Observing Ellie Wiesel’s words expressed as “I had ceased to be anything but ashes, yet I felt myself to be stronger than the Almighty, to whom my life had been tied for so long,” point to the pain and suffering that the speaker offers. Humans that go through unfathomable suffering know the excruciating pain when they go through it. At the same time, it is an echo of three different perspectives. First, the words delineate the enigmatic pain signifying death and suffering; second, it suggests denial of God’s authority and role in a human life. It also suggests that God has been unfaithful and it was futile to have had faith in God. Third, it stipulates that since God claims to be the Creator of humans, why are humans forced to suffer pain?
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These arguments by John Calvin and Augustine invite readers to explore if God really intends some humans to receive salvation because they have been promised “salvation,” while others ought to receive “damnation” ? It is interesting to explore this perspective with comparison to the story of Judas Iscariot. Judas was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, whom Jesus chose to follow him and he was the betrayer. Judas’ inclusion in the part of Jesus’ death and resurrection convey that if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, how would Jesus be taken into the hands of authority and nailed to the cross. Do Jesus’ words “..It would have been better for that one not to have been born”(Matthew 26:24) convey that he was predestined to play the role of a traitor in Jesus’ journey to the cross? On one level, it can be argued that Jesus’ words express the truth that God chooses people to be disciples of Christ and once they make wrong choices because they have the free will, they end their journeys, metaphorically speaking either, desolate and dry and not healthy and fruitful. I would like to pause here and explore the unanswered question that my peers had about their lack of understanding about knowing the meaning of “flourishing.” Dr. Ray commented his peer insight to be based on a similar question stating “There is no clear sense or agreement of what flourishing
These arguments by John Calvin and Augustine invite readers to explore if God really intends some humans to receive salvation because they have been promised “salvation,” while others ought to receive “damnation” ? It is interesting to explore this perspective with comparison to the story of Judas Iscariot. Judas was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, whom Jesus chose to follow him and he was the betrayer. Judas’ inclusion in the part of Jesus’ death and resurrection convey that if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, how would Jesus be taken into the hands of authority and nailed to the cross. Do Jesus’ words “..It would have been better for that one not to have been born”(Matthew 26:24) convey that he was predestined to play the role of a traitor in Jesus’ journey to the cross? On one level, it can be argued that Jesus’ words express the truth that God chooses people to be disciples of Christ and once they make wrong choices because they have the free will, they end their journeys, metaphorically speaking either, desolate and dry and not healthy and fruitful. I would like to pause here and explore the unanswered question that my peers had about their lack of understanding about knowing the meaning of “flourishing.” Dr. Ray commented his peer insight to be based on a similar question stating “There is no clear sense or agreement of what flourishing