Is it okay to argue with God?

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Job did not argue with God as with an equal, and when he tried, God put him firmly in his place.
St Teresa of Avila certainly did though - ‘Lord, if this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few of them!’
 
yea i read it that Echad means more than one and that Muhammad used the same word Allah Ahad which denotes in fact, plurality:

Qul huwa Allahu ahad(un), which literally means:

“Say: He, Allah, is one of.”

. Every occurrence of ahad shows that the word means “one of,” or refers to a member of a group. It isn’t used to mean one or solitary:

and thou shalt find them the eagerest of men for life. And of the idolaters; there is one of them (ahaduhum) wishes if he might be spared a thousand years, yet his being spared alive shall not remove him from the chastisement. God sees the things they do. S. 2:96

and they follow what the Satans recited over Solomon’s kingdom. Solomon disbelieved not, but the Satans disbelieved, teaching the people sorcery, and that which was sent down upon Babylon’s two angels, Harut and Marut; they taught not any man, without they said, ‘We are but a temptation; do not disbelieve.’ From them they learned how they might divide a man and his wife, yet they did not hurt any man (ahadin) thereby, save by the leave of God, and they learned what hurt them, and did not profit them, knowing well that whoso buys it shall have no share in the world to come; evil then was that they sold themselves for, if they had but known. S. 2:102

Muhammad used the word ahad is because of his interaction with the Jews…he may have heard the Jewish monotheistic creed of faith recited which uses the word echad to refer to Yahweh’s unity.
Shema Yisrael Yahweh Elohenu Yahweh Echad

Hear O Israel, Yahweh Our God Yahweh is One.

It may be that Muhammad heard the word echad used and then decided to adopt it by using what he perceived to be the Arabic equivalent, ahad…little did he realize that the use of this word would severely compromise his monotheistic position and the Quran’s alleged perfect grammar.

TAWHEED:

Definition and Categories:

Islam believes in ‘Tawheed’ which is not merely monotheism i.e. belief in one God, but much more. Tawheed literally means ‘unification’ i.e. ‘asserting oneness’ and is derived from the Arabic verb ‘Wahhada’ which means TO UNITE, UNIFY or CONSOLIDATE.
 
God said in Genesis 2:24 “the two shall become one [echad] flesh” it is the same word for “one” that was used in Deut 6:4.

Here echad means unity not numeric number 1.

So the question is : why Echad and not Yachid which is a strict number 1 word?“yachid” is never used in reference to God’s oneness…so why did God choose Echad instead of a very clear Yachid word? and why “let US make man in OUR image” when He could have said : Let ME make man in My image?
 
I have had times in my life when I have been so angry at God, that I have told Him right off, even to the point of shaking my fist at the sky :o

I think as humans, we use all emotions to express ourselves.

As many of you have said, He is God, He knows what we are feeling, and He can handle it.

I kind of think He gets a little smirk on His face when we get angry at Him, for He knows we will be ok soon, and will cuddle Him again in our prayers.

I often whisper to Him “I hope you know what you are doing”.

I am sure I see Him smile and whisper back " I am God, if I’m not sure, who is?"

I like to think I have a cool relationship with Him, after all, He is with me everywhere and for all time.
 
So, assuming that concordance is correct, is the passage talking about God then?

How is God one of many? :confused:
“Echad” I know. I think every Jew reads i as meaning “one” in the text. It is the word used in the Shema, one of our most important prayers. "Hear (or listen) O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. (or some would say “alone”).
 
Father Corapi would say “Young man…your arms are to short to box with God!!”

One might try to argue…but “Thy will be done!”
 
Jacob argued with God (when he wrestled with the angel). He had a permanently injured leg, but received a new name and also was a faithful follower of God after that point, whereas he previously was a liar and a cheat.

Jonah argued with God even after he was rescued from the belly of the whale. The book of Jonah ends with the prophet sitting under the tree still not understanding that God wants to save those who repent, not to destroy them.

Job argued with God and actually got an answer directly from God. Job later repented for his pride and also prayed for his friends who accused him in their ignorance.

Jesus also mentions in a parable about two sons, one who says that he will do what his father asks but doesn’t and the other who says he won’t do it but has a change of heart and does. All of us probably argue with God our Father from time to time. But if we ultimately submit to His will, then we are doing right, according to His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Jacob, Job, and Jonah may have argued…or better stated…complained to God. However, I don’t ever remember a bible story where God says…“oops…you are right, I was wrong…you win!”

One might complain, but when dealing with God, I believe that He knows much better than I…my job is to accept, submit, and try to understand His truth.
 
Jacob, Job, and Jonah may have argued…or better stated…complained to God. However, I don’t ever remember a bible story where God says…“oops…you are right, I was wrong…you win!”

One might complain, but when dealing with God, I believe that He knows much better than I…my job is to accept, submit, and try to understand His truth.
THere is a story in the Talmud where God says just that. Hilel and another are arguing over a point of jewish law (having to do with ovens). Hillel keeps asking for signs from heaven if he is right and he keeps getting them. The other Rabbi says it doesn’t matter. Finally God himself speaks, “Hillel is right” The other Rabbi says “excuse me Hashem, but you gave the Torah to us, and know it is up to us to interpert it.” And what did God do? He laughed and said “my children have defeated me!”
 
God loves a good discussion. I once yelled at him for over an hour and asked him to show me the way when I was lost…less than a year later, he lead me to the Catholic Church!
 
I think God would rather have a person who demands answers from Him:mad: and comes to faith:D , than a person who never argues and takes Him for granted.
I believe that, in the end, everything will make sense, even if it seems insane now.
 
I believe it OK to argue with God. I believe God understands our anger, our confusion, our every thought, word, deed we have every had and GOD still loves us! We can’t say that about anyone else!

Some of people’s anger is really misdirected. God didn’t cause the economic hardship or the sickness or the wars…human beings did all that. God gave us free will and with that comes a price. However, God will see us through the difficulties and even get us out of those difficulties if we really believe in him. You have to trust God totally with your life, the life of the loved one who is sick, with the loss of the job…trust God that he has a better plan for you…it’s a hard test, but a true test of faith. Let go and let God.

I was put to the test many, many years ago when my son was 7 years old (he is now 44) and I was told he had a tumor in his throat. One doctor said operate as it was probably cancer. I was petrified. I had no money. I was getting a divorce, my ex wasn’t paying child support, I had to go to welfare to feed my kids. That is when I finally learned what true faith in God was. I turned my sons life over to God…through the intercession of St. Jude. I asked God to give me the strength to accept whatever he had in store for my son…With in hours, the pediatrician called and told me that I had made an appointment with one of the best hospitals in the country. I explained I had no money. He said that wasn’t a problem and not to worry about it. I didn’t even have a car that would get me to Boston for this doctor’s visit.

I brought my son to Boston and the doctor said oh, we’ve seen these types of tumors before and we’ll just watch it and remove it when we take out his tonsils…it wasn’t cancer. God gave me back my son because I trusted him with his life. You can’t fool God, so your faith has to be total trust in God. On the drive home, I spotted a Catholic church…the church of St. Jude. To me, that was another sign that God heard my prayer and felt my pain.

But to answer your original question, I believe he understands us when we argue with him…it will still be God’s will that is done, but he understands and he can change his mind, if you give him a chance to. True faith is total trust in God, regardless of the situation.

God Bless!
 
One of my favourite passages of Scripture is Genesis 18. There, we see Abraham arguing with God’s stated intention, because Abraham believes that God’s plan is wrong. We see the same thing in Exodus 32, with Moses and God; similary, in Zechariah 1, an angel challenges God’s action.

The Genesis passage was read at an interfaith conference (Jewish-Christian-Muslim), to discuss the importance of Abraham in all three faiths.

Afterwards, I asked the imam whether he thought that it was okay to argue with God as Abraham did, especially considering the general Muslim attitude to the absolute transcendence of Allah. He replied that, in the Qu’ran, the story is a little different: Allah says, “Do not worry; I have it all under control”, and Abraham does not argue.

I also asked the rabbi whether he thought that it was okay to argue with God. He replied, “Of course!”

What do you think?
Well, I prefer to say bargain with God than argue. 🙂
Sometime I do, I mean I bargain with God 😊
 
Oh yes, we argue…I have railed at Him in fury and dared Him to do something…anything…how dare He bring such things into MY life…how dare He bring sorrow into MY life…HOW DARE HE!!!

I have found peace in the Silence.
 
Oh yes, we argue…I have railed at Him in fury and dared Him to do something…anything…how dare He bring such things into MY life…how dare He bring sorrow into MY life…HOW DARE HE!!!

I have found peace in the Silence.
👍
It happened to me too
 
One of my favourite passages of Scripture is Genesis 18. There, we see Abraham arguing with God’s stated intention, because Abraham believes that God’s plan is wrong. We see the same thing in Exodus 32, with Moses and God; similary, in Zechariah 1, an angel challenges God’s action.

The Genesis passage was read at an interfaith conference (Jewish-Christian-Muslim), to discuss the importance of Abraham in all three faiths.

Afterwards, I asked the imam whether he thought that it was okay to argue with God as Abraham did, especially considering the general Muslim attitude to the absolute transcendence of Allah. He replied that, in the Qu’ran, the story is a little different: Allah says, “Do not worry; I have it all under control”, and Abraham does not argue.

I also asked the rabbi whether he thought that it was okay to argue with God. He replied, “Of course!”

What do you think?
I think, it would be better not to argue with God. Of course it depends on what you meant by “argue”. If it is as in petition, well, we do that alll the time. 😉

Questioning God is definitely wrong. Job questioned God’s action on him for which he repented later in his life.
 
I think, it would be better not to argue with God. Of course it depends on what you meant by “argue”. If it is as in petition, well, we do that alll the time. 😉

Questioning God is definitely wrong. Job questioned God’s action on him for which he repented later in his life.
Abraham argued before Sodom
Jonah Argued before fishing
Moses Argued with a bush
 
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