To what extent can we say "God made me"?

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catholic1seeks

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Whenever I hear someone say things such as:
  • “God made you that way”
  • “God chose you to exist”
  • “God has you here for a reason”
  • “God gave me my blonde hair and witty personality”
…I cringe. Don’t these kind of beliefs equate to meaning that God intervenes in the natural processes of reproduction so that he may specifically choose who is conceived? For such statements to be true, it would mean God guides a certain sperm to be united with a certain egg at the right date.

I thought of this question when I read this today:
“The miracle of conception blows my mind. If your parents conceived one month prior to or one month after your actual date of conception, you would not be here. That child conceived would be a sibling of yours instead of you. It’s unbelievable that the Lord chose you. He wanted you to be here. God wanted you. He took you from utter nothingness and he willed you into being. To be is to be loved. How good it is to be.”
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To what extent can we even say such a thing?
 
The words “God intervenes in the natural process of reproduction” makes me cringe.

God is the Creator. He made/makes everything.
God does not wind up a world and then watch from afar as it spins and unfolds.
He has a role in every conception. He is the supreme first cause.
 
The human soul (which generates the mind and most of the personality) is a direct breath, neshamah, from God.

The natural human body is allowed to develop via the natural course of biological generation, but God permissively directs the generational process so as to produce the body needed to prepare that soul for the life everlasting.

ICXC NIKA.
 
catholic1seeks said:
Whenever I hear someone say things such as:
  • “God made you that way”
  • “God chose you to exist”
  • “God has you here for a reason”
  • “God gave me my blonde hair and witty personality”
…I cringe. Don’t these kind of beliefs equate to meaning that God intervenes in the natural processes of reproduction so that he may specifically choose who is conceived? For such statements to be true, it would mean God guides a certain sperm to be united with a certain egg at the right date.

I thought of this question when I read this today:

To what extent can we even say such a thing?
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Saying “God made me” and “God made me that way” are two different propositions. God is the author of all life. Nothing would exist without Him. He is the Uncreated First Cause. So it is completely correct to say that “God made me.”

Now, to say “God made me this way” is a bit different. I don’t know that I’d say it is incorrect exactly—since He is the source of all life. But it’s not necessarily true that God micromanages every genetic trait. He lets our free will work the way it works.

I would say that the quote actually affirms this. If God micromanaged every detail, then it wouldn’t matter what month you were conceived. He’d just make you exactly as you are regardless.
 
Joe, seeing as God wills which spirit He creates when, to put into which body, there isn’t any difference between the two questions.

C1S, why cringe?
 
Vic_Taltrees_UK said:
Joe, seeing as God wills which spirit He creates when, to put into which body, there isn’t any difference between the two questions.
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Okay. But the OP brought up some accidental genetic traits like hair color. Does God decide on everyone’s hair color? Maybe the answer is yes, but I’m not sure that it is. I know it is on the general level, but less sure on the particular level.

My metaphysics could be rusty, though. 🤷
 
Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
 
From a Christian perspective,‘in him we live, move and have our being’. This means that our very existence is held in place by God at every moment. For God is the foundation of all that exists. Thus we can say at a fundamental level God made me because his very presence causes my existence. This is more fundamental than other causes of my existence like what time your parents had intercourse. But, it was God who created the male and female to be in union such that new life can result. It was God that gave us an intellect and a will. Though God is not responsible for all our choices.
 
catholic1seeks said:
Whenever I hear someone say things such as:
  • “God made you that way”
  • “God chose you to exist”
  • “God has you here for a reason”
  • “God gave me my blonde hair and witty personality”
To what extent can we even say such a thingt?
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God did make us to be a human being. But he didn’t for instance give us disorders if thats what you mean
God creates our soul for each one of us at the time of conception.
Every good thing comes from above.
Thus we can thank God for creating us.

Now, I have a birth defect. Do I think God willed that? I don’t think so. But, who can know the depths of God’s mind. Perhaps he allowed that and used that for his purpose.
The alternative is to believe we are nothing special and God loves us because by chance we happened to be the lucky ones in existence,but he could have preferred somebody else.lol.😃 I don’t think God is up there saying if only that other sperm had made it then I would not have to deal with this bozo. Lol. That would be a depressing outlook.

I do believe that God does have a certain purpose for each person he creates. He may allow disorders and defects for instance. But that doesn’t mean he wills them. I believe God knows each one of us before we were even conceived.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Okay. But the OP brought up some accidental genetic traits like hair color. Does God decide on everyone’s hair color? Maybe the answer is yes, but I’m not sure that it is. I know it is on the general level, but less sure on the particular level.

My metaphysics could be rusty, though. 🤷
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Hair color is a relatively minor attribute, kind of like “Color may vary, God’s choice please.” It could well be that God doesn’t actively choose it for everybody.

Skin color, though, though it should be the same, is a major life determinant, and I’d imagine God does positives choose that in each life.

ICXC NIKA
 
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