It is clear from the Scriptures that God changed His mind in the case of Moses and the people. Read what I listed.
Read back through the thread and you will see several instances where God changed His mind. I listed the Scriptures for everyone to read.
Do you really think God created the earth and all the people just to kill them all in a flood? Scriptures tells us God was angry with what He had created and wanted to start anew—which He did with Noah and his family.
If God knows what will happen to us, then what difference does it make how we live? Can’t we live just as wicked as we want to if God has already pre-destined that we would be saved? Think about what you are saying!
Old Scholar,
I wish to commend you on your well written posts. You certainly have done your “homework”. Having read through much of what both you and cfrancis have written, I can see both arguments having validity. Of course, as I said earlier, If God knows All, then He knows the outcome of every, “If-Then” possibility that exists in time and space. Thus it would be possible for God to both, Know everything and, “Change His Mind”, if He so chose.
I think there is something of a disconnect in these conversations that basically cannot be avoided. That is the fact that we cannot fully understand God. We cannot even really know His make-up or if He even has a “Mind” in the sense that we think of it. We can only think and speak and write of Him using language and terms that are 1) human and corporeal and therefore flawed and limited, 2)Insufficient to explain the Glory of God and 3) Difficult to communicate clearly even among ourselves.
There is just no way for us, limited by Time, Space, and Cranial capacity as we are, to understand a being/force/creator, that is not limited by such factors.
I have been trying to come up with an analogy that might help, but all fall short. Here is the best one I could think of.
Picture a classroom of 3rd graders being taught by an older and VERY experienced teacher who is stern but fair. This teacher has been around small children all her life and “knows” what they are thinking as a group. She also knows that occasioally she needs to bring them back into line.
So as the year starts she sets down the ground rules in no uncertain terms. She sets limits and rewards and punishments. She does this, knowing full well that they will push the limits. To make her point and establish her authority, she issues “stern punishment” to a couple of early “troublemakers” just to demonstrate that, "you don’t want to mess with this lady. She also gives great hugs and wonderful smiles to those who behave and try hard.
Later, say nearing Christmas, the children are getting restless and a bit out of hand. No one has been disciplined in a while and they are beginning to lose their, “Fear of Teach”, because she has been happy with their efforts. What does she do about their disobedience? She threatens to take away the “rewards” for good behavior and impose punishment. Immediately this gets the attention of the Children, they then plead with her not to punish them or deprive them of their rewards. She balks and they plead further, until she finally elicits a promise of better behavior and she relents in punishment.
The Teacher did not “Change her mind” because this is precisely the result she expected and knew she would get.
The Children believe she changed her mind because they were convinced that she fully intended to carry out her threat.
This is precisely what the teacher wants them to think - That she was serious and had made up her mind to punish, but that they “bargained” her out of it.
Make Sense?
Peace
James
