BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Spirituality War with God on our side?

That is so true, however, unfortunately it does not stop people from believing that they are fighting in the name of God or whomever.

It is their freewill to do this and in the end, according to MY beliefs, they will pay the ultimate price for their decisions.

Amadeus.. You use the term 'free will' quite often. What exactly does that mean to you?

To me the term indicates that another will is controlling me, and yet allowing me to "pretend" that I have any say so at all in what happens to me. That to me is more like bad politics than spiritual understanding.

I would sincerely ask you these questions.

Did Jesus have free will? If he did, could he have called off the whole crucifiction or was he merely a puppet at the hands of his Father God?

Did Pharoh have free will? If he did, why did God order the first born of Egypt to be killed?

Did Job have free will when God "tested" his obedience?

Did all the people who were killed in the flood have free will?

Did anyone who God killed or ordered to be killed really have free will at all?

Do we, as humans, have the free will to make our own choices without reading a certain book or being a certain religion?

Killing is wrong... Many people have died because they thought they were fighting for God, but on the other hand, God has killed or ordered to be killed many, many more.

Why is it alright for God to kill.. if we are created in his image doesn't this mean that we have the innate ability to kill because of anger or in judgment just as he does?

Those questions have always bothered me a great deal? Care to enlighten me on this?

Free will simply means that you are able to make choices on your own. You can choose to follow a certain religion or choose not to follow it.

Obviously, there are some things that we do not have free will that are politically controlled, for instance wearing seat belts. We have the free will not to wear them, but then we also choose to get a ticket for that choice.

From what I learned is that God could have created all of us to worship and praise Him but He didn't want that. He wanted people to choose to praise Him and believe in Him. That is why He gave us free will as far as that as concerned.

Job did in fact have the freewill to still love God after Satan told God that Job would not follow Him anymore if He took things away from him. Job could have easily cursed God and stopped believing in Him after the things were done to him, but, he didn't and God rewarded him for it.

Jesus knew why He was here and what was going to happen to Him. The coming of Jesus was prophecied in the Old Testament. Jesus told his disciples that He was going to die too. He knew He was going to be betrayed and He knew that Peter was going to deny knowing Him three times.

The Pharoah had free will and he used it to disobey God and he had to suffer the consequences for his diobedience, just like we do here in the real world. The Pharoah had the free will to free the slaves and he said no.

The people in the flood had the free will to stop their lascivious ways and they were warned several times. They too chose to use their free will to disobey God and they paid for their disobedience.

As far as God is concerned and why He has the right to kill, I don't know. Some things that God does are a mystery to us and are meant to be a mystery. No one can answer what God does except for God. That is where our faith comes in that God knows what He is doing and why He does things. God thinks differently than we do is and His time is different than ours.

I am sorry if this does not answer your questions satisfactorily but it is the best that I can do.

We all have choices to make and we have the free will to make those choices. If we make the wrong choices, we will suffer the consequences for those choices. Whether in religion or in daily life.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions Amadeus.

Yes, free will is about choices. And what is the right choice for one person may well be the wrong choice for another. That is what diversity of spirit is all about.

I can only say, staying on topic here, that I would not kill in the name of God, nor would I kill because God told me to kill. Either one is morally wrong for me, just as it is morally wrong for me to follow a God who does kill.

Love and Light...

First of all for start war, leaders have to encourage, justify the folks and prepare the cost of it.
I guest best way is in the name of God. God will pay the cost (heaven) and people more satisfy to devote their selves and scarify their young in this way.

Or you can do what Nixon did and send troops into a country to "de-escalate a war" like he did in Cambodia and this way he can go to war without actually asking Congress for a war declaration. I believe George W did the same thing and the war there is turning into another Viet Nam.

This Iraq war is being done in the name of the father too. Not Father God, but father George, his father. Geaorge Senior couldn't get Saddam so the son figures he would try and was successful. He got him now bring the troops home, but he can't because the war is good for the economy. Gas prices are up and thats good for his economy because he is a major stockholder in in oil companies.

Other companies like Haliburton are making an incredible amount of money over there as well.

You don't think we don't know where Osama is? With the technology we have, we can find a fly peeing on a cotton ball in a cave during the monsoon season.

Now when the war is over, we will send those countries billions of dollars in aid.

I support the troops. I support their return home.

Ok let me get off of my soap box.

LOL... about the fly peeing on a cotton ball in a cave during monsoon season...

Spirituality,
God will not tell you to kill. I believe He gives us permission to defend ourselves and our loved ones but that does not mean you intend to kill. You intend to stop. Sometimes that results in death but that is not the intention.

I don't believe in him anyhow Dave.. so he doesn't actually "tell" me anything at all. I don't kill because I don't wish to kill.. it is that simple.

Love and Light..

dave
are you sure?