Samuel 19:9).  Saul did not have freewill, in becoming king, or freewill in the acts that the evil spirit of YHWH forced him to do.  Here again is an example of YHWH manipulating human’s for his own design.  This is not the act of a supreme being who wants all people to love and adore him through individual freewill!

     Since this post is getting so long, I will have two more parts.  The second part will be specific individual’s freewill in the New Testament.  This will include Judas, and Lydia.  The third part will be specific verses that contradict the concept that any human has freewill.

Posted in Freewill, Biblical topics | Print | No Comments »