Is it true that God never changed a punishment?

 

Some years ago I did a sermon on Adam and Eve, mentioning that some scholars suggest that God acted with mercy in their case and let them live longer, rather than killing them immediately after their sin. I said that God never changed a punishment based on a specific commandment.

That assumes that when God threatens a punishment, repentance is often, if not explicity stated, then implied, such as in the preaching of Jonah to the people of Ninevah. He preached that God would destroy the city. They repented and God relented. The condition of repentance, however, was implicit in his preaching, and the prophet halfway expected it to happen, it would seem.

Having said that, is the statement above true, that God never changed, or relented on, a punishment based on a specific commandment? Somebody may quote Cain, but does that apply?

GoSpeak Ministry news: Several people in evangelistic studies

  Late, but stuffed with juicy tidbits, just in time for Thanksgiving! Here's the table we've piled on for you:
  • Who's studying the Bible with whom, for conversion;
  • Teaching moments, both at home and in the capital;
  • Ladies from region go to national event, help organize;
  • Coming up: teaching at a preacher-training school, visit from an elder;
  • Support situation unchanged over the last months;
  • Internet tip for a great starting place;
  • News about family and friends.

You can read all this by downloading the PDF file on the GoSpeak website HERE.

Pope speaks of Europe as my brethren speak of U.S.

The author of the Book of Wisdom, faced with a paganism in which God envied or despised humans, puts it clearly: how could God have created all things if he did not love them, he who in his infinite fullness, has need of nothing (cf. Wis 11:24-26)? Why would he have revealed himself to human beings if he did not wish to take care of them? God is the origin of our being and the foundation and apex of our freedom, not its opponent. How can mortal man build a firm foundation and how can the sinner be reconciled with himself? How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe; may this holy word not be spoken in vain, and may it not be put at the service of purposes other than its own. It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.
via catholicherald.co.uk

OK, so he quotes the Apocrypha and his phrasing a bit differently, but his point is much the same, that God has been crowded out of culture, and needs to be reinserted, not only as a part of the conversation, but as the basis for civilization.

More fish swim in the Gulf of Mexico after the BP spill. Go figure. "Sea Life Flourishes in the Gulf" - Lou Dolinar

The catastrophists were wrong (again) about the Deep Water Horizon oil spill. There have been no major fish die-offs. On the contrary, a comprehensive new study says that in some of the most heavily fished areas of the Gulf of Mexico, various forms of sea life, from shrimp to sharks, have seen their populations triple since before the spill. Some species, including shrimp and croaker, did even better.
via nationalreview.com

While Chicken Little still cries the sky is falling.

President Lula's successor ought to follow his lead: Learning from Lula | The Weekly Standard

Dilma Rousseff should follow his lead on economic policy, but not on foreign affairs.
via weeklystandard.com

We won't get our hopes up that president-elect Dilma, taking charge Jan.1, will change directions in foreign affairs. She'll probably play the fool like her predecessor. We just might hope for continued economic policy, but watch out for her social changes. Those promise to raise some stink. Meanwhile, the gospel continues to be preached.

What Decisions Are You Avoiding? by David Allen

If you can't decide about something, it means you lack enough information to feel comfortable making some choice. Therefore, the next-action coaching question would be, "So what action do you need to take to begin to get the information you need to make that decision?" Nine times out of ten, there's a specific action to take, such as "surf web re: xyz" or "e-mail A & B to set meeting to explore options about xyz."

Every once in a while, though, the information you need has to come from inside—i.e. your intuition. You need to sleep on it. But even then, to really clear your head, you need to make the decision about how long you can "just sleep on it" until you feel like you need to actually make the Big Decision. Two weeks? Two months? Four days? Six hours? Whatever that answer is, you simply need to park a trigger in a calendar or tickler file to yank your chain at that point, ensuring that you re-assess the situation in your own timing.

via davidco.com

Sometimes it's not a lack of information, but motivation. And strategies exist for that lack as well. There is hope.

Radio a better medium for the gospel than televison?

people once thought television would replace radio, but didn't take into account that television is a completely different medium.

  "People see fleeting images," he explains. I'll have people come up to me and say, 'Oh, I saw you on television.' They'll tell me the show and I'll say, 'What did I say?' -- and they don't remember what I was talking about. No one comes up to me to tell me about BreakPoint without telling me the subject and what I talked about that affected them."

via onenewsnow.com

Chuck Colson thinks so. Intriguing article.