Question of the Week: In Genesis 6:6 God regretted that he created human beings and his heart was deeply troubled, which seems to mean that he was not constant in his decisions. How do you deal with that?
My Answer: God’s character, mind, and decisions never change. However, he does have emotions. Regret is an emotion. In Genesis 6:6 God remained constant in his mind and in his decision to create human beings. The proof is that human beings still exist and that Earth always has had human beings.
God created humans with strong free will so that it would be possible for humans to experience strong love. Because of humanity’s strong free will, there were and always will be humans who decide to reject God and cause God to grieve. While God was displeased with Noah’s generation, he was pleased with Noah (Genesis 6:9).
Christians should use their reasoning to further reflect upon God’s revealed truths. The ancient church father Augustine called this process “faith seeking understanding.”
