Wounded by love.
By Elder Porphyrios (Greek Orthodox).
Published by Denise Harvey (email: denise@teledomenet.gr)
ISBN 960-7201-19-1
Here is the secret: God in His omnipotence and omniscience knows everything, including the things that will happen in the future, but He is not the cause of evil. God has foreknowledge, but He does not pre-ordain. For God there is no past, present and future. All things are naked and laid bare before Him. This is what Saint Paul says, All things are naked and laid bare before His eyes (Hebrews 4:13). In His omniscience He knows both good and evil. He cooperates with good, being, as God, good by nature and alien to evil. But since He is alien to evil, how is it possible for Him to pre-ordain us for evil? God created everything exceedingly good and gave to everything a good and holy purpose (Genesis 1:31).
Evil is a problem which our faith explains in a marvelous way which cannot be bettered. The explanation which our faith gives is as follows: Evil exists and comes from the devil. Within us we have both the evil spirit and the good spirit and they battle with each other. Either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). That is, within us a struggle between good and evil takes place. But in this struggle a person is free to decide and choose. Consequently it is not God who pre-ordains and decides, but man's free will.
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By Elder Porphyrios (Greek Orthodox).
Published by Denise Harvey (email: denise@teledomenet.gr)
ISBN 960-7201-19-1
Here is the secret: God in His omnipotence and omniscience knows everything, including the things that will happen in the future, but He is not the cause of evil. God has foreknowledge, but He does not pre-ordain. For God there is no past, present and future. All things are naked and laid bare before Him. This is what Saint Paul says, All things are naked and laid bare before His eyes (Hebrews 4:13). In His omniscience He knows both good and evil. He cooperates with good, being, as God, good by nature and alien to evil. But since He is alien to evil, how is it possible for Him to pre-ordain us for evil? God created everything exceedingly good and gave to everything a good and holy purpose (Genesis 1:31).
Evil is a problem which our faith explains in a marvelous way which cannot be bettered. The explanation which our faith gives is as follows: Evil exists and comes from the devil. Within us we have both the evil spirit and the good spirit and they battle with each other. Either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will cling to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). That is, within us a struggle between good and evil takes place. But in this struggle a person is free to decide and choose. Consequently it is not God who pre-ordains and decides, but man's free will.
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