God's mistake?

[jmk1978]

I was wondering if you could help me with a question that was posed to me about the flood story in Genesis. When the bible says that God regretted his decision to make man does this imply that God had made a mistake. I wasn’t entire sure how to answer this one since my understanding of God is one of perfection. You thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.

 

[Darrel]

jmk1978:

I was wondering if you could help me with a question that was posed to me about the flood story in Genesis. When the bible says that God regretted his decision to make man does this imply that God had made a mistake. I wasn’t entire sure how to answer this one since my understanding of God is one of perfection. You thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.

God was displeased with man. He took action to correct the problem. Yet Noah remained and we are still here. If he regreted making man he would have killed every last one of us. As far as mistakes go, he is perfect so that word just can not even be used in reference to God. Whoever posed the question should understand that God is not a man with a mans flaws or capacity for error.

-D

 

[Verbum]

Hi JMK,

The Bible often speaks of God as if he were a human person. It says he is jealous, angry, etc.

But God is one eternal, unchangeable act. He does not have human passions. He does not change his mind. He has no regrets.

So whenever we find these expressions in the Bible, we must understand them as analogies. Since we can never understand God with our limited minds, the Bible uses human terms when speaking about him.

Verbum