God the Father

Use this forum to discuss the June 2020 Book of the month, "Killing Abel" by Michael Tieman.
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Bison_
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Re: God the Father

Post by Bison_ »

I don't think that God is limited by humans. He is just a God of love who cares for his children. He also punishes mankind when they err as evident by the flood that destroyed the universe but Noah's family
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tieman55
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Post by tieman55 »

Nelson Chocha wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 12:04 Killing Abel is a fictional description of a loving Father and His children founded on what little is disclosed in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

What is your opinion on the context of this book in relation to the description of God, "God the Father is limited by His children's actions and His Children are limited by His actions as well"?.
The quote above I can't find in Killing Abel . . .
But, the truth is, God just like all fathers is "limited" by the sins of His children. God can do a lot of things, but He can't make sin just go away like it never happened, if He could His son did not have to die on a cross.

I found 19 uses of the word "Limited" and the ones below are the ones regarding God being limited by the sins of his Children.

PG 55
In Heaven, God, the Father, now eternally limited by the actions of His son Adam, would make the best out of a fallen world.
PG 144
Mercy would be a fact of life, and, as God withheld judgment upon earth each and every day, the effects of mercy would become known.
In this matter, God’s choices had been limited by God’s Son. God had been compelled to protect Cain in order to preserve the rights of His only eternal Son, and this would inevitably create confusion among men.
PG 169
Adam had long understood that a son’s actions can limit his father’s actions, but now he had a new understanding of something akin to that. He saw that a father can’t always be limited by another father. Fathers have duties regardless of the actions of others. So, when a son becomes a father and his duties turn to his own son, he feels less like a son and more like a father. Furthermore, a father’s duties to his younger ones will always take precedence over his duty to his older children, to his father, and even to society
PG203
In the cold eyes of Enoch, Cain now saw his lack of wisdom grown to fruition. And it was far too late to help Enoch. Cain had set no limits for his children, so all of them would grow up to be wicked. A wise father was always limited by his children’s errors. But Cain never had been and the wickedness of his son Enoch was a direct result of his own lack of wisdom in raising his son
PG255
"Now, if you felt that love for a long period of time, the time it will take to enter judgment unto this world, would you willingly return to this world?" There was silence. Noah’s point was understood by the boys―God would need willing participants to re-inhabit the earth. If God were to save them all in a different way, in a much more comfortable way, would the boys be willing to endure the pain, the discomfort, and the misery of starting the world again from scratch? God cannot always make things easy. A king that is never limited by his children hates His children.
PG263
The Godhead in the Spirit reflected on the Past, then on the Future. "Almighty . . . I am. Creator of the Heavens and the earth . . . I am. But those abilities are now severely hindered, all but useless, as We are now limited to depend on a manmade wooden boat to advance Our and man’s sorrows unto a hopeful future."
PG340
Cain was astonished that Lamech was listening to him as they sat in the garden watching the lamb struggle for a drink, just as they struggled for answers. But neither of them thought to look upward for their answers. If God was looking at these two men at that moment, He would have been pleased that they were at least acknowledging their problems and considering sacrifice as a solution. But in the end it would be their choice―a loving Father is always limited by the unwise decisions of his children.
PG360
While the Godhead were not bystanders, They had been severely limited by the decisions that each man had freely made. Man’s choices would, more than any other one thing, limit God’s choices going forward. There would be no more trees to guide man; instead there would be law. Cain’s obsession with the tree had shown God just how much an unrepentant man needs law. The law of Cain would be the new tree, and all laws would branch out of that single law―whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood shall be shed. (KJV Gen. 9:6)
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Post by Claude Belemu »

Nelson Chocha wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 12:04 Killing Abel is a fictional description of a loving Father and His children founded on what little is disclosed in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

What is your opinion on the context of this book in relation to the description of God, "God the Father is limited by His children's actions and His Children are limited by His actions as well"?.
We know that nothing or no one can limit God. However, we can limit the move of God in our lives and God can choose to limit HIS hand in our affairs. The context in which it is said is important.
Do your best- trust God to do the rest.
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Nelson Chocha
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Post by Nelson Chocha »

Claude Belemu wrote: 18 Jun 2020, 16:12
Nelson Chocha wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 12:04 Killing Abel is a fictional description of a loving Father and His children founded on what little is disclosed in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

What is your opinion on the context of this book in relation to the description of God, "God the Father is limited by His children's actions and His Children are limited by His actions as well"?.
We know that nothing or no one can limit God. However, we can limit the move of God in our lives and God can choose to limit HIS hand in our affairs. The context in which it is said is important.
100% True, God gives us a free will, to an extent were; he lets us reach our highest limit in devious sectors. But the overall context is that we are able to do everything not because we can! but because He can let us, otherwise God is Limitless .
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Post by Nicole_Boyd »

AmyMarie2171 wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 16:37 It sounds like very uncommon theology. Much of the foundation of Christianity rests on the building block of God being an omnipotent, omniscient Creator. The interpretation that I would glean from this statement that still fits widely accepted Christian theology would be that God is limited only in the knowledge that he has given His children free will. He CAN step in, but He doesn't always because people are free to make their own choices. It is a controversial statement to connect to a book that hinges on religion.
I agree it’s a hard question to really answer. It’s like God limits himself in order to have relationship with us and yet he’s also all powerful. Could He be both?
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Post by Jeff101 »

I believe that god has a plan for all of us, and that we can choose to act on it or not.
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Post by Miks_solon »

I think I have fully understood that line when it was explained by the author. It has also a line there that states like God the Father is like a parent to us also. He wanted to protect us like our biological father would do. Same goes when a father punishes his children to help them in their development.
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Post by biblichore_pages »

It was hard to accpet the idea of God possessing limited powers and that he is limited by his children.
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Post by Ada Ling »

Bhuvana Subramanyam wrote: 02 Jun 2020, 11:39 In my place, there is a saying that nothing happens without gods approval. So, maybe god's sons do what he planned for them to do, without even realising it!
Echo here. Sometimes, we feel we do the things while god is watching. So the kids of god did as god directed them to do even they did not realize it.
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Post by Becccccca+98 »

Nelson Chocha wrote: 01 Jun 2020, 12:04 Killing Abel is a fictional description of a loving Father and His children founded on what little is disclosed in the Bible, in the book of Genesis.

What is your opinion on the context of this book in relation to the description of God, "God the Father is limited by His children's actions and His Children are limited by His actions as well"?.
I think that it's a very interesting concept to think about. By giving us free will, God the Father has effectively reduced his ability to step in and stop us if we're making a mistake. Thus since he can't step in and stop us, we have to face the consequences of our decisions because we made them without his influence.

This works both ways, God has a plan for everyone. Due to free will, we don't always make the decisions that coincide with his plan. He can't stop us from going away from his plan but he can guide us back to the correct path. Consider the following: You see an ant going towards a tiny crumb of food but you can see a bigger crumb just a little way off. You can't stop the ant from going towards the tiny crumb but you can put obstacles in its path to lead it towards the bigger crumb. In this same way, God the Father is limited in His ability to stop us, but he can put obstacles in your path to steer you towards better things.

This is just my take on it! :)
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Post by kdstrack »

This was what I least liked about the book. I can understand the author's choice to describe God as "limited" in His actions. The idea of a God that is "limited" seems to take away from the biblical teaching of an almighty God who is outside the limits of time of space. While he does make use of time and space to accomplish His will, He is not limited by it. He was not limited by a manmade wooden boat. He chose to use it as a way to save believers and to serve as a visual lesson for future generations of His just reaction to sin and His gracious invitation of salvation to those who believe in Him.
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Post by Duncann679 »

I think that we are free to make our own choices. However, every choice has its own consequences.
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Post by Anna Dougherty »

Killing Able has portrayed God as a father in a way I have never seen before. I always thought of God as a father in the sense of that He cares for our well being and is always there for us. In this book, God is portrayed with the qualities of human father. I do not agree with description of God in question because I believe that God has no limits.
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Post by Topsey »

It is definitely an interesting statement. However, I wouldn’t say that God is limited by us but rather limits himself. By this I mean he does not act where he could because he has given free will to man. For example, He could end all suffering, but due to free will and the consequences of the original sin, he limits himself.
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Post by yosek123 »

I was certainly surprised by this point. It definitely takes on an interesting perspective in its limitations on God's omniscience and omnipotence. In another post, I mentioned that it almost felt like a variation on the "problem of evil." It made sense in the context of the book, but it was certainly surprising given that the piece relies so heavily on biblical text.
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