tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post6154595422075501545..comments2024-02-26T12:08:30.411+00:00Comments on Here goes...: God Owes us NothingGraham Tomlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17122843483424739088noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-61371164205428602732021-10-11T10:58:25.299+01:002021-10-11T10:58:25.299+01:00As Saint Paul says: Even while we were sinners, Ch...As Saint Paul says: Even while we were sinners, Christ died for us.<br /><br />We live in an age of Intellectual Pride<br /><br />and Faux Morality.G. Watshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07443343719832106274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-49017781560399354942020-12-16T11:56:36.645+00:002020-12-16T11:56:36.645+00:00God owes us E V E R Y T H I N G.
He's nothing ...God owes us E V E R Y T H I N G.<br />He's nothing without us. We are slaves of his ego.Comentaristahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01624988495260564449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-9563640041590866232010-12-17T12:14:14.459+00:002010-12-17T12:14:14.459+00:00Dear Graham,
I found this thought also powerfully...Dear Graham,<br /><br />I found this thought also powerfully expressed by Miroslav Volf in his book Free of Charge.eenKleineprofeethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01615117841856052627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-80279867530570007942010-11-06T13:11:19.972+00:002010-11-06T13:11:19.972+00:00This is great. Grateful that you posted it. I wi...This is great. Grateful that you posted it. I will need this as an occasional reminder I am affraid. Not that God doesn't owe me, but the treasure of life is God and that my very relationship with Him is a gift I don't deserve. God's love for me makes it so. I wish it kept me from being a "spoiled brat" sometimes.<br />thanks Father Graham.O.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/11841862306537009197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-12990654233568679232010-10-10T09:20:36.799+01:002010-10-10T09:20:36.799+01:00Nice post - I too remember being struck by the tit...Nice post - I too remember being struck by the title of this book - it is a great summary of the basic Augustinian (and Islamic?) outlook. And it does capture something really important. What worries me is that it has often been used to underpin the idea that because God owes us nothing, he is quite within his rights to predestine people to damnation, or at least withhold saving grace from the vast bulk of humanity - and that this is what he has done!<br /><br />So don't we need to hold two thoughts together: 'God owes us nothing' and 'God is love'? Perhaps the basic truth is that God may owe us nothing, but he owes himself - i.e. he's compelled by his own loving character to seek and save the lost.<br /><br />JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-60314092329386635522010-10-06T08:55:55.471+01:002010-10-06T08:55:55.471+01:00Hi Graham,
I agree with Paul's comment above...Hi Graham, <br /><br />I agree with Paul's comment above about the danger of Islamization in our portrayals of God (see the useful article by Udo Middleman "The Islamization of Christianity").<br /><br />While the thought you highlight is true as an objective transcendent fact it seems to me its not the kind of thing that a relational God of love or the God of much of the OT eg:the prophets, the lament psalms, encourages us to engage in. Its makes it sound as if God was saying to us "look, its not like I owe you anything but if I feel like it I might make an exception do you a favour and help you/save you this time. After all its not as if I like you that much." The statement doesn't invite me to wrestle with God about the pain of this world and of my life but rather seems to be saying "shut up and be thankful for whatever you get for after all you don't deserve anything anyway." I just can't see how it'd produce love in us for God but rather an attitude of distance, resignation and just put up with it and stop complaining.<br /><br />I'm not saying that God owes us anything but I am saying that to relate to God out of such an understanding might not produce the kind of vibrant, honest faith that looks and sounds genuine and embraces all of life - the good and the bad. The statement is in danger of portraying God as an indifferent oppressive father who expects total gratitude and does not tolerate questions, grief or complaints. <br />Anyway, that's my 0.02 worth. :-)<br /><br />Love the work you, Mike Lloyd and Chris Tilling are doing. Keep it up!<br />Blessings<br />RobAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-679339274923186482010-10-05T14:05:34.931+01:002010-10-05T14:05:34.931+01:00Thank you for writing this. This is the Gospel. ...Thank you for writing this. This is the Gospel. I deserve death but Jesus gives me life, I am sinful but Jesus gives me His righteousness. God owes me none of this but gives me everything in Him. And all gifts are for His Glory and my joy. How great of a God He is, because I don't deserve it and have done nothing and will do nothing to earn it. He is good. <br />Thanks for posting this great reminder.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10236838488722337469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-3796147758578740282010-09-24T21:28:22.156+01:002010-09-24T21:28:22.156+01:00I would go further and say that our very existence...I would go further and say that our very existence is an incredible gift.Kathryn Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05829669522063886278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6011722518762175916.post-59755051810796140242010-09-24T11:53:04.259+01:002010-09-24T11:53:04.259+01:00Graham - that is an interesting post and, in the w...Graham - that is an interesting post and, in the wake of the Pakistan floods, I have recently been reflecting on how the faith of Muslims seems so much more resilient to disaster for much the same reason. If God owes us nothing and if everything is subject to the will of God then true submission to God comes only when we can accept both good and ill with equal equanimity. It is certainly a good antidote to the invidious prosperity gospel. However there are two slight issues with envisioning God as too transcendent or even impassive - the first is that it runs the risk of making God redundant and the second is that it seems to undervalue the distinctive and immanent ministries of God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. And I guess that is why, ultimately, that Christians cannot help but think of God differently from our Muslim brothers and sisters.Paul Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04573038970153473080noreply@blogger.com