We are not God's puppets we are His children. We were given the ability to reason and the ability to choose. We are told and believe we were made in God's image. Would a loving God that created us in His image saddle us with the sin of our ancestors over which we had no control? Would a loving God select some before they were born to be included as His elect and damn others from birth? If there was an elect who were preordained at birth to be God's chosen what would be the purpose of sending Christ to suffer and die? There would be no one to save. Divine love is not a formula or a system of payment. There can be no redemption if we are are simply the contaminated seed of Adam selected without our knowledge to be either blessed or cursed by our Creator. Our sins are our own. The Jews do not believe in predestination. Augustine invented the concept as most embrace the concept today. God is fair, God is kind, God does not play games with our lives like a Greek or Roman capricious god. God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Rejoice in the Lord for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever.
-Beth Maxwell Boyle
Window in Iona Abbey
Photo by Beth Maxwell Boyle