a moral Minority

I love Minority Report. I don't like Tom Cruise, but the depth that this film has in dealing with the always sticky issue of destiny vs. free will is tremendous. The film comes pretty firmly on the side of free will, despite it's initial leaning toward "metaphysical predeterminism." Why do I love it?

(Anderton rolls a ball across the table to Witwer, Witwer catches it as it falls)

John Anderton: Why'd you catch that?
Danny Witwer: Because it was going to fall.
John Anderton: You're certain?
Danny Witwer: Yeah.
John Anderton: But it didn't fall. You caught it. The fact that you prevented it from happening doesn't change the fact that it was *going* to happen.

Anderton demonstrates the fact that we can "know" certain future events, as well as the alternatives. Witwer knew the ball was going to fall, and that he could prevent it by catching it. This is sort of the underlying foundation for God's ability to know the future. I hear the "Open Theists" and I reject their claim of God lacking knowledge of the future. I'm too amazed by Daniel 12, and Micah 5, among other things, to accept that such minor details were set up by guesswork. Here's my view on God, and specifically middle knowledge.
God knows each of us very well, having created us. He knows how we will respond to everything, having created our emotional and psychological makeup, and having allowed all of our experiences to happen. So, while He doesn't make us or force us to do it, he knows what sort of person we are. As a result, He knows how we will react to various situations. He knows that if person A does X, than Y will happen. If person A does V, then W will happen. If Y happens, person B will respond with action T. If W occurs, than person B will respond with action U.
Now clearly, it takes an infinite God to understand all the actions in the world, and all of the possibilities of the potential of those actions over the last however long the world has existed. But if God is infinite, and sees all of these possibilities, than why start any of the actions to begin with?
The answer, must lie in love. God values our love, freely given, and is willing to allow tremendous evil in order to allow that love to be fulfilled. We can't explain why he loves us, we must just accept that he does.


There was another quote that caught my attention, and makes an entirely different point.

(The first time Anderton is surrounded by police following the warrant for his arrest.)

Officer Fletcher: John, don't run.
John Anderton: You don't have to chase me.
Officer Fletcher: But you don't have to run.
John Anderton: Everybody runs, Fletch. Everybody runs.

At some point this semester, Dr. T said, and my dad later agreed, "Never underestimate the determination of someone trying to escape the consequences of their sin." Anderton's hatred lead him to want to kill the man that had kidnapped his son. That hatred was what brought him down. The little red ball displayed his hatred to the world. He denied it, but the consequences eventually caught up with him. In the same way, we often blame shift and deny when caught in sin, but we need to understand that the eternal consequences are inescapable.

Abraham's Life of Faith Before God, Part 3

Genesis 18 Abraham haggles over recieved revelation.

Chapter 18:16-23
God is not averse to sharing with us what he wants to do, but the revelations come in His time. Abraham had been for over 20 years for a son, and received no specific information. God tells him 1 calendar year in advance that Sarah's going to get pregnant and oh, by the way, I’m going to burn down you’re neighbors city. We don't get information from God when He wants us to wait patiently on Him. We get the messages we really need.
God is merciful. He intends to burn the city, but promises to Abraham that He will have mercy if there are 10 righteous in the city. He even saved the righteous man in the city. Also, it seems to a certain degree that God was merciful in destroying the cities:

Mat 11:23-24 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!

While we are often frustrated and discouraged, we must trust in the ultimate mercy of God.