03 Mar '09 12:54>
Was Jesus executed unjustly?
Originally posted by FMFNo executions are "just".
Was Jesus executed unjustly?
Originally posted by ThinkOfOneIs it just for God to kill? Is it just for God to send unrepentant sinners to eternal damnation?
No executions are "just".
One of the ironies is that so many Christians support the death penalty. Those who do so and purport to believe in compassion, love, forgiveness, redemption, etc. are about as hypocritical as one can get.
Originally posted by ThinkOfOneGod is compassionate and forgiving, and no doubt condones acts of compassion and forgiveness, yet He has killed unapologetically in the past. He has vowed to judge the living and the dead, intending to send unrepentant sinners to hell. Is it just for God to do so?
How are these questions relevant to my assertions?
Originally posted by epiphinehasNo man is God. No government is God.
God is compassionate and forgiving, and no doubt condones acts of compassion and forgiveness, yet He has killed unapologetically in the past. He has vowed to judge the living and the dead, intending to send unrepentant sinners to hell. Is it just for God to do so?
The reason this question is relevant, I believe, is because you have asserted that the I suppose you can begin to see why your position is untenable to Bible-believing Christians.
Originally posted by epiphinehasWell, this raises the whole question of whether (1) God is just because God acts justly—in which case, one is in need of a definition of what acting justly entails—or, (2) God is simply declared to act justly by virtue of divine sovereign authority—which is essentially a declaration by fiat.
God is compassionate and forgiving, and no doubt condones acts of compassion and forgiveness, yet He has killed unapologetically in the past. He has vowed to judge the living and the dead, intending to send unrepentant sinners to hell. Is it just for God to do so?
The reason this question is relevant, I believe, is because you have asserted that the ...[text shortened]... I suppose you can begin to see why your position is untenable to Bible-believing Christians.
Originally posted by vistesdI believe God is just because God acts justly, definitely. It is another matter to comprehend precisely why His judgments are just.
Well, this raises the whole question of whether (1) God is just because God acts justly—in which case, one is in need of a definition of what acting justly entails—or, (2) God is simply declared to act justly by virtue of divine sovereign authority—which is essentially a declaration by fiat.
It really doesn’t matter that Biblical authors declare that God ...[text shortened]... uperfluous and irrelevant”, so be it. I don’t know that it would, but it’s not an issue for me.
Originally posted by epiphinehasI’m not sure that I have a particularly well-formed notion of what defines “acting justly” myself. And perhaps Scriabin and others can help out there. I would include such things as the penalty fitting the crime, taking account of mitigating circumstances, etc.
I believe God is just because God acts justly, definitely. It is another matter to comprehend precisely why His judgments are just.
Originally posted by vistesdGood questions, vistesd. I wish I had definitive answers to them. I'll have to think on it.
I’m not sure that I have a particularly well-formed notion of what defines “acting justly” myself. And perhaps Scriabin and others can help out there. I would include such things as the penalty fitting the crime, taking account of mitigating circumstances, etc.
The basic question becomes (to re-word your “why” ): “What makes a just act just? of the divine personage?) And if they are held to be guilty, what is a just punishment?