DappaD:


Very well then.
......
If he wants to pry into our personal dealings and our future, that would sadden his heart because the hearts of mortal men is filled with wicked things (Genesis 6:5-6, Psalm 78:40,41). So Jehovah decides to refrain from knowing such things so as to remain the happy God! – 1Timothy 1:11

Truvel:
[s]Argueing With An Atheist Is A Waste Of Time[/s].

Blabbermouth:

An interesting read, I will save your reply...
@the bolded, like I said to someone on this thread, turning to the idea of "selective foreknowledge" does not solve the puzzle.
You said "God does not want to pry into our future"....
That paints a scenario where our future (perhaps in the form of a book or movie) has already been written. To remain happy, God chose not to read the book or see this " future movie"...
If this is so, then we should not be shy from answering this;
Who wrote that book/directed that movie or say, who wrote that "our future" that God does not want to pry into?

MuttleyLaff:
[size=12pt]Using the scenario, and filling in the blanks, as in meaning, God watched watched the behind closed full time football match between Man United and Arsenal football club and knew the final score. Eleven guys in your neighbourhood were in the Arsenal team while eleven other guys from adjacent neighbourhood were in the Man United team played the full 90 minutes of the game with an end score or final result of 2-0 in favour of Arsenal. Now, God that watched the football game live before you knows the outcome of the game, but if He were to tell you the results He has foreknown before you get to watch a recorded play of the match, are you going to say, God predetermined/predestined the outcome of match, when knowing fully well that the outcome was as a result of the performances of and efforts put in by the 25 men on the pitch, including the two lines-persons and referee
You're on a world stage, carrying out various acts.

DappaD:


No script has been written specially for anybody sir. Jehovah's promises affect mankind in general.
You're getting that premise, probably from what you've been taught but definitely not the Bible.

Truvel:
Argueing With An Atheist Is A Waste Of Time.

Blabbermouth:

No! I got that from your response. You yourself said "God doesn't want to pry into our future..." So I asked you and I am still asking you;
Who ordained that "stuff" that God doesn't want to pry into?

DappaD:


You need to ask yourself whether God is responsible for the next action you take.

Someone murders another human out of shear wickedness and your best resort is to blame it on God? Like I said, if he wants to know the future of every human, he can but doesn't since man's heart is inclined to do bad.
There's a difference between FOREORDINATION and FOREKNOWLEDGE. Look both of them up.
God does not foreordain what the future of individual mortal men will be, but he can foreknow if he chooses to.

Blabbermouth:

Sadly, this is still cutting corners and you haven't answered the big question.
Foreknowledge - God knows I will do it
Foreordained- God made me do it
C'mon, God knows I will do something next year and I myself don't even know about it.
When I myself don't know about it, how in the world did I ordain it?
Let's not cut corners please.

Blabbermouth:

Sadly, this is still cutting corners and you haven't answered the big question.
Foreknowledge - God knows I will do it
Foreordained- God made me do it
C'mon, God knows I will do something next year and I myself don't even know about it.
When I myself don't know about it, how in the world did I ordain it?
Let's not cut corners please.

Blabbermouth:

Nice. But you see, the idea of selective foreknowledge does not solve the puzzle. That I choose not to know if my son is doing well at school or not, does not mean he isn't actually failing his Algebra.
Even if He decides to not know where I will end up, the question is still valid; Does God know where I will spend my eternity?
If he knows, who predestined where I will end up?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You might want to say that God does not know where I will end up because he chose not to know ... That would automatically paint a scenario where there is kind of like a book in God's library that contains where everyone will end up. So, God is technically restraining himself from opening the book to see where Blabbermouth and haddeylium will end up. Even if it were so, this begs the question;
Who wrote that book/predetermined my eternal destination?

DappaD:
Very well then.

Jehovah God applies his ability of foreknowledge to foreknow and foreordain events of salvation and deliverance, as well as acts of judgment and punishment, and then to bring such events to fulfillment. Isaiah 45:21, 55:10,11
He dispenses such knowledge about these future events to his prophets which we find in the Bible. (Isaiah 42:9, Amos 3:7)
Events such as the coming of the great Flood, destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the entrance of the Israelites into the Promised Land, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the destruction and desolation of Babylon, the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile and other events such as these were ALL foretold by God that such would happen and they also had their fulfillment (Genesis 6:17/7:11, 19:13-15/24-25, Jeremiah 50:45,51:11,Isaiah 13:17, 21:9//Daniel 5:30, Jeremiah 24:6,29:10-11/Ezra 2:1).
There are also prophecies that we are awaiting to be fulfilled in the future (Psalm 37:10,11,29, Isaiah 25:8,33:24,35:5-7, John 5:28,29/Acts 24:15, 1 Corinthians 15:26, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1-4)

But if you notice here, these prophecies affect people on a general scale and not individually. So yes, God has the ability to foretell the future in accordance with his will for his people in general. In our day, the prophecies about the future will affect mankind in general.


How about on an individual level? Is there any set-out plan by God for every individual? Apparently not, because we are all free moral agents and if it were so then that would mean that God shows favouritism or is impartial. But the Scriptures help us to know that Jehovah God is not impartial. See Job 34:19, Acts 10:34,35, Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9
So he does not predestine the fate of every individual for that would mean he is impartial.
In general, Jehovah's will for humans is for them to be know the truth, be saved and have everlasting life (John 17:3, 1Timothy 2:4, 2Peter 3:9)
He desires for the wicked and rebellious humans to change from their wicked ways and choose the good life (Ezekiel 33:11)
So as you can see yourself, nothing from the Scriptures support predestinarianism i.e. the belief that all humans have the fate already decided by God.

Since we were created with free will and weren't programmed like robots, God has also given us the freedom to decide what we want for ourselves as intelligent creatures.
If he wants to pry into our personal dealings and our future, that would sadden his heart because the hearts of mortal men is filled with wicked things (Genesis 6:5-6, Psalm 78:40,41). So Jehovah decides to refrain from knowing such things so as to remain the happy God! – 1Timothy 1:11

Blabbermouth:
An interesting read, I will save your reply...

Blabbermouth:
@the bolded, like I said to someone on this thread, turning to the idea of "selective foreknowledge" does not solve the puzzle.
You said "God does not want to pry into our future"....
That paints a scenario where our future (perhaps in the form of a book or movie) has already been written. To remain happy, God chose not to read the book or see this "future movie"...
If this is so, then we should not be shy from answering this;
Who wrote that book/directed that movie or say, who wrote that "our future" that God does not want to pry into?

Blabbermouth:
I love your illustration and I am almost close to understanding you completely.

Blabbermouth:
Unfortunately, the one God watched was NOT a live match! As it wasn't my effort nor was it yours (since we were yet to exist then)...

Blabbermouth:
So, the question is still valid;
Who directed the match?
Ps: Do not omit the fact that we were yet to exist.

Blabbermouth:

From your standpoint, God does not know the future (Or at the very least, My future!)
Sir Maximus69, is the above your conclusion?

Jjuuddee:
As for me I think God has the power but chose not to use it because he gave us free will and that is why he will be able to judge us.he knows the beginning form the end but he doesn't know the beginning you will chose but once you have chosen a part he knows the end already from the beginning.God gave humans free will as our greatest gift

Blabbermouth:

I'm not an atheist, I'm a Christian.

haddeylium:
I feel attracted to the question...
I don't know if I'm allowed to jump on it?
I'm doing that anyway....loll

Answers to God know knowing the future is broad but with the OP replies to others that commented....I think he's interested in if God foreknowedd or predestined humans acts..

haddeylium:
Since God granted us freewill, it wouldn't have been genuine if he knows the outcome of our life course

haddeylium:
Someone quoted (Is-46:10)- Truly God has the power to foreknow an even and it course as with regards to the prophesy he gave. But, the Bible teaches that God is selective when it comes to foreknowing things

haddeylium:
Example is what happened in Sodom and gomorah...their wickedness then
The quoted verse said
"I will go down to see whether they are acting according to the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I can get to know it.” (Ge18:20-22; 19:1). He even had to sent his angel to confirm and know what happened. And other examples like that
So, Selective foreknowledge means that God could choose not to foreknow indiscriminately all the future acts of his creatures.

haddeylium:
God presented the prospect of everlasting life to everybody and it's attainable, just like through Moses to the Isrealite
God's word is again saying;
“I have put life and death before you, . . . and you must choose life . . . by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice and by sticking to him; for he is your life and the length of your days.” (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20)(nwt)

Truvel:
What Den Makes U Doubt God's Knowledge Abt D Future?

DappaD:

God does not foreordain what the future of individual mortal men will be, but he can foreknow the future of individual humans if he chooses to. But note that he NEVER ordained what their future will be like. Every human has the liberty to create/manage his future dealings.

Maximus69:

Of course he knows the future of his creative works because nothing can stop him from actualizing what he desires, but as for your own future, you're the determinant not the holy one of Israel, he will never write it for you, the pen is in your own hands!

haddeylium:

But for the sake ...The question we should asked is -How does God foreknow human course?
The Bible does not leave us in dark and it's clearly stated in the Bible.
God has the ability to know how the heart of humans as recorded as recorded
"every inclination of the thoughts of [mankind’s] heart was only bad all the time.” (2Ch 6:30;Ge 6:5)
Another is,God foreknowledge was not without prior basis or acts[b][/b]
An example are the Israelites, God gave the nation of Israel the opportunity to become “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” by keeping his covenant(Ex 19:6)
But, God foretold 40yrs later that they would break his covenant and forsake him(Deu 31:16,17,18)
Why?
for I already know the inclination that they have developed+ even before I bring them into the land about which I have sworn.”(Deu 31:21)
compare with (Ps 81:10-13)
So, the results of manifest inclination leads to God foreknowing without being responsible for it
You can foreknow that a structure will prolly collapse or deteriorate if it was construted with substandard materials and an unprofessional..
Would you be responsible if it really did?

You can foreknow that your child might fail algebra if he doesn't show interest in it at all

Blabbermouth:

This is nothing but shadowboxing. Do you know the implication of what you are claiming?
If God Foreknows that a certain Jw will come and preach to me next year and he foreknows that I will chase him with a big broomstick. I mean this is supposed to happen next year o! Peradventure the JW comes to my house, do you think I will be able to welcome him and listen to him? No!
Do you know why?
God already foreknew that I chased him. So even if I enjoyed his preaching, I have no choice than to chase him because God cannot lie, He cannot make a mistake in his foreknowledge! ... In a mathematical language, it implies that Foreordaining is a function of Foreknowledge ; in a simpler term, the way I will ordain my future is dependent on what God has already foreknown about my future (makes no difference if He has pryed or not).. That's a very bitter truth. Now you see, we are back to square one.

MuttleyLaff:

Sir Blabbermouth, you are the script writer, you're the actor playing different role and/or characters. You started with a blank script without any character(s) to start with, but as you got on stage and began acting, different characters of you began created and developing, and the lines uttered by your characters got written down on the previously blank script book. The script will be filled until your breath returns back to its Owner and the script book will be closed, only to be re-opened on Judgment Day, for you to be called to answer to all your deed, actions, thoughts you did while acting on that world stage.

DappaD:


Leave mathematics out of this first.

When humans rebel against him and make his heart SAD because of that, are you implying he ordains such to happen? Things that would sadden his heart?
Because if we're to ever understand something, we're going to have to look at things from God's point of view.

Blabbermouth:
I am the script-writer? Cool! That means I am Foreordaining my own future. Unfortunately, when I realized that God already knows what I will write even before I was born, we are back to square one again as WHAT I WILL WRITE is totally dependent on WHAT GOD HAS FOREKNOWN ... If God already foreknew that I will choose hell, then this poor boy is helpless because he cannot be right while God is wrong. You see, the puzzle is yet to be solved.

DappaD:

Somehow you still want to merge the two together just so you can achieve your aim.
That's fine anyway.

MuttleyLaff:
It will be a violation of creativity rights and/or abuse of artistic rights to, because of whether one is bad or good, such should be denied the right of expression and freedom of freely without inhibitions to express themselves.

Blabbermouth:

I want you to hit the nail yourself.
Maximus 1: God knows the future
Maximus 2: God does not construct the future of individual humans.. Each one write it with his/her hands
From 2: He does not know the future of Each individual
Maximus 3: Of course, he knows the future of his creative works.
Where do you stand sir? With you, I'm not concerned if I write it or if God writes it, Does He KNOW my future?! Does He KNOW where I will spend my eternity?!
Be precise and consistent as I'm a bit confused with the way you are oscillating and not giving me the main answer I want.

Maximus69:


You are the one dancing round the answer!

According to the Bible, your future is DEATH {Romans 3:23} that's what Adam your ancestors transferred to you as your inheritance {Romans 5:12}

So God knows the future of his own works but you are irrelevant to him, you become relevant the moment you begin showing interest in his works {Zephaniah 2:2-3} that's why the word repent keep ringing throughout the New Testament!

Blabbermouth:

Just now, I've caught the ESSENCE of your replies. From your view, God sees the future collectively but he KNOWS NOT if I will repent or if I will not repent, He left this part omitted for me to fill in the blank. If I repent, I feature in the ETernal-Life Bundle. If I don't, I find my self totally Non-Existent forever.

Word for Word, is that what you are trying to say?