Theology

When my son William was three years old, he had a bedtime ritual. My wife and I tucked him in, we said our prayers, and then I had to lay next to him, holding his hand until he fell asleep. It was sweet and I loved that my boy enjoyed my company, but some nights it would take up to an hour until he was finally asleep. So occasionally I would try to talk him into letting me go: Me: “Can daddy go now? I’ve been here a while and I have work to do.” William: “But then I’ll be a

Question Dear Tim, I am in a discussion with a skeptic and it has basically come down to “why couldn’t God create a free moral creature with a morally perfect nature?” Basically if God can have free will and not do evil what limits Him from creating humans who do as well? My contention was that omnibenevolence is an attribute of God alone and goes hand in hand with omniscience, omnipotence, etc. With that being said God would in essence have to create another God, this is l

Is "separation of church and state" in any U.S. founding documents? This is a popular claim among many in the U.S., but the answer is an emphatic "no!" The phrase "wall of separation between church and state " is not in any U.S. founding documents, but is found in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists in 1802 -- well after the founding documents were written. Jefferson was addressing concerns that the Baptists had due to a rumor that the U.S. was going to f

Complaint: Dear Tim, I love you man but I don’t want my politics and my religion mixed. I look up to you for religious context and commentary because you are an expert in the field. Not politics. That’s just your opinions and I can get that from every Tom, Dick and Harry... but not Tim. - Sean Tim's Response: Thank you for your kind words, Sean. However, in addition to your pleasantries are statements that I encourage you to consider more deeply. It would be absurd not to

It has become trendy in some circles to refer to people with certain political views as NPCs . In video game lingo, an NPC is a “nonplayable character,” a character that is not controlled by any player. They can be extremely simple or intricate and complex, but they are still mindless characters who solely follow their programming. Thus, to call someone an NPC means they have no mind of their own but are merely repeating slogans and talking points according to their social/cu

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that conservative author, attorney and commentator Ben Shapiro has rocketed to societal prominence recently. With his impressive debating skills, quick wit, and top-notch writing, the self-proclaimed “Orthodox Jewish” Shapiro’s defense of Constitutional conservatism and Judeo-Christian values have been a much-needed breath of fresh air in American culture. Unfortunately, however, Shapiro has been misled (I’m gu

Question Dear Tim, I’m curious. How would you differentiate your limited libertarian freedom that people are free but choose in line with their nature from historic Compatiblism that holds essentially the same thing? - Tyler Tim's Response Thank you for question, Tyler. You are correct in that I affirm that our natures do determine things about us, and that we are still free.<1> So, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it seems my view

Tom Barnes is a pastor, author, and theologian who lives in Nebraska -- a mere twenty miles from my current residence. Tom is brilliant and one of the nicest guys I know. He is also one of the first to encourage me to take my systematic theology seriously. In fact, a decade ago (2008) we spent an entire twelve months together studying theology and the EFCA Statement of Faith. One topic we spent much time discussing was God's sovereignty and human freedom (or lack thereof). T

Why is free will so important to so many people? Why idolize something that God would not be in control of? In fact, this libertarian freedom you always speak of is impossible, no one has it, not even God because He must always act according to His nature! All is determined! Seems to me anyone can see how free will could become an idol. Why would you choose to worship an idol? - Anonymous Your question<1> is absurd if not ultimately self-defeating. For it assumes only t

1. Preliminary Remarks In their forthcoming exchange, Andrew and John will focus their attention on a narrowly framed articulation of the “Grounding Objection” to the Molinist account of Middle Knowledge. The two are conscious that, unless they are cautious to avoid doing so, they risk either clouding the discussion with peripheral matters, or talking past one-another. It is with a view to mitigating these risks that they have agreed to issue a joint statement that clarifies

The debate between Calvinism and Molinism has consumed much of my time in recent years. I once identified as a Calvinist, but now identify as a Molinist, and my story has provided fuel to this debate's fire. With that said, however, many who are involved -- on both sides of the theological aisle -- often make a mistake by simply being involved in the debate. To clarify: to directly compare Calvinism with Molinism is to compare apples with oranges. This is the case because Ca

Critical theory is an ideology that is rapidly growing in influence: in the social justice movement, in academia, and in the culture at large. If you’ve ever been told that men cannot make statements about the morality of abortion, or that you should never challenge someone’s ‘lived experience,’ or that you are suffering from ‘internalized oppression,’ then you’ve encountered ideas that are rooted in critical theory.  In this brief essay, I’ll outline the basic tenets of crit

Greg Koukl is one of my favorite apologists and theological thinkers. I have been reading his blogs and listening to his podcasts for years. His book "Tactics" is one that all Christians who care about evangelism should own. In my professional opinion, Koukl's ministry, Stand To Reason , is one of the best resources available to the Body of Christ today. One thing I love about Greg is that he affirms humans possess limited libertarian freedom -- even though he also affirms

In the latest volume of Perichoresis (an academic theology journal) Jacobus Erasmus and I offered an argument abductively concluding that Molinism is the best explanation of all the data. Our argument is a slightly revised version of the Omni Argument Against Irresistible Grace  that I have been advancing over the past few years. Instead of specifically targeting the "I" of the TULIP acronym, this time we chose to expand the scope of our efforts to deductively dismantle the

The first genealogy within the Gospel of Matthew is an important cornerstone of the Gospel. This genealogy—a relic of the pre-Jewish-Roman War—contains, at the very heart of it, a Jewish tapestry that may only be deciphered by a thoroughly Jewish mind. In interpreting the genealogy, we find that it is indeed the pinnacle of the Jewish message of the Gospel. Containing within it is the stupendous claim that Jesus of Nazareth—the carpenter and the Son of Mary—is in the line of

I remember talking with a guy at my church a while back who expressed a similar question. Paraphrasing him, he said, “How can we act a certain way if God already knew and that’s how He created us?” What was interesting about this exchange is that even though he wasn’t articulating his question the way I have above, I could tell that’s ultimately what he was getting at. It’s a question that a lot of people have thought about even if they can’t really articulate it. Does divine

One of my favorite things to do is engage in respectful dialogue with those who disagree. Whether it is a debate with atheists over the existence of God or a debate with a fellow Christian regarding theological issues, I love being challenged to think and to constantly reexamine my views. These conversations have forged my thoughts and provided strong justification for my beliefs. Indeed, this process has transformed me by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) and I have cha

Actor Harry Lennix might not be a household name, although he is easily recognizable. Lennix played Commander Lock in  The Matrix  trilogy and General Calvin Swanwick in  The Man of Steel  and  Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice . He also co-stars as Harold Cooper, the FBI director of a secret task force in my favorite TV series of all time —  The Blacklist ! I have enjoyed characters played by Lennix but knew nothing else about him. This has recently changed, however, and

In this writing we will be quoting from the Qur’an and Sahih-Bukhari, the most trusted collection of Muhammad’s (pbuh) doings and sayings (known as hadith ) in existence today. These are primary source materials from the very earliest moments in Islamic history. However, we recognize that the original, and authoritative, Qur’an and hadith , were written in Arabic. Thus, we have taken the liberty to call this work an interpretation of the earliest (Arabic) sources, just as M

I once had the pleasure of interacting with Arminian theologian, Dr. Jack Cottrell. Many Arminians also claim to be Molinists. In fact, many scholars believe that Arminius was a Molinist! Cottrell, however, is an Arminian who opposes Molinism. Here is a sampling of our online debate. Hi Jack, I sincerely thank you for adding me as a FB friend. Kyle asked me to take a look at your comments on Molinism as he is contemplating these differing views. If you don’t mind, I would