God's anger

[Tom]

Anger to me has always been the result of someone doing something mean or hateful that I didn't expect. If I expected it I would have done something to prevent them from acting in such a way. God is all knowing and all powerful. We can do nothing which surprises him. He knows what we will do before we do.

The Bible declares that God becomes angry. How do you account for this? He could have stopped what made him angry from ever occurring and it certainly was no surprise. Give biblical basis for your opinion.

Tom

[cdhale]

I don't know. Perhaps those Open Theism guys are onto something...

clint

[Ron Lambert]

While God communicates with us through the medium of human language, we should not make the mistake of ascribing to God our human imperfections. Isaiah 55:8, 9 says: "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.'" (NASB)

When the Bible speaks of God's wrath, we should not necessarily suppose that God gets angry in the same way that we do. For us, angry is a synonym for mad, which is a synonym for insane. That is never true for God.

[itsjustdave1988]

God's Will of Decree is one thing, His Will of Desire another.

I think with very few exceptions, God decrees that we have free will (will of decree). Without exception, I think God also decrees that we should love one another (will of desire).

However the will of decree (free will) allows us to disobey God, thereby going against his will of desire. He does not break his will of decree to force us into obeying his will of desire. He can, but normatively, he doesn't. Why?

Here's an example .... a parent may desire that his son apologize to his little sister (an act of love). The parent wants (will of desire) the apology to take place. Yet, would a good parent force the apology? If so, of what value would the apology be if it were forced? Is forced love of any value at all? Or, is love only something that can have any value, if and only if it is done freely?

We indeed attempt to use words to describe the indescribable God, and everytime we do so, we fall short of the objective truth about God. However poor the word "angry" may be at doing so, it is the best we can do. God becomes "angry" when His people prove unloving. Why doesn't God force us (either by compelling our actions or by compelling our will which determines our actions) from being unloving to begin with so that he does not become angry with us? Because that would be forcing us to love Him and each other, which would totally destroy what love truly is. God instead trusts that we will, with the help of his grace (a grace that is still, however, resistible), come to love one another freely. A desire that any parent has with regard to their children.

[Padre2]

What Scriptures refer to God being angry with mankind?

Padre

[cdhale]

Genesis 6:6, Exodus 4:14, Numbers 12:9

I know that Genesis 6, says He was grieved in His heart, but I think the context is that of anger.