Origen on God using evil to bring about good

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"[...]while God preserves the free will of each man He makes use of the evil of bad men for the ordering of the whole, making them useful to the universe; yet such a man is none the less guilty, and as such he has been appointed to perform a function which is repulsive to the individual but beneficial to the whole." (Con. Cel. IV,70)

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Origen on the continuity between the commandments of the law and of Jesus (Matt. 5:38-39)

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"[...]it is written in the Lamentations of Jeremiah: 'It is good for a man when he bears a yoke in his youth, he will sit alone and in silence when he has taken it on himself. He will give a cheek to the man who smites him and shall be filled with reproaches.' The gospel, then, does not lay down laws in contradiction to the God of the law, not even if we interpret literally the saying about a blot on the jaw. And neither Moses nor Jesus is wrong. Nor did the Father forget when sent Jesus the commands which he had given to Moses. Nor did He condemn His own laws, and change His mind, and send His messenger for the opposite purpose. " (Con. Cel. VII,25)
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Exceptions to God's love? A thought on violence and salvation, Anabaptists, Yoder, Barth and Luther

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Billede
"Anabaptists" being tortured for rejecting violence and saying that there will be an end to otherworldly torture. In the Lutheran Augsburg Confession (CA) the so-called Anabaptists were condemned not just for their baptist practices but also for their views on eschatology, soteriology and ethics. First there is the Anabaptist rejection of violence. The Lutherans condemned the Anabaptists for teaching the necessity of not engaging as soldiers in “just war”, to “sit as judges” and to award “just punishments”. ”They condemn the Anabaptists who forbid these civil offices to Christians.” (CA § XVI) On soteriology we hear that Lutherans believe that the devil and sinners shall be tortured without end, while the Anabaptists are condemned for teaching that there will be an end to torture: ”They condemn the Anabaptists, who think that there will be an end to the punishments of condemned men and devils.” (CA § XVII) While the claim that there will be an end to punishments...
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"[...]the existence of things created is an effect of the Divine will, but not posterior to it in time."

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"[...]the existence of things created is an effect of the Divine will, but not posterior to it in time. For the case is different from that of men endowed by nature with practical ability, where you may look at capability and execution apart from each other. For example, we say of a man who possesses the art of shipbuilding, that he is always a shipbuilder in respect of his ability to build ships, but that he operates only when he displays his skill in working. It is otherwise with God; for all that we can conceive as in Him is entirely work and action, His will passing over immediately to its object." (Against Eunomius' Second Book, NPNF, p. 273)
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