Well, it appears that a new reprobate is under construction. Congratulations! God has unconditionally determined from the foundation of the world that this little one is doomed from the womb and there’s nothing that can be done to change the outcome.
This particular verse has bothered me for quite some time. I don’t know for sure, but as I read the verse, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Adam and Eve were already parents living the grand life in the Garden of Eden. And on the day of judgement, God says to the woman, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.” I can only surmise that prior to the eating of the apple, childbirth was no big deal. In a like manner, I can only surmise that there may have been the occasional morning sniffles or some other such maladies. No big deal, right? But anymore, and especially over the past week as I’ve been dealing with another terrible cold/flu, I’m pretty certain that God must have had an ace up his sleeve as to the punishment handed when kicking the original inhabitants out of the Garden of Eden by way the common cold. Yeah, the typical coughing, sore throat, runny nose, sneezing headaches, fatigue and fever. Hopefully I have only a few more days of this punishment for A & E’s exhibiting a sinful nature. And I seem to get at least two of these things each year – one in the summer and one in the winter. What were you thinking, Eve? Apples aren’t all that good anyway unless one incorporates cinnamon and sugar with a top and bottom crust. Not sure why I hadn’t thought of Gen 3:16 as an incomplete verse before now. But there it is. I’m convinced that the early scribes must themselves been dealing with colds and were not at their best when writing down this verse. My $0.02 – and I’m sticking to it!
Dear MMM readers,
It’s long past time for an update to this web site. Blog posting for more than 15yrs with over 200 posts on a myriad of topics related to Christian faith has made this site a bit wieldy, cumbersome and difficult to navigate. To which, I’m looking to incorporate menus and a more systematic approach in searching out other posts I’ve written. And, as you’re starting to see, I’m now writing on topics other than Christianity. If you’d be so kind, please use the contact page to provide feedback in making this site more user friendly and/or point me to sites that you like.
Most Sincerely,
Bob
I recently spoke with someone espousing an Open Theistic perspective. I’m likely more inclined to accept Open Theism. But that’s a different discussion. As we spoke, I indicated how my “faith-disconnects” and subsequent deconstruction from Christian faith are in part due to so many different conclusions being derived from the same source material – aka the Bible. I asked, ‘How can learned and well-meaning people reading the same source material (the Bible) not coalesce around a common faith and set of beliefs?’
I generally agree with Mike that it simply makes more sense to be theistic than atheistic. Something that I’d appreciate seeing Mike discuss are the significant variances within Christian faith. Divine Providence, for instance, would be a good start. The book, Divine Providence – Four Views, lists four separate authors, each of whom has their own unique perspective such as:
a) God Causes All Things
b) God Directs All Things
c) God Controls by Liberating
d) God Limits His Control
Continue reading “Napkin Apologetics – Mike Berhow”
What difference does it make whether one is an ardent Calvinist or, like me, has deconstructed and otherwise walked away from Christian faith? Within the last week I have lost two good friends – one to a car accident and the other to respiratory failure. One death was sudden and totally unexpected. The other was the result of a long and slow decline in health over time.
Continue reading “A Sovereign Bullet, A Traffic Accident, Respiratory Failure”
Perhaps there’s more to know. However, after listening to some of Childer’s podcasts and interviews on deconstruction, I’m struck that the elephant in the room has not been brought up. Consider: given a math problem, everyone will come up with the same answer. However, given a Bible verse and/or passage, Christians will come up with a myriad of answers and understandings. Why is this? I submit that Childers and Barnett in their videos have missed a significant reason as to why many deconstruct from Christian faith.
Continue reading “The Deconstruction of Christianity”
The truth is, I’m troubled by the discordant conclusions from well-meaning people in books, sermons and Bible studies. Everyone reads the same source material – the Bible. I’ve come to realize that my “faith-disconnects” aren’t, per se, with Calvin, Piper, MacArthur, Spurgeon, Sproul et al. Rather, these folks and countless others over thousands of years have wrestled with many questions and dilemmas that I’ve experienced. Many conclude and coalesce around Reformed Theology as being best able to explain and provide a framework to understand the nature and character of God and the world we live in. Others come to different conclusions.
Continue reading “Discordant Conclusions Drawn from the Bible”
I have been a long time ‘lurker’ of the FB group, Soteriology 101 in which there is much discussion of “theological issues having to do with soteriology, the doctrine of salvation…specifically as it relates to Calvinism, Arminianism, Traditionalism or more specifically: Election, Predestination, Reprobation, Depravity, Atonement, Calling, Perseverance and the like.”
I’ve posted on this site and periodically have also responded to other’s posts. For the most part, my interactions support of non-Calvinistic perspectives with respect to the Doctrines of Grace. But it has recently dawned on me – there is no clear winner with respect to various posts, arguments and counter-arguments which has, to a degree, made me ask: “What’s the point?” Given the amount of variance that I perceive within Christian doctrines, I don’t know that it’s possible to, in essence, win an argument solely based on one’s understanding of the Bible. To which, I posted the below:
Continue reading “To Argue an Unwinnable Perspective”In a FB forum, a Calvinist posited:
[A] common misconception from [everyone in this group] is that a Calvinist won’t allow their children to sing “Jesus Loves Me” because, after all – He may not. That a person who holds to the doctrines of grace shares the gospel with their children like this, “Well, you may or may not be elect so, [it may be best to wait and see whether you’re one of God’s chosen unto salvation].” We teach our children the gospel according to Scripture. The gospel is that sinners can be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a great relief and comfort that [we Calvinists parents] can’t do anything to mess up [our children’s] salvation. We teach them, pray for them and trust God with their souls. After all, [God] is far more merciful than we could ever be.
After some back and forth amongst Calvinists and non-Calvinists within the group, my conversation with a Calvinist kind of went like this:
Continue reading “A Calvinist Isn’t Determined to Discuss Divine Determination”
Martin's Mercurial Musings 