Theology

“If God loves His enemies, does He love the devil?” That’s what one of my friend’s kids asked her recently—and I think it’s one of the most profound theological questions I’ve ever heard. For many Christians—especially those shaped by deterministic frameworks like EDD-Calvinism—this question feels confusing. Some theologians (like Arthur Pink) argue that God does not love all people. He only loves the elect—those predestined for salvation. Others insist that God’s love is on

This weekend, the community I call home in Central Nebraska was rocked by an unspeakable tragedy. Though I currently live in Kearney, Holdrege is my hometown. It’s where I was raised. It’s where my parents, my sister and her family, my sister-in-law and her family, my aunt and uncle, my cousins, and many of my closest lifelong friends still live. I was just at church in Holdrege yesterday. This is more than news to me—it’s personal. Over the weekend, in nearby Johnson Lake, J

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” — C.S. Lewis “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” — C.S. Lewis Similarly, I believe in perfect being theology as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see the maximal greatness of God, but because by it I see everything else. That lens ha

Why I Traded a Beautiful Sig for a Glock—and What It Taught Me About Faith, Evidence, and Epistemic Integrity “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” — C.S. Lewis Ever since I first saw Han Solo draw his blaster with confident swagger, I’ve been hooked. No

“Congratulations. You Are Being Rescued. Please Do Not Resist.” May the Fourth is widely known as Star Wars Day . And as a lifelong fan of the franchise— with a love/hate relationship that many of you know well—I can’t resist taking this opportunity to reflect on one of the saga’s most memorable moments and the powerful theological truth it helps illustrate. In Rogue One: A Star Wars Story , there’s a scene where the droid K-2SO and a group of rebels go to rescue Jyn Erso. B

There was a time, back in my “cage-stage Calvinist” days, when I didn’t think Catholics were really Christians at all. In fact, I was quick to label the Catholic Church as little more than a cult. I had been told (and believed) that Catholics worship Mary and the saints, that they pray to human beings rather than to the Creator of the universe. From where I stood at the time, it seemed obvious: this was idolatry. This was not Christianity. But the more I studied—especially a

“. . . Before I made those stars, I already hated you." “. . . Before I made those stars, I already hated you." -- Calvinist Jesus Setting the Scene I recently shared a meme that sparked a flurry of responses across social media. It was a simple graphic. A young boy standing with Jesus under the night sky, with Jesus saying: “Just think, before I made those stars I already hated you.” The image, though stark, was not meant to mock or misrepresent Calvinists. It was a theolog

Philosophers have long wrestled with the question: What is the greatest conceivable being? The ontological argument , especially as formulated by Alvin Plantinga, says that if it's even possible for a maximally great being (MGB) to exist—a necessary being who is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent—then such a being must exist in every possible world, including the actual one. It’s a bold and beautiful argument. But it doesn’t stop at abstract theism. Once we realize t

By Josh Klein and Thomas Moller When I (Josh Klein) was younger, around thirteen years old, my best friend and I set out to write a book together. We were enamored by Star Wars. The world of Science Fiction seemed so appealing. New worlds, different species of hominids, laser swords (lightsabers), traveling at the speed of light and from system to system. I was into it all. Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, you name it, I loved it. The reason I loved it had to do with thes

Suffering is a universal part of life—and no one escapes it, though we may try. But despite our best efforts, we all experience suffering in some capacity. Knowing this does not make it easy, however. Whether it comes through disease, death, injury, disaster, or persecution, we all struggle to endure it, which is why we need the support of not only God but also our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need the Church. Yet despite the Church’s long history of persecution and pai

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” — C.S. Lewis Similarly, I believe in perfect being theology as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see the maximal greatness of God, but because by it I see everything else. This theological lens ha

Christians across denominational traditions typically agree that God is perfectly loving, perfectly just, and perfectly wise. He doesn’t make mistakes, He never judges unfairly, and He knows not just what will happen, but also what would happen in every possible situation. That’s what we mean when we say God is a maximally great being—among other things, "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and possesses perfect knowledge, is perfectly just, and perfect in mercy. Now let’s take a clos

Recently, during a public discussion on divine determinism, a Calvinist objected to my use of the term “EDD” — short for Exhaustive Divine Determinism (or Exhaustive Divine Determination). He said, “I’m just going to use the term everyone else uses in the literature — theological determinism,” and dismissed EDD as both "superfluous" and “a mouthful.” That’s a fairly common response I hear online. Many Calvinists and divine determinists seem to bristle at the term EDD. Some

I joined the launch team group for William Lane Craig’s Systemic Philosophical Theology and was given access to a preview chapter as a reward. In joining the group, I agreed to buy a copy of his book and post a review on sites such as Amazon, Goodreads, and so on. So quite clearly at this point I’ve been adequately bribed, and my opinions and commentary are suspect. I’d originally intended to finish this a couple of weeks ago and post it before the book came out, but thanks

JAMES WHITE ON THE ATONEMENT & THEOLOGICAL DEFICIENCIES The recent debate on the extent of the atonement proved to be a passionate exchange of theological ideas, with both sides advancing defenses for their positions. The responses from James White and his co-debater were, at times, creative, particularly in their exegetical treatments of passages such as John 3:16 and 2 Peter 2:1. However, their approach ultimately faltered in the broader theological and historical context (

In this article, I will be reviewing the latest installment in the growing Studies in the Doctrine of God series published by Cascade Books: One God, Three Persons, Four Views, a debate book on the Trinity edited by Dr. Chad McIntosh. In terms of difficulty, I consider it to be lay-accessible, with some challenges. Prior volumes in this series were Lyonhart’s Space God (which is a study of God’s omnipresence) and Mullins’ Eternal in Love (which explores questions about how

Introduction In previous articles, I have written about Paul’s view on suffering and how the Church is to handle times of pain and trials. What we can understand from what Paul tells us, and from our own experience, is no one escapes suffering in this life. We all have had pain or opposition in our lives and that is unavoidable, especially for Christians. At times it can seem odd that the servants of a loving God experience pain and troubles. Even the greatest of Christ’s ser

Paul's Theology of Suffering We have thus far studied the two parts of Paul’s theology of suffering: Paul on suffering , and imitating Christ and Paul . Imitating Christ is a vital part of our lives as Christians. Christians are not to merely assent to the truth of Christianity and that Christ is Lord; we are to take part in our faith through imitating Christ. <1> As believers, we imitate Christ through the shape of our lives; we imitate him through life, death, and resurrect

Divine determinism, a position traditionally held by Calvinists, seems to entail that God is not omnibenevolent (perfectly loves all people). This has been conceded by some proponents of divine determinism. In this we have found a problem of competing intuitions. First, moral errors are typically more serious than other errors. A man is far more likely to take offense to being labeled a “bad person” as opposed to if others believe false, but amoral, facts about him (such as t

In Part 1 of this series on abortion, we discussed that abortion has been practiced for millennia. It is nothing new although the means of destroying a child in the womb have varied. We also briefly looked at why abortion has been a human preoccupation throughout history. For philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, they firmly believed it was to ensure that the best progeny would be born and eventually be leaders of the state. It was also because they feared possible overpopu