God Makes Our Mistakes As If We'd Never Made Them!

[cathi (Cathi Kilian)]

This is something I wrote around the middle of last year. A couple of nights ago, I read an essay that a young lady had written to the UP group for feedback before she spoke to her friend about it, and it’s been on my mind a lot. Then, I remembered writing this while studying in the OT, and thought it might pertain. Since I’m not a lifelong Christian, am in fact fairly new to the Faith, I’d love to hear any and all feedback, thoughts AND especially correction in places I’m off, if y’all don’t mind.

God has a way of getting our attention and then undoing our mistakes. Impossible? Not at all.

It’s no coincidence that Jesus’s first miracle was turning water into wine; an especially GOOD wine, too, by all accounts. How do you suppose He did that? Wine is ONLY wine when it’s aged, but for that wine to be aged, it has to have a PAST for it to have been aged in, so it had to be GIVEN a past – a new past. A past that He created.

God doesn’t just forget our sins (our past) or pretend that they never happened. He wipes out our sins. Its not just that we were forgiven despite everything we’ve done, He says that when we are redeemed, the truth becomes that we’ve never sinned - we’ve become the Holy, beloved offspring of God, pure – as in: “never sinned”, by the blood of Jesus. We are utterly free of all guilt for eternity simply because Jesus wills it to be, simply because we ask and then we receive His free gift.

Still, Americans are no less devoted to the pleasure of sin today than those who worshiped Ba’al in ancient times; with our treachery, lewd behaviors and addictions, we sin and most of us love it. Many in our culture worship the sun, rain, moon and earth as much as those ancient people did! The ancient people sacrificed mere thousands of babies in worship of Ba’al (god of fertility and of storms) while Americans have slain over sixty MILLION of ours, naively calling it choice. Indeed, we pursue pleasures ENDLESSLY – we merely lack (or have “forgotten”) an understanding of the origin of those pursuits.

Isn’t it funny that the people who bring up the question of whether The all-powerful Creator can or SHOULD prevent evil things from happening are the same people who claim to be “atheists”. When you think about it, that question implies a moral judgement – allowing or causing pain is immoral. Yet the idea of morality ONLY makes sense if there’s a higher law to measure behavior against. It requires that there is an absolute definition of right and wrong. Their recognition of right and wrong is an admission that a higher law exists, but not only that, it’s a confirmation that is written INSIDE us from our earliest moment.

Even small children know about fairness, right and wrong, and that causing pain to someone else is wrong, and people of every age know that putting oneself at risk while HELPING someone else is considered to be right and good. This can’t be explained by evolution or natural selection because it’s the exact opposite of self preservation; yet this is a trait seen in every race and ethnicity, every people group.

Therefore, keep in your heart a constant realization of your own weakness. Remember that you are nothing but an earthen vessel (I call it a shell) in which is contained infinite power and the riches of Heaven itself. It’s not YOU holding strength, but it’s the power WITHIN you that is strong. Lean ever closer to the Source of that strength; don’t ever look away from Him.

[maylana]

@cathi

Since I’m not a lifelong Christian, am in fact fairly new to the Faith

It’s not about how long you’ve been Christian, it’s about the faith you’ve grown while you have been Christian. Technically, I’m a new Christian as well, even though I have been a lifelong Christian(Not counting, like, being a toddler without a developed brain)

@cathi

God has a way of getting our attention and then undoing our mistakes.

I think an important distinction here is that I’m not sure if God is undoing our mistakes. Certainly, he can, but if I sin, even though I know my God wipes my slate clean, I still have to consider the consequences of my sin. I made a bad decision I believe a while back, not necessarily a sinful one, just one that was certainly a test of my faith. Through it, God brought me to the person I am today, but I still feel the consequences of it, the seeds of doubt it planted in my mind. When I sin, God does not undo my sin, but he does offer me mercy and grace and wipes my slate clean.

@cathi

Wine is ONLY wine when it’s aged, but for that wine to be aged, it has to have a PAST for it to have been aged in, so it had to be GIVEN a past – a new past. A past that He created.

This is an incredible thought. I never realized this and doesn’t it just show you how incredible our God is? I would like to put in a thought though. God is certainly capable of changing the past, he created time, after all, but to make wine, would he need to? I can’t imagine the only rules God has to follow are the rules of wine creation.

@cathi

God doesn’t just forget our sins (our past) or pretend that they never happened. He wipes out our sins. Its not just that we were forgiven despite everything we’ve done, He says that when we are redeemed, the truth becomes that we’ve never sinned - we’ve become the Holy, beloved offspring of God, pure – as in: “never sinned”, by the blood of Jesus

This is pretty much what I wrote higher up, but I’m still going to leave it in because saying God undoes our mistakes but doesn’t forget them or pretend they never happen seems contradictory? I’m sort of unsure about this so I’ll just leave it in and see what someone else has to say about this. I’m also not sure if you want this sort of critique/advice-but I think this would become a lot more powerful if you quoted a specific Bible verse.

@cathi

Americans have slain over sixty MILLION of ours, naively calling it choice

In one of my classes, I called babies, babies, in saying that it was murdering babies…This was not an argument about abortion, but “infanticide” My (Catholic) teacher told me that it was a matter of opinion, and they were fetuses. You can see how they are making excuses.
If we can call these babies fetuses, it is a less emotion-stirring world, for a less emotion filled world, where you choose. Our world is centered around self love.

@cathi

This can’t be explained by evolution or natural selection because it’s the exact opposite of self preservation; yet this is a trait seen in every race and ethnicity, every people group.

A medical doctor on youtube said that eyebrows are a result of evolution. Explain to me how people with eyebrows are better at surviving than those without?

@cathi

Isn’t it funny that the people who bring up the question of whether The all-powerful Creator can or SHOULD prevent evil things from happening are the same people who claim to be “atheists”

And yet I’m not laughing. Its more disheartening, really.

@cathi

Yet the idea of morality ONLY makes sense if there’s a higher law to measure behavior against. It requires that there is an absolute definition of right and wrong.

One of my friends told me murder is only wrong because if it wasn’t wrong humanity would have destroyed itself and there isn’t any moral law. I know I should be friends with people who have different viewpoints but this makes it difficult. I read this in a book which I would cite if I could remember but it went like this. Imagine playing a game, but all the other players think that there are no rules to the game and can do whatever they want. How are you supposed to complete the game while following the rules? This is the life we as Christians live.

I would like to give a disclaimer that I am a pretty blunt person and sometimes struggle to word things so if anything here sound rude or blunt I’m very sorry it is meant to sound kind I am just not very good at wording things the way I want them to be interpreted.

[Carson]

Hi Cathi,

These are very interesting thoughts! You’ve given everyone who reads your post a lot to think about!

@cathi

Isn’t it funny that the people who bring up the question of whether The all-powerful Creator can or SHOULD prevent evil things from happening are the same people who claim to be “atheists”. When you think about it, that question implies a moral judgement – allowing or causing pain is immoral. Yet the idea of morality ONLY makes sense if there’s a higher law to measure behavior against. It requires that there is an absolute definition of right and wrong. Their recognition of right and wrong is an admission that a higher law exists, but not only that, it’s a confirmation that is written INSIDE us from our earliest moment.

However, I think it’s still a good argument.

In particular, it is challenging the coherence of the Christian faith. It takes the moral standard of the Bible and says, ‘Here’s a contradiction within the Scriptures.’

For instance, this is a doubt that a Christian could have about their own belief system.

Instead of challenging WHO said something, it’s important that we think about an argument on its own terms. It also helps to take the time to make the argument as strong as possible, even stronger than our friend has made it. Then, when we evaluate it, we are looking at the best possible challenge to what we believe. By doing this, we develop our minds, build trust with our friends, and earnestly pursue the truth.

So, if God provides an absolute definition of right and wrong, why does HE allow evil? It’s a tough question, and I don’t think there are easy answers. (I do think there are answers, but they are costly ones).

@cathi

Its not just that we were forgiven despite everything we’ve done, He says that when we are redeemed, the truth becomes that we’ve never sinned - we’ve become the Holy, beloved offspring of God, pure – as in: “never sinned”, by the blood of Jesus.

As @maylana said, I think it would be great to have a Bible verse that supports this, in the context of the verse itself.

For instance, take the life of David. He committed egregious abuses and wickedly sinned against others. Yet, he also seems to have engaged in genuine, wholehearted repentance and been forgiven.

However, God recorded some of his sins in the Scripture, and surely God knows what’s in the Bible. So, God always remembers David’s sin. Yet, God has also forgiven him.

@cathi

Even small children know about fairness, right and wrong, and that causing pain to someone else is wrong, and people of every age know that putting oneself at risk while HELPING someone else is considered to be right and good. This can’t be explained by evolution or natural selection because it’s the exact opposite of self preservation; yet this is a trait seen in every race and ethnicity, every people group.

When I read books and articles explaining the evidence for evolution, and the evolution of moral codes, I think that explanations for why children know about right and wrong is because evolution can work on the group level and not just the individual level.

Here’s one overview of this perspective:
https://iep.utm.edu/altruism-and-group-selection/

Since Darwin, and with a similar naturalistic stance, biologists have continued to try to explain altruism – in humans and non-humans alike – via group selection models

As this resource explains, there are a variety of competing models for explaining evolution and altruism. I would recommend that we engage with one specific model (E.O. Wilson’s, perhaps), understand its strengths, and then, if appropriate, offer a specific criticism of it.

The more specific we can be in evaluating a particular Bible verse, author, evolutionary theory, etc., the more credibility we will have in discussing our perspective with friends who come from those perspectives.

[cathi (Cathi Kilian)]

Thank you, @maylana and @Carson,

Those critiques really DO help. Maylana, you were indeed, compassionate and extremely helpful in your comments. We are similar in our approach to life in that I value being plain in speech. I find no reason to filter my words through niceties only to be misunderstood, or worse, misconstrued. I was being genuine in asking for an honest review of my writings and thought processes. It’s only through this honesty that I can grow spiritually, biblically, and personally, so I do appreciate it.

My entire purpose in most of the things I’ve written is my own edification as I study and read the Bible, but because I wrote that about 6 months ago, and didn’t note down where I was studying, about the only thing I can say is that I was somewhere in the NT. However, seeing your notes has made it very clear that I need too at least note what chapters and verses I’m working through when I’m putting note to page. I’ve just restarted this past week, for example so this morning, as I was making notes, I included that I was in Genesis 30 before I wrote anything down. I also wrote in the wording of the verses I was commenting on. When I read what I’d written, it did make a lot more sense, so thank you!

I wholeheartedly believe that the UP forum is helping in my growth. It’s a wonderful place for me to meet and exchange thoughts, ideas, prayers and recieve input from like-minded Christians world-wide. @Carson, all I can say is “thank you”. Thank you for being an open, honest, compassionate leader and creator of the forum I consider my online COMMUNITY, my family.

Maylana and Carson, and the rest of Uncommon Pursuit, I pray for your continued love, growth, and peace. May God bless you all,
Your sister-in-Christ,
Cathi