Theology Corner

Addressing commonly asked questions about Christianity from the perspective of a non-theologian

Theology Corner

1.)  CAN GOD'S WILL BE THWARTED?

2.)  DID GOD ELECT ONLY A FEW FOR SALVATION WHILE CONDEMNING THE GREATER PART OF MANKIND TO HELL?

3.)  FAITH OR SALVATION: WHICH COMES FIRST?

4.)  DID GOD THE FATHER BEGET JESUS CHRIST?

5.)  WHAT ARE THE TWO NATURES OF CHRIST?

6.)  WHAT IS ANTINOMIANISM?

7.)  WHAT IS SABELLIANISM?

8.)  WHAT IS PELAGIANISM?

9.)  DOES LOVE REALLY WIN?

10.)  IS YOUR WILL REALLY YOUR WILL?

11.)  CAN TWO THEOLOGIES BE TESTED FOR COMPATIBILITY?

12.)  WHAT IS THE FRAUD OF FIDEISM?

13.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES THEOLOGY?

14.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH CHRISTIAN SCIENCE THEOLOGY?

15.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH MORMON THEOLOGY?

16.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS THEOLOGY?

17.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH SCIENTOLOGY THEOLOGY?

18.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH UNIFICATION CHURCH THEOLOGY?

19.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH THE WAY INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGY?

20.)  IS CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD THEOLOGY?

21.)  IS REPENTANCE REALLY NECESSARY?

22.)  WHAT ARE SOME MUSINGS OF A METHODIST THEOLOGIAN ON LIMITED ATONEMENT?

23.)  WHAT ARE SOME QUESTIONS FOR THOSE WHO TEACH A LIMITED ATONEMENT PROVIDED ONLY FOR THE ELECT OF GOD?

24.)  WHAT WERE CALVIN'S ACTUAL WORDS?

25.)  WHAT IS GNOSTICISM?

26.)  WHAT IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN?

27.)  IS CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY COMPATIBLE WITH PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY?

1.)  IS CHRISTIANITY COMPATIBLE WITH POSITIVE TOLERANCE?

2.)  CAN WE HAVE A FORM OF GODLINESS, BUT DENY THE POWER THEREOF?

3.)  WHAT IS THE GREAT WAR?

4.)  SHOULD PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN IMPEACHED FOR IMMORALITY?

5.)  WHO SAID MOSES WAS HUMBLE?

6.)  COULD CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE BENEFIT FROM WOKE REVISION?

7.)  DID EINSTEIN BELIEVE ALL CHRISTIANS WERE CALVINISTS?

8.)  WHY IS MARXISM A MAGNET?

9.)  WHAT IS TRUE SCIENCE?

10.)  CAN YOU LOSE YOUR SALVATION?

11.)  WHAT ARE THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS?

12.)  WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS?

13.)  WAS PAUL ENTIRELY SANCTIFIED?

14.)  ARE YOU LIVING IN A WORLD AT WAR?

15.)  WHAT IS THE DIRECT METHOD FOR PROVING A CONDITIONAL PROPOSITION IS TRUE?

16.)  WHAT IS THE CONTRAPOSITIVE METHOD FOR PROVING A CONDITIONAL PROPOSITION IS TRUE?

17.)  WHAT IS THE CONTRADICTION METHOD FOR PROVING A CONDITIONAL PROPOSITION IS TRUE?

18.)  WHAT MIGHT A METHODIST THEOLOGIAN SAY ABOUT PURGATORY?

19.)  WHICH BIBLE PASSAGES ELUCIDATE CORE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY?

20.)  DO SELECTED NIV VERSES ELUCIDATE CORE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY?

21.)  DO SELECTED AKJV VERSES ELUCIDATE CORE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY?

22.)  DO SELECTED YLT VERSES ELUCIDATE CORE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY?

23.)  DO SELECTED 'VOICE' VERSES ELUCIDATE CORE ASPECTS OF CHRISTIANITY?

24.)  COULD THE CONCEPT OF 'SALVATION ONLY FOR THE ELECT' HAVE BEEN ROOTED IN THE MIND OF AUGUSTINE BEFORE HE EMBRACED CHRISTIANITY?

25.)  DID AUGUSTINE RECEIVE PUSHBACK FOR HIS TEACHING OF 'SALVATION ONLY FOR THE ELECT' DURING HIS LIFETIME?

DOES GOD WORK ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR GOOD?

By the 1646 Westminster Confession, God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeable ordain whatsoever comes to pass.  This includes all the usual events in a world swimming in suffering and sorrow such as the killing of a child by a drunken driver, the agony of a cancer victims’ last days and the massacre of a congregation by those who hate Christians.  But, is it possible that these things only seem to be evil because of our limited understanding.  Perhaps God’s infinitely wider scope of knowledge makes events, which seem evil to us, actually seem somewhat reasonable when viewed from His larger perspective.  For example: God might orchestrate the tragic death of babies because he needs more little angels in heaven; God might cause us to become crippled and maimed to strengthen our spirit, bring us closer to Him, teach us a lesson, give us a new perspective on life and make us stronger witnesses; if God has not answered your prayer for healing, it might be because you or those around you are harboring un-confessed sin; if God has not healed you, it could be because your faith is weak; God may be giving us the disease, suffering and death we deserve; He might be self-glorified as He watches fear, suffering and hopelessness swallow mankind.  Many well-meaning Christians, even those who make no profession of Reformed Theology, nevertheless harbor this dark view of God in the depths of their souls.  In terrible, sorrowful crisis situations, they will say things like: Remember, God is in control; God’s hand is in these events; God causes all things to work together for good.  In response to such comments, a young ministerial student, who had just lost his son, said: How can I worship such a God? 

I personally worship a God who grieves over the total corruption of His creation, a God who hates evil and is at war with it, a God who has redeemed His creation from the bondage of evil, by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.  I worship a God who grieves over the sin nature of man, a God who hates sin and is at war with it, a God who has offered redemption from the bondage of sin to all men, by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ.  But remember, creation has been redeemed from the bondage of evil but not yet set free from the influence of evil itself.  Similarly, all men have been offered redemption from the bondage of sin but not yet set free from the influence of sin itself.  Satan was not a willing participant in these transactions and will never acknowledge the legitimacy of the substitutionary atonement.  He is battling God to retain possession of what, he believes, belongs to him - that would be all of creation and the souls of every man and woman who ever lived.  Ultimate victory has been declared by God but not yet completed by God (already but not yet).  If it looks like you are living your life in a war zone, that’s because you are!  We each say, “I know victory is mine but I am still at war as a foot soldier in the army of Jesus Christ.”

One verse that bears on this issue is Rom 8:28:

 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

 

Does this mean God takes the decay, violence disease, suffering and death that surrounds us and somehow tries to make something good out of it?  Does God say, “This may seem like a bitter pill but it’s for your own good.”  Does this mean God is pleased and glorified not grieved and disappointed by the unending violence of predator and prey, the aging and decay of all things living, the pervasive influence of disease in our lives and the eyes of innocence that dimly close in the depths of Mother Nature’s cruel torture.  Does God say to himself, “These things are all working together for good” as He surveys His creation?  No, He does not.  Does this mean God is always looking for some way to salvage something positive from the tsunami of evil continuously washing over the earth?  No, it does not.  Then what is the meaning of Rom 8:28?

We are living between the first installment of redemption – set free from the bondage of evil - and the final culmination of redemption – set free from the influence of evil.  In the midst of this tumultuous time, the Holy Spirit is working (Rom 8:26-27) to strengthen us as we live our lives on the front lines of war.  Rom 8:28 must be interpreted within the context of this struggle.  In the midst of suffering, hoping, waiting, hardship, persecution and peril, God is working for the good of those who love Him.  The good He seeks is for us to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Rom 8:29).  God causes all things to work together for that purpose.  (Kaiser et al., p 555-557)