Search the Community

How is Bada Reflected in Christian and Jewish Sources? The concept of Bada (Divine change of manifest decree) is among the topics that have manifested in some form within certain divine religions. This writing attempts to examine the manifestations of this concept in Judaism and Christianity and measure its prevalence. It must be noted that the concept of Bada is present in the text of the Bible, which is accepted by both religions. Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Bada: Many Jewish theologians, particularly under the influence of Biblical verses such as "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent,"[1] believe that the Divine Essence and Will are immutable. Based on this view, after creation, God determined destinies in a final manner, and no further change occurs in the increase or decrease of sustenance or lifespan. [2] Despite this view, there are numerous examples in the Bible showing that God, due to the repentance or requests of His servants, withdrew a decision: "The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying: 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.' So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord... Jonah began to enter the city... and he cried out, 'Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!' But the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast... When God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, He relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it".[3] In another place, it states: "Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm."[4] Or elsewhere, it is stated: "This is what the Lord God showed me: He was preparing a swarm of locusts... When they had stripped the land clean, I cried out, 'Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!' So the Lord relented. 'This will not happen,' the Lord said." [5] The majority of Christians, also based on what is stated in the Bible ("God is not human that He should repent"[6]), believe that the Divine Essence and Will are unchangeable. This view is derived from their theological perspective, which sees God as a being completely independent of and beyond the world. Accordingly, in their view, God is a Pure Substance who is not affected by accidents; therefore, His power is absolute and His knowledge is infallible. In other words, God is absolute perfection in whom changeability has no place. [7] Based on this, it can be said that Judaism and Christianity generally do not accept any change in Divine Providence and Will, although examples of such change are seen in their Bible. In Christianity, the belief in absolute omniscience and the fixed providence of God led to the emergence of intellectual movements; specifically, the school of "Open Theism" emerged in Christianity to resolve this conflict. This movement argued that belief in absolute foreknowledge and immutable divine providence negates human free will. Therefore, to resolve this conflict, they reconsidered the absolute nature of divine foreknowledge and attributed a form of changeability to God in order to preserve human volition. [8] Conclusion: In the Bible, examples are found where God withdraws an announced decision. From a traditional perspective, these events are not interpreted as a change in Divine Providence, as such a reading is considered incompatible with God's Absolute Knowledge (Omniscience) and Eternal Will. However, the contradiction between this view and parts of the Bible that explicitly speak of the change in God’s will has led some Christian modernists to move away from the traditional understanding and turn toward new interpretations. [1] . The Holy Bible, Numbers 23:19. [2] . Al-Tawhid, Sheikh al-Saduq, p. 444. [3] . The Holy Bible, Jonah 3:1-10. [4] . The Holy Bible, Joel 2:13. [5] . The Holy Bible, Amos 7:1-4. [6] . The Holy Bible, Numbers 23:19. [7] . Article: "Critique of the Doctrine of Openness in Resolving the Conflict Between Divine Knowledge and Human Choice," Sayyideh Saeedeh Mirsadri, Section: "Objection to Traditional Christian Thought," p. 131. [8] . Article: "A Comparative Study of the Doctrine of Bada and Openness in Resolving the Conflict Between Divine Foreknowledge and Human Will," Isa Mohammadinia (Refer to Abstract) / Article: "Critique of the Doctrine of Openness in Resolving the Conflict Between Divine Knowledge and Human Choice," Sayyideh Saeedeh Mirsadri, Section: "Objection to Traditional Christian Thought," p. 131.