Theology

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

Introduction We live in a world full of suffering, of which the Church is not excluded. For that reason, the Church must understand the role suffering takes in our lives and how it should shape our understanding of Christianity and participation in our faith. Examples and lessons on suffering permeate the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, which the major biblical characters also experience. Among these examples, and by no means the least of them, is the apostle Paul. Through

Introduction One of my favorite passages found in the gospels is the prologue of John; the passage John 1:1-18. I particularly find the first three verses, John 1:1-3, and the use of the “Word”, or Logos in Greek, interesting. In those three verses, a type of creation narrative arises, but one that revolves around Logos, in which Logos is described as being divine, eternal, and the creator. Later in the prologue, in John 1:17 , Logos is revealed to be Jesus Christ, thus appl

Several weeks ago, I was listening to the podcast “Wise Disciple” with Nate Salah ( “Is Voddie Wrong about Churches?” ). He was discussing the need for pastors to focus on finding FAT Christians in their congregations. (Don’t worry. FAT is an acrostic.) This is to say, pastors need to prioritize their time and efforts upon Christians who are F aithful, A vailable and T eachable. There are multiple reasons why this principle ought to be followed by pastors. But before addressi

I've been fascinated by Marxism since my parents first told me about the Cold War we were living in when I was almost 10-years-old (1983). I remember asking them why the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons aimed at us. After my parents reassured me that we had just as many nuclear missiles aimed back at them -- ensuring that they will not use these weapons against us (peace through strength) -- they explained it to me like I was 10-years-old (because I was). While not using thes

During the presidential elections there are many voices that arise “crying out in the wilderness,” as it were, proclaiming all sorts of weird ideas. One of those ideas is the thought that within this seemingly hostile and divided political and cultural climate even within the church, Christians who hold to a particular view are looking to crown a new political messiah and usher in some sort of a new kingdom. I cannot speak for all who claim to follow Jesus Christ. Perhaps the

For the past few weeks, Christians have been castigated, especially by some Christian pastors, for shouting and being unkind toward unbelievers. The echo of “Jesus would not act this way” has resounded in the cultural sanctuaries, drowning out the Christian message of sin, repentance, and salvation in Jesus Christ. And rightly so! The Olympics opening ceremony and the follow-up women’s boxing controversy of allowing humans with XY chromosomes to pummel women with XX chromosom

A few months ago I wrote an article on the West’s move towards a post-Christian culture ( Post-Christianity: What's That? ). Since the article’s publication at least two prominent atheists decried the fall of Christianity in the West. One claims to have converted to Christianity ( Ayaan Hirsi Ali ) and the other maintains atheism but embraces “cultural Christianity” (Richard Dawkins) . They, along with fellow atheists Bret Weinstein and Tom Holland recognize that the fall o

The previous article in our discussion of suffering covered three supports that God gave us to persevere: prayer, scripture, and the Church. Along with those supports, we also discussed the proper attitude one should have in suffering with the example of Job. To further the discussion of this topic, we should next look at King David and how he dealt with the suffering in his life. David's life was notably marked by bountiful blessings and severe suffering. Although he is prob

On October 7 th of 2023 an event happened that would change the trajectory of world history. Hamas’ attack on Israel carried the same weight historically as December 7 th of 1941. However, since it involved Israel it carried even more significance in certain religious circles. On October 13 th of 2023 I wrote an article beseeching my brothers and sisters in Christ to pursue fidelity to Christ rather than discernment of the "End Times" ( Is This the End in Israel? ).  Since

We live in a troubled world, a world that is plagued by sin which leads to pain and suffering. This state of the world is nothing new, it has gone on since the fall of man. The entirety of humankind from Adam to us have dealt with a variety of suffering as a result of this fall. However, though we do not live in a more sinful time, for every age has overflowed with sinfulness, we seem to be facing a different struggle. Our society is fighting a battle of the mind, and losing

Our society of recent, has been obsessed with definitions and identity. Many people are questioning who they are and putting their identity in singular aspects of their being such as politics, gender, job, sexuality, and race, etc. This leads to a terrible misunderstanding of our own nature along with painful collisions with reality. Throughout history various ideas on the nature of man have pervaded throughout civilization. Some believe that man is nothing more than the phy

As Christians we are used to being told that we need to be leading godly lives. We know we should be following in Christ’s example. But what does that look like? Is it praying, studying scripture, attending and serving at church? These are all good things that we should do and they should be a response from our faith in Christ, but they are themselves not the core qualities a Christian should have. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 , we are given eight qualities that a Christian should have a