Gene,I appreciate you giving me the address to that scripture.

Pierre,What I understand is that there is more than one way to translate that passage and the translators bias led them translate it as they did.I am not actually seeing the difference in the ideas expressed by either variation. I also do not see where your understanding of it disagrees with Gene's since neither you or Gene disagree about…[Read more]

Ed J.That means your name is your reputation and thus a label for all that is you.  All I know about you exists in a file labeled Ed J. in my head. I believe the ancient Hebrews believed likewise sine their surnames described the individual the parent hoped their child would be or described what they knew about the child.So yes just as Paul…[Read more]

Ed J.Where I come from you are your name and your name is you because your name is your label.

Pierre,Is not Proverbs 19:21 saying that God's plans, not man's will occur?

Gene,Could you please give us the version of scripture and location of the passage:Quote God does all things after the counsel of his own will Thank you!

Mike Boll,Jesus had a righteous nature at the moment in his life when he could have committed a sin but through faith resisted the devil. I do not know when that moment was but I suspicion he was still in his mother’s womb. I know this to be true because he never sinned.I believe “emptied” is a synonym for “humbled”. I believe he was made in h…[Read more]

Ed J. I do not believe it is directly speaking of Jesus. My problem is I cannot conceive of a person's word being elevated above themselves. I was hoping you could shed light on how that could be.

Pierre,Sorry for my absent mindedness. I was answering Gene and did not check to see where he obtained that passage from or what version he used.The closest I know of is:Proverbs 19:21(NIV) reads:Quote Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.

Ed J.I believe all modern versions of scripture are flawed at one point or another since I have no proof that either those that translate them or transcribe the various manuscripts they are based on was guided by the Spirit of God.I do know that Jehovah is mentioned in verse 3 but that is not answer the question I asked. I asked for an…[Read more]

Ed J.,Thank you for the heads up!

Gene,I do indeed understand what you mean about our choices being controlled by our own wills or souls but that is what people who support free will also believe. To that point you are agreeing with most if not all those who post on the subject of free will.It is my impression that many argue with you because they understand your objection to…[Read more]

Mike Boll,You wrote:Quote Here's the bottom line Kerwin:  If Jesus already was a human being while “being in the form of God”, he could not be said to have “emptied himself” and been “made in human likeness”.I see you came up with a base I had not thought of.  If I understand your interpretation correctly Jesus first had the nature of God and t…[Read more]

Gene,You assume English is a literal language and it is not. Self willed would probably be a more appropriate name for the idea of free will. On the other hand you are accusing the proponents of free will idea of believing that humans have no will and therefore are subject to random factors. I greatly doubt any supporters on this site of the…[Read more]

Gene,Do you understand what I write? When I say will I mean the self will of a person. You claim that a person’s self will, aka purpose is affected by their own desires and thoughts and I point out that is why it is called self will. I admit I did not write the word “self” but implied it by my other words. Free on the other hand merely means…[Read more]

Gene,You wrote:Quote Now where is FREEDOM (IN) HER Working> She was held captive by her thinking and Her desires and Lusts. Nothing “FREE” About it.One’s will is the result of one’s thinking, desires, and lusts but since all these motivations come from one’s self they are not considered restrictive on free choice.You wrote:Quote No they are defin…[Read more]

Gene,You are correct that God commanded them to choose life and yet they freely chose to disobey them. They chose to disobey because they loved the darkness. Those that desired in their soul to be righteous as God are righteous and so believe what God states even when bound to an impure spirit.Why do we choose what we choose? We choose to…[Read more]

Gene,You are adding to God’s will without realizing it. That is why I feel we should trace the whole idea back to its roots in God while covering all the bases. Deuteronomy 30:19 speaks of having the freedom to choose either a path of righteousness or of wickedness and therefore we must have the freedom to choose. That does not answer the q…[Read more]

Gene,Irene quoted:Quote Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: Do you agree this scripture is stating those that hear the message of life or deaths are free to choose either path?If not please…[Read more]

Ed J. Could you give your opinion on two of my last three posts; one addressed to Gene and the other to all. Please ignore the one where I ask Gene his opinion on the earliest one.