Can God make a mistake?

[Parameter_928_178]

I have searched for previous posts by Sister Coyote but found none.

*Originally posted by Polycarp *

Good point, Parameter [symbol]P[/symbol][sup]2[/sup]. I’ll bet Sister Coyote will be along shortly to address it more thoroughly than I could.

[Mangetout]

*Originally posted by Enola Straight *
Almost all serial killers are white guys.

Or maybe almost all black serial killers are too smart to get caught?

[Polycarp]

Ah, but if the Supreme Being were to love one of Its creatures, said creature having the ability to make choices and to request that It fulfill a choice of the creature’s, and could foresee that that creature would so request at a given time, would it not, loving the creature, so have designed its Plan for the universe that said creature’s request would be fulfilled – assuming that in Its omniscience it sees that fulfilling that request would be best for the creature – and failing to fulfill that request if so doing would not be best.

Now, in what way does this differ from the idea that sometimes God answers prayer in the way requested, and sometimes He doesn’t?

[Parameter_928_178]

Yes, but as I understand The Book of Sammy, Saul just wanted to be King; there was no request, to be found anywhere, that he wanted to be a great King, a Good King, a nice King or even a beloved King.

“Just give me the Power, if you will” is the way his request went.

*Originally posted by Polycarp *
**Ah, but if the Supreme Being were to love one of Its creatures, said creature having the ability to make choices and to request that It fulfill a choice of the creature’s, and could foresee that that creature would so request at a given time, would it not, loving the creature, so have designed its Plan for the universe that said creature’s request would be fulfilled – assuming that in Its omniscience it sees that fulfilling that request would be best for the creature – and failing to fulfill that request if so doing would not be best.

Now, in what way does this differ from the idea that sometimes God answers prayer in the way requested, and sometimes He doesn’t? **

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Sorry, the Library seems to be under a Hack Attack, making it exceptionally difficult to post–I am departing the AO.

[SisterCoyote]

That’s because it’s SisterCoyote all one word.

As far as the Trickster being on a par with the Devil of Christianity - it’s simply not so, at least as far as Coyote is concerned. I can’t speak to Loki (perhaps Fenris or Freyr would be able to chime in, here), but Coyote (and his cousins Raven and Snake) in many of the Native American tribes were seen much as Shiva - both a creative and a destructive force, often bungling but just as often capable.

From the preface to Mourning Dove’s Coyote Stories

Coyote was the most important because, after he was put to work by the Spirit Chief, he did more than any of the others to make the world a good place in which to live. There were times, however, when Coyote was not busy for the Spirit Chief. Then he amused himself by getting into mischief and stirring up trouble. Frequently he got into trouble himself…

My people call Coyote Sin-ka-lip’, which means Imitator. He delighted in mocking and imitating others, or in trying to, and, as he was a great one to play tricks, sometimes he is spoken of as “Trick Person.”

and, from Lewis Hyde’s Trickster Makes the World

…Trickster is a boundary-crosser. Every group has its edge, its sense of in and out, and trickster is always there, at the gates of the city and the gates of life, making sure there is commerce.[…]Trickster is the creative idiot, therefore, the wise fool, the gray-haired baby, the cross-dresser, the speaker of sacred profanities. Where someone’s sense of honorable behavior has left him unable to act, trickster will appear to suggest an amoral action, something right/wrong that will get life going again. Trickster is the mythic embodiment of ambiguity and ambivalence, doubleness and duplicity, contradiction and paradox.

Unfortunately, I haven’t studied the Aztecs (and don’t know who their Trickster God would have been) so I can’t speak to that - I suspect their Trickster would be similar, however, if somewhat “darker” by our standards (as much of Aztec religion is).

And I could go into this further, but I think this is enough of a hijack of this thread.

[Archangel111]

Sorry for not specifying on said details in my original post. I guess making it vague was not a good idea. My mistake (pun intended =)).

I am indeed a Christian, so the God in question is indeed the Christian God. Secondly, the definition of mistake. Mistake, an action performed that eventually ends up being an incorrect decision, and which also tends to harm the one who caused the action.

[Already_in_Use]

Lucifer?

Personally, I believe that all the bad stuff in the world comes from Sterculius, Roman god of manure. Evil is thus only a byproduct of B.S.

But that’s a topic for another day, isn’t it?