free will

[pastor RICK]

do angels have free will?? were they created to be able to sin or were they made to do the work of the lord and give him ..praise .... or what ??

[acerrak]

Originally Posted by pastor RICK

do angels have free will?? were they created to be able to sin or were they made to do the work of the lord and give him ..praise .... or what ??

well in revelation bad angels and good angels do battle, so im sure they had some choice in the matter.

besides didnt you see the movie city of angels with meg ryan cmon... even they stated the angels had free will to!

[canam]

Yes, Carrie Underwood and Jessica Simpson can do anything they want !

[Aquila]

Free will and predestination are absolutely necessary. Free will preserves God's holiness. Predestination preserves God's providence.

The debate comes from beginning one's theological perspective from two different points of reference. Those who begin with the mind of God realize that God is all knowing and all powerful. Therefore nothing can surprise God. God has a plan and knows all that will happen and has thus pre-ordained that it be so. Therefore predestination is absolutely true. However, if one begins with the mind of man... man is trapped in time reaping what he sows, not knowing the future. Therefore the free will perspective is absolutely true.

If God predestined all things without creation having free will God is the author of sin. If God didn't predestine creation and free will rains, creation is a runaway train, and God's providence is compromised. Therefore both doctrines, thouse seemingly contradictory, are absolutely necessary for a consistent reality in light of an all knowing and all powerful God and the sin of man. This is known as a theological antinomy.

[Sam]

some deep stuff here with differences of opinion among Christians.

It is my understanding that the creature we call satan/devil/adversary today was a powerful archangel who rebelled against God some time in the pre-history of humankind. Scriptures used for this are Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, and Revelation 12. There are lots of things I don't understand about these passages. It is commonly taught that 1/3 of the angels joined him in his rebellion and that these creatures are what we know of today as demons or dark angels or evil spirits. It seems according to Jude 6, 2 Peter 2:4 and Matthew 25:41 that satan and his hordes cannot (or will not) repent and be reconciled to God but will wind up in the lake of fire for eternity.

[pastor RICK]

so sam are fior you saying they had free will?

auilla i know we do , was speaking about angels