The Lord God said, "it is not good for man to be alone," but...

[sheborn2x]

Howdy sheborn and welcome to the forum.

The topic of a soulmate comes up often here. It always winds up in a mess. Some holler about it being God's promise to people, some holler about it being pagan, some men holler about how evil all women are, some women... wait, there aren't a lot of women hollering about how evil men are. Strange. It's always men hollering about evil women.

Anyway, this topic always generates a lot of hollering. So yeah, good luck with this topic.

I browsed through some of the replies. You were indeed correct.

 

[sheborn2x]

There is nothing too hard for God and the God of the OT and the mega faith stories is the same One today. Abraham being the father of many nations not having children yet in his 90's+, Noah building an unheard of Ark to shelter from a coming flood, Joseph being thrown in a well by his jealous brothers then prison on false charges knew God had a plan for him the whole time. Many more awesome pictures of God's omnipotence.
A Scripture that tests our faith in God is Mk 11:23 and24 and simply put if we want something, ask God and then believe it is done because God doesn't lie. A famous preacher bed-ridden for months was told by Drs from the Mayo clinic he would die by any of his three deadly conditions. He said Mk 11:23-24 he took to heart and miraculously He was healed by believing what God said is true. So that's what I would start with. Building our faith, by hearing reading the Word, and praising God frequently, helps us recognize how good God is.
Yes I believe in matches made in Heaven, in other words, equally yoked being in unity in Christ. God bless (and I say 'go for it' lol).

So encouraging... without faith it's impossible to please God! I am one who ask and believe (based on the desires that I believe He has placed in my heart - I don't think God is Santa - but, I believe since I have completely yielded to His will and asked God to conform my will to His, the desires of my heart were placed there by Him. I now ask God to do it or do it better according to His will (bc I know He is able to do exceedingly abundantly...)

 

[sheborn2x]

she was actually already inside of him to begin with.
If Adam was clever he would have known this lol

Lol you are funny this is even more interesting than your above reply re the Holy Spirit. Please refer to bold text highlighted in red. The below suggests woman did not exist until God "made" woman.

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

 

[sheborn2x]

1) Not good for the man to be alone- we're talking about the creation of a species in that one. So no a world of just men wouldn't be good. A world of just women wouldn't be good either. We need both. But just because a person is unmarried doesn't mean they never have interactions with the opposite sex. So that's reconciled - unmarried isn't the same thing as alone. Your interpretation that a helper is a spouse would need more support than this.

Please see two bold words highlighted in red below. Helper in v20 and wife in v24...

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

2) Soulmates indeed are a pagan concept.

Okay - if you say so, I guess I'll just have to take your word

But assuming you're using the word more colloquially to mean something like perfect fit / perfect match, that's a rather stressful thought. I mean it's hard enough to find someone you want to marry who it would be a good decision to marry; now we're adding the question of is this the one in 10 billion or so (because while there are only 7 billion or so people on the planet the actual individuals on the planet keep changing throughout your life) that God has for me.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

"For nothing will be impossible with God.”

 

[sheborn2x]

when I was a pagan I thought like a pagan and consulted my horoscope lol

people have this weird thing about predestiny but this does not apply to spouses or our own decisions in life

The Bible is talking about salvation - God has already made a way for us to be redeemed so we can live with Him forever.
Also in heaven we are not marrying or given to marriage we will be like angels

on earth its not compulsory for anybody to marry. If you want to its your choice, its not a given.
When God was creating he made two people otherwise it would be boring for Adam to be all by himself. Adam didnt have a mum or a dad.

Okay - let's say predetermined/decided/ect.

Jesus is quoted in Luke 22:42, “...nevertheless not my will, but Thine be done.” This suggests (to me) that God has His will. Man has free will to step out of God's will. What does stepping out of God's will mean? Could this mean making choices (based on one's free will) that do not align with God's plan for our lives? Wouldn't this suggest that God has predetermined something else... but we have "free will" to do otherwise... so the actual outcome is not predetermined (although God knows the outcome). Him knowing the outcome does not make it happen. But, if we choose "free will," we have stepped out of God's will and made a choice opposite of what he predetermined according to His will... E.g., a man's gift will make room for him. God predetermined man's gift. It's man's choice to operate in his gift.

 

[sheborn2x]

GN CC, will look at your other replies another night.

 

[Gojira]

If not predetermined, how are we stepping outside His will?

By marrying someone who's unsaved... or, by not following his/her call to be a missionary, e.g., leaving the missionary in the field who'd been praying for a spouse with no choice then but to be single. If God operates like this, then it seems you have an answer to your question.

However, I do not believe He does, so I am left with the question mark still.

24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."

And apparently this is a general but not a universal rule.

Same - I have questions about what I believe are contradictory scriptures. E.g., I believe helpmate is spouse bc of scripture posted above that says "wife." And, Proverbs says he who finds a "wife" finds a good thing and obtains favor from God. But, Paul contradicts what God says in Genesis. But, if all scriptures are inspired by God, then how can Paul say it's better to remain unmarried and go against the Word of God? (Confused face lol)

Faith is hard. Yes, I know I have a wonderful grasp of the obvious.

 

[Lynx]

Please see two bold words highlighted in red below. Helper in v20 and wife in v24...

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.



Okay - if you say so, I guess I'll just have to take your word



Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

"For nothing will be impossible with God.”

You seem determined... Like, VERY, set-in-concrete determined to believe in soulmates.

Three questions:

1 - If you didn't want to know what other people thought about it, why did you ask? You keep rejecting all dissenting opinions out of hand, as though you already know all the answers and everybody who disagrees is a complete idiot. Why did you bother starting this thread? Just to argue?

2 - Have you found your soulmate yet? Is it all peaches and cream and rainbows and unicorns?

3 - What about the issues seoulsearch raised, with Hosea, Ezekiel and the like? If what God said to Adam applies to everyone, how do you rationalize them?

 

[Lynx]

Mind you, I would ask that first question even if you were set-in-concrete AGAINST the idea of soulmates. You started this, but you are not willing to entertain any opinion that goes against your own. Why bother starting it?

 

[Lynx]

And final thought - the more we believe in an unchangeable destiny in love (or any area of life) the more likely we are to sit on our butts and not do anything because we don't think anything we could do would make a difference. It's all predestined after all.

*Lynx yawns, stretches, peers lazily over the edge of his perch and purrs at cinder:

Not all of us need destiny to be indolent. Some of us just have a natural gift for sitting on our butts. =^.^=

 

[Lynx]

Anyone who marries must also know that there is a 50/50 chance they will once again wind up single.

(Said in a stereotypical fat southern male voice)

Yup, I sure nuff know that! And that's why I go down to the McDonald's and eat a bacon double quarter pounder with cheese three meals a day. If one of us is gonna be lonely at the end of this, I'm gonna make doggone sure it ain't gonna be me!

Sometimes I change it up a bit and go to Burger King for a triple whopper. It ain't on the menu, but you can add more meat all you want.

 

[JohnDB]

(1) The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” But, every child of God who desires to be married will not get married. How do you reconcile the two?

Arguably helper is a spouse as Proverbs 18:22 says "he who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD."

We know "God is not a man, that he should lie"... "hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?"

So, if a child of God has surrendered to His will, and God has placed the desire for marriage in the person's heart and promised He will make a helper suitable for him, why do some end up single?

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So, even if one detours and is not in the will of God, wouldn't God reroute his child (if there has been a complete submission to His will over the individual's will)? Or, wouldn't He remove the desire?

(2) Do you believe you have one soulmate? I do, by the way, since God knows the end from the beginning and He knew every choice we would make. He says He knew us before we were formed in the womb. I believe God cares about every detail of our lives. There are no two ppl on earth with the same fingerprints. So, why would something as important as one's spouse not be predestined?

Look forward to hearing what others think about the above topics

I believe that flat reading of scriptures will create paradoxes and that flat reading produces flat answers.

None of which should apply to scriptures.

And that is

 

[seoulsearch]

This whole discussion has me thinking about my time on CC and the many (MANY) threads that have been created regarding soulmates.

Now it's possible I could have missed it, but I was just thinking about how astonishing it seems that we've literally seen dozens of threads asking or pondering whether or not God creates/destines soulmates, but in the 13 years I've been trying to keep up with the threads here, I can't think of even one instance in which someone created a thread proclaiming, "I Found My SoulMate From the Lord!!!"

I'm not saying it isn't possible and I'm not saying that someone hasn't experienced this. But we've had a lot of married friends here over the years, and I used to also read the Family Forum regularly (where more married would hang out,) so I'm just wondering what would cause such a HUGE imbalance?

Why do we have dozens of single people asking about soulmates, but not one married person in all that time saying, "Soulmates DO exist!!! God DOES create one for you and will lead you to them!"

Again, I'm not saying it can't happen and or that it hasn't been discussed somewhere, because I'm sure it has (if not here, then a hundred other thousand places on the internet.)

But I am genuinely curious as to why so many Christian singles think and wonder about this, but we have not had even one married person (though I could have easily missed it,) come in and tell us with absolute certain that soulmates are an unquestionable phenomenon from the Lord. I can't help but wonder that if they really were a thing, surely more Christian people who had experienced it would tell us? Again, I could be wrong, but doesn't anyone else wonder about this too?

Our married friends might say that they have found their best friend and an absolute gift from God, but I can't recall any married people here calling their spouse their soulmate.

Why is that?

 

[cinder]

Please see two bold words highlighted in red below. Helper in v20 and wife in v24...

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

The most interesting thing about verse 24 is that in many cultures throughout history (including OT Jewish culture) it's the woman who leaves her family and becomes part of her husband's family. Other interesting features of this passage: in Hebrew the words woman and wife are the same word in this passage. The word helper in every other use in the OT is used in a context of the greater helping the weaker either militarily or else the one needing help is in a life threatening situation. Also the words Adam and man are the same in Hebrew. But I still stand by what I said, this passage could be saying that it's not good for men to exist without women and for many men that may include a special woman who becomes their wife, but it doesn't indicate a promise to every man that he will get a wife.

Okay - if you say so, I guess I'll just have to take your word

Or you could do the barest bit of research to see if I know what I'm talking about. This is a good first page result from googling where does the idea of soulmates come from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...uples/201207/the-fallacy-the-soul-mate-part-i

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

"For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Out of context scripture, not applicable to this discussion as I'm pretty sure this was said in response to a discussion about how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Nothing to do with finding a spouse. You will learn not to quote scripture out of context with me because I will know it and I will call you out on it.

 

[Lynx]

You will learn not to quote scripture out of context with me because I will know it and I will call you out on it.

That's for sure!

sheborn I should probably tell you that you picked a VERY bad target for that particular dismissive comment. If cinder states something as fact, she has personally looked stuff up and is certain it IS in fact a fact.

Although... I have to disagree with you cinder. Some people NEVER learn. They've been on this forum for years and they still try to pull the same old junk. I will grant it's a bad idea for her to use scripture out of context when talking to you, but her learning from the mistake is not a given.

 

[posthuman]

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” But, every child of God who desires to be married will not get married. How do you reconcile the two?

the word "man" in Hebrew is the same word as the name Adam.
in Genesis 1-3 "the man" particular identifies Adam rather than just man in general.

so is God saying it isn't good for Adam to be alone?
or man in general?

and is anyone truly "alone" just because they don't have a wife?

 

[posthuman]

Soul mate is a pagan idea, not a scriptural one.

oh?
what about Genesis 24:14?

Rebekkah is "the woman appointed by God to be Isaac's wife"

 

[posthuman]

Same - I have questions about what I believe are contradictory scriptures. E.g., I believe helpmate is spouse bc of scripture posted above that says "wife." And, Proverbs says he who finds a "wife" finds a good thing and obtains favor from God. But, Paul contradicts what God says in Genesis. But, if all scriptures are inspired by God, then how can Paul say it's better to remain unmarried and go against the Word of God? (Confused face lol)

easy.

Genesis doesn't necessarily say it's not good for man in general to be alone. every time you see "man" in the OT it's the same word as the name Adam. especially in Genesis 1-3 and especially when you see "the man"
perhaps this is only it's not good for Adam.

and Jesus Himself says it's better a man be unmarried, but not everyone can accept it -- the one who can accept it, should. Matthew 19:12

so this is not contradiction in scripture. it's only failure to fully understand.
Paul isn't contradicting Christ, or Genesis, or Solomon. Paul's not an idiot; he's ridiculously intelligent. he knows your objections.
Paul is giving you the other side of the truth that you hadn't considered. that's all.

every time you find something that looks crazy and contradictory in scripture, that's something wonderful.
you have found deep wisdom -- and you have to search it out and find understanding.

 

[tourist]

Interesting... can you reconcile your statement with the below Scripture?

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Rether the Holy S[pirit to keep Adam company what he needed was Holy Matrimony.

 

[tourist]

Please see two bold words highlighted in red below. Helper in v20 and wife in v24...

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LordGod caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.



Okay - if you say so, I guess I'll just have to take your word



Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

"For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Exactly, God created a helper for Adam. A female helper.