The degeneration of the soul is laced with suffering, but God offers us a path of spiritual healing via “the forgiveness of sins”, which slowly regenerates and revives the soul. In order to walk this path, we have to abstain from sinful activities and live a clean life founded upon God’s word. Many people fail to receive this healing because they go back into sin and so their actions counteract the work which God tries to bring about in them.

I can tell you from personal experience that depression is most definitely a sin illness. A better name for it, would be spiritual oppression. Those especially at risk from depression are the spiritually sensitive people who are Satan’s primary targets.

I always recommend that people read this book which is written by a psychiatrist who by the use of clinical hypnotherapy techniques, discovers demons afflicting her chronically ill patients: It is serious wake up call for mental health professionals and patients who are too afraid to confront the truth.

“Remarkable Healings” by Shakuntala Modi

It is good to be able to rest in the fact that God is completely in control of this situation, and that He is able to redemptively bring good out of death and destruction.

Bobby

I definitely need to think about that approach.

I am in Corpus so we are out of the woods on this one for now. I was prepared to leave though and the city had issued mandatory evac on Wed, but lifted it yesterday when Rita started to take a more NW path.

AMDG

To say that evil and sin don’t apply to God, of course, is the scriptural reality–but the logic provided by typical classical theists leads to the conclusion I speak of above.

I don’t think God is “hands off” either. But there is no necessary relationship between God being “sovereign” and His “direct” causal control over every happen-stance that occurs in nature or “super-nature” for that matter. In other words, God can, in His sovereignty, create “space” for events to take place apart from His character (holiness) that He is “NOT” primarily “directing”; rather “free agents” are (i.e. people).(How else does one understand anything that is “anti-thetical” to God and His purposes?). This in no way under-cuts God’s sovereignty nor does it imply that God is not in control or no longer sovereign. After all He uses, instrumentally, what would be meant for evil (anti-thetical to Him) and destruction to undermine that which would seek to oppose and thwart Him–that is an amazing display of sovereignty to me!

I agree with your idea of “judging God”, I also like the terminology, “harnassing God” to express the concept you are getting at. But, given the fact that we are humans, means that we must speak and articulate with the aparatus of language and logic that we have been given. Even you are making judgements about God, when you are arguing against making judgments of God–it seems the issue really becomes, are we making “right” judgments or “wrong” judgments about God.

Off subject, Brian, where are you at in relationship to the oncoming Hurricane Rita? I know you’re located in Texas somewhere, my “stat-counter” over at Mixed BAG shows your server hitting from Corpus Christi–are you located in one of these gulf cities in the Texas area? Be safe!

Bobby

I believe God is 100% Sovereign over everything, including weather.

However, I don’t have a problem with the “author of evil” thing as some do. See my article on judging God. Sin (and “evil” for that matter) are not applicable to God.

I don’t think there is anything in the Scripture that teaches that God is “hands off” of anything. In fact, I think we see quite the opposite. Man has invented this “hands off” theology so that it agrees with their mind in their judgement of God. The problem is they are missing the mark completely in doing so.

Lamentations 3:37-38
Amos 3:6

AMDG

I believe God “USES” the consequences of a “Fallen” world to accomplish His purposes, i.e. destructive weather patterns, sicknesses, etc. In other words, I think God has given man and all of creation over to the “forces” and consequences of sin (i.e. disorder, chaos, destruction). To me this is what God’s Wisdom is all about in I Corinthians 1:17-25, He is able to “break into” this fallen world, and “use” the destructive forces and consequences of sin (i.e. the death of the cross) to “birth” redemption (resurrection) for man and all of creation (Rom 8).

Of course all of creation is sustained by God’s word (Heb 1:3), but creation at this point is in futility and rebellion towards Him (Rom 8). Your question comes back to the age old debate of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. Talk later!