Marriage and the Bible - Part 26 - Jezebel, Athaliah and Mixed Marriage Issues

Jezebel is name that conjures up evil and sin on a large level in the Bible. Her and Ahab ruled what has to be the most wicked time in Israels history. Jezebel was not an Israelite and even though mixed creed marriages were forbidden by God, Ahab marries her anyway. The results were disastrous for the nation. Her daughter Athaliah did much the same for the southern kingdom of Judah.

This is not the first time we have seen pagan wives drawing away men further from God but it is the most pronounced as Jezebel's name now is synonymous with wicked sin.

Her and Ahab's marriage is one for the books, it is about mutual sinfulness and scheming to get what they want. You see only love for destroying a common enemy and given the nature of Baal worship, I doubt sexual faithfulness was a part of it either. This is contract relationship for mutual gain by any means. A twisted version of marriage is what they represent. Ahab was already a pretty wicked guy, his wife just egged him on. This would not be the first time the values and beliefs of a married couple drew them both into sin, but it is the worst example of it. Jezebel's wickedness would not stop until her death; Ahab seems to have come to his senses just in time.

The mixed marriage question would dog the Israelites until the Exile and Reconstruction.

Next: Exile, Reconstruction and Putting Away Wives.

Re-Thinking God: Where is God?

According to Webster: To be present in all places in all times.

Of all the things that is it most difficult to think on it is omnipresence. To think of God being everywhere and I mean everywhere is on a practical note difficult and form a faith perspective I don't think people really believe it. If they did would they commit secret sins thinking no one saw?

For God to be present in all places I have no doubt is true. Nothing escapes his notice or presence. No moral condition prevents him from seeing everything from a first hand point of view be it the inside of a church or the most despicable den of iniquity - God is there.

The thing with the Bible is that there are times when God's presence is said to be there with greater weight, for lack of a better way to describe it. When the children of Israel are walking around the wilderness it is the glorious presence of God that guides them as a pillar of cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night. The the glory of God sets on the mercy seat. Moses feels the presence of God on the mountain, etc. etc. It is not, that God is not everywhere else, but he manifests himself is stronger presence to show his power and authority.

It is the second part of the traditional definition of omnipresence that has changed for me. Earlier in my post of transcendence and imminence I mentioned that God's relationship with time changed for me when I started to understand time, not as a creation of God, but as something bound to God's eternity itself. God is eternal so therefore time has always existed. What changes in omnipresence for me is: if God is the eternal now, does that mean he does indeed exist in the past and future in the same real way as the now? This is much the same as the question about God's power where I asked what powers do indeed exist for God? In this case, what time exists for God if He in a sense is time? Do the past and future actually exist now for God?

The fact remains that in the Scriptures, very little proof that God exists as much in the future and past as he does in the now is actually there. God never even speaks this way of himself. When he refers to the past, God talks about it as something done and no longer existing and the future he talks as one trying to shape it but not as if he is already there. When I was reading through the scriptures chronologically I simply could not find God using this type of language to describe himself and his relationship to time. What I did find is that God did exist in the present because the present is all that really exists as far as time and God go.

God may have a perfect knowledge of the past, but he does not exist in the past because the past no longer really exists. It is spent and done. The future has yet to be formed and does not exist till we get there. God is not present in the future because the future does not yet exists. God will exist in the future when it becomes the present, but until it becomes the present, the future does not exist and God only exists in the time that is.

This changed the definition of omnipresence for me: God is present in every place that exists in the eternal now.

Next: God is Love

Re-Thinking God: How Much Does God Really Know?

Webster: Having infinite awareness, understanding and insight and possessing universal and complete knowledge.

If there is an area that I have changed the most in my understanding of God it is God's Omniscience. The question that dogged me the most was always one involving the problem of evil. If God knew absolutely that evil would result from his creating the world and that because of it people would absolutely go to hell for their sin, why did he create the world in the first place? Because of this absolute knowledge God becomes absolutely responsible for evil existing.

One thing that started to change in me, as I read through scripture to escape my agnostic pit, was my understanding of HOW God knows things. It is not just about WHAT God knows, but HOW he knows it because of the way he created the world.

As you look through the backlog of my posts you will find many labeled 'Open Theism' and I now make it no secret that I am an open theist. I see no other way to avoid the charge that God caused evil unless He only knew evil as a possibility and not a certainty.

There is a lot of things I could say here, and to get a full understanding of where I am coming from, reading every article I have written on open theism starting with The ABC's of Open Theism and then all the rest in any order will give you a good start. There are a few specifics to mention here:

1. God knows the past and present absolutely.
2. God knows the future both absolutely and propositionaly (both what will be for certain and what is possible)
3. There are some things that God does not know: any sin He has forgiven.

For me the definition has changed: God knows everything that is knowable and He knows it in the way it is knowable.

Next: God's Omnipresence

Marriage and the Bible - Part 25 - Rehoboam and the Divided Kingdom

Rehoboam is Solomon's eldest son and as such at the time of his father's death becomes Israels new king. The only real problem was despite his father's instruction Rehoboam did not have any wisdom and the kingdom became divided between the northern ten tribes and the southern kingdom of Judah.

In regards to marriage, Rehoboam followed in his fathers footsteps and had many wives (18) and concubines (60) but it is said that he did love one above them all Maacah. Not as many as dad, but then again he was not as prosperous. It also indicates that he may have had one thing his father did not -- a close relationship covenant with one woman although in the context of polygamy.

This is the pattern for the rest of the kingdom period, if a king is prosperous it will mention that he also had many wives/concubines. If a king struggles, he might have one wife or there is silence. One thing is for certain, the idea of polygamy is ingrained in society and whenever a man has means he practices it.

One advantage this rampant polygamy had was the the line of David remains so large there is never a problem finding an heir to the throne. It meant that God was fulfilling his promise to David and one of those ways was to make sure the women attached to that line were both fertile, productive and many.

Next: Jezebel and Athaliah - Mixed Marriage Issues

Theology for Dummies - Natural Theology

".. a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience." - Wikepedia.

Natural theology is best described as looking at the world around us and using what we know to come to conclusions about the divine. This is ultimately man looking at things and saying "this means God is X".

The value of natural theology in Christan circles has long been debated. The Scripture writers, particularly guys like David in the Psalms declare that the world proves there is a creator. Other writers point to other things. Theologians fall into many different camps from those who say natural theology is a key tool to those that reject it outright.

The basic problem is that all nature religions, polytheistic systems, animism, etc. all have as their base this understanding of looking at the world around us and drawing conclusions about the divine. The problem is natural theology is often in the eye of the beholder unless there is some other authority to guide it.

I have no problem with natural theology as a support to other kinds of theology, the problem is when it takes center stage you can go anywhere with it. That is its inherent weakness.

Next: Revealed Theology

Marriage and the Bible - Part 24 - Solomon's Marriage Downfall

1 Kings 11 is a telling chapter about the downfall of Solomon. Because he married so many women from so many lands, variety being the spice of polygamy after all, it lead to his spiritual downfall. He had so many wives that were foreign in their religion that eventually to make them happy he incorporated their idolatry into his own life making altars to all their gods. The majority of which were sexual/fertility gods. This was a direct violation of a command of God on two counts:idolatry and mixed marriage. David at least keep his marriages in the house of Israel.

This brings about a sad conclusion about Solomon and polygamy. How divided can one's heart get about God the more women a man has in his harem? Pretty divided. Not only does polygamy make it more difficult to have a one-flesh/truly intimate relationship with a woman, it also seems to create a God attention problem. You spend so much time pleasing all your wives, you have less or no time for God. There seems to be an ideal that Solomon strayed from that he mentions himself - 'rejoice in the wife of your youth'

One asks, "how is Solomon so wise, when he acts so foolishly?" The answer is one can have wisdom, but wisdom does not give you the dedication and will to follow it. Solomon knew and understood, but his wives robbed him of his will and dedication to God, the source of that wisdom.

If there is wisdom for us in Solomon, it is that marrying well means to keep an eye on the values and faith of the one who you wish to marry. You don't want your spouse to lead you from God.

Next: Rehoboam - A Pale Reflection of His Father.

Re-Thinking God: How Powerful is God Really?

Omnipotent: All-Powerful, Having Unlimited Power.

Well that is the normal standard definition anyway no matter what dictionary/encyclopedia you run to. The question is does it accurately describe the power that the God of the Bible possesses?

"Gee, Mr. Rabyd Theologian, why are you even asking this, the answer is an obvious yes", you might say. "Gentle Reader, this series would not be entitled Re-Thinking God if I didn't think this definition was not at least a little off", I return.

There is for starters the Omnipotence Paradox: Can God make a rock he cannot lift? If He can't, he is not omnipotent? If He can, he is not omnipotent? Now it may simply be that the definition of omnipotent is not specific enough, I mean does such a power actually exist to make a rock you cannot lift? Perhaps what this paradox teaches us is that we need to be more specific in what we mean by possessing all power or we need to define the ALL in all-power better. Some philosophers and theologians have rejected the paradox as ridiculous, but that does not necessarily make it so.

It could also be said that perhaps God places limits on himself in some way. I mean after all to be all-powerful, wouldn't you need the power to limit your own power? It might answer some of the questions surrounding God's power.

The more common challenge to the idea of God being all-powerful is Theodicy: God is love, God is omniscient, God is all-powerful and yet evil exists. 'Either God is not love, not omniscient or NOT ALL-POWERFUL' the argument follows. The thing is if the definitions of these are clearly defined, then there may be an explanation for evil because of change in the definitions.

Thankfully, for myself, I really have no problem with getting a little more detailed about the definition of omnipotence, because to just say God is all-powerful is overly simplistic in my book. What do we mean by all and what do we mean by power?

Some of us like to give God comic book like powers like a superhero. The question is do such powers actually exist or are they imaginary. I mean do we really know what powers actually exist or do they only exist in the minds of human imagination. It is a possibility that some powers we think exist, do not exist. Such a consideration may factor into our definition.

The Bible even seems to limit what power is by placing boundaries: "All power in Heaven and Earth" as an example. Not powers in places that do not exist. Still a lot of power but, all-power may only be inside all of heaven and earth. Actual power in actual places, not imaginary planes of existence.

The question of whether God places limits on Himself is actually a question of God's character so I will leave it till then, except to say that it would seem to have all power and not have a power to control it would mean not having all power. To be all-powerful seems to imply the power to control your power.

A working definition of Omnipotence: To have all power that actually exists and the ability to control that power as one sees fit.

I like this better, it allows us to ask the question: How exactly is it possible for God to deal with the problem of evil with the powers that he actually has? How can God use his power in this situation? Ect. We can ask these questions and be more specific in how God's power actually applies.

Next: God's Omniscience