<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>[color:"blue"]If man is responsible in the absolute sense of the word (men are responsible in a relative sense as we should be in taking care of our families and such) then yes I do see this being at odds with God's sovereignty.<br><br>"19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" (Rom.9:19). No one has been able to resist His will or intention. Yet God still finds fault, not because man is responsible (how could he be since his actions were caused by a greater force than what he could withstand?) but because that is what man needs to see, that he has faults much like a piece of pottery has faults (cracks etc). God needs to show mankind their faults in His loving wisdom.<br><br>Does this help or make matters even worse? Am I digging my hole deeper? </font><hr></blockquote><p><br><br>If I might cut in...<br><br>You're digging your hole deeper, Zoe. [img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/grin.gif" alt="grin" title="grin[/img] God doesn't punish people who are not responsible. Whether you believe it or not, you are saying, "how can he yet find fault, for who has resisted his will?" To find fault is to presuppose that someone is responsible. You have yet to show how one can be held accountable for his choices without being responsible for them. The "faults" of pottery have no relevance to ethics, so the analogy is of no use. Let's get back to basics, shall we.[img]http://www.the-highway.com/w3timages/icons/bash.gif" alt="bash" title="bash[/img]<br><br>Blessings,<br><br>Ron
