In my previous post, I introduced the dilemma caused by the existence evil. There is another angle which is unique to people of faith: believing that God specifically wills or allows bad things to happen for some good purpose. This one which is particularly troubling because it sounds really good in certain respects so long
Category: Theology
The Problem of Evil, Part 1 – Introduction
At first, it seems that if God is all good and God is all powerful, then there would be no evil, no wrong in the world. Now obviously there is evil in the world, so we have a problem. (A few people try to ignore or deny evil, but for the most part, all of
The Ridiculousness of the Crucifixion (Part 2)
In my previous article, I stated that we correctly desire to see the end of injustice and evil. At the end I observed that God is doing something about this. However, he does so in a previously incomprehensible way. If you are on God’s side, Jesus’ crucifixion makes no earthly sense. (It makes perfect sense
Judging People: Good Guys Fight Bad Guys (Part 1)
As I mentioned in my previous post, we all recognize that there is evil and injustice in the world. We correctly recognize when a person does certain acts which are evil and injustice. We desire for these to be corrected and the injustice removed. I think it is human tendency to judge people and place
Judas Verses Peter (Part 3)
I’m picking up here where I left off in my last post, Judas Verses Peter (Part 2). If Judas couldn’t be forgiven, I’d argue that it is only because he wouldn’t allow for it. If Judas is in hell, I’m not sure it’s because God is getting his revenge. At most I would suggest it
Judas Verses Peter (Part 2)
In my previous post, I compared Judas to Peter looking at their big failures. I now continue by considering how Jesus responded to Peter. Jesus’ harshest criticisms were directed at the religious leaders of his time. For this reason they often get a bad rap. However, a while ago I realized that, if we are
Judas Verses Peter (Part 1)
Judas and Peter. Both of these men were chosen by Jesus to be part of the twelve—the first sent ones representing the new Israel. Yet the two men had drastically different fates. I don’t believe this necessarily had to be so. Neither were perfect men. I mean, Jesus once rebuked Peter as speaking for Satan!
Book Review: Surprised by Hope (N. T. Wright)
I had heard good things about the book “Surprised by Hope” by N. T. Wright. I previously read his book “Simply Jesus” and thought it to be good. So I put “Surprised by Hope” on my reading list. It is a bit lengthier than the average book. However, it is the most important book I’ve
Religious Trauma Syndrome
I expect this topic to be controversial. I have observed that at times people confuse a criticism of something done in the name of Christ with a criticism of God himself. But this fails to recognize that we are imperfect, and that we can make mistakes and do the wrong thing even when we are
How Understanding the Gospel Affects One’s View of Homosexuality
I began to respond to a comment my cousin Jeremy made in response to my recent blog “The Surprising Reason I’m Not Celebrating Homosexual Marriage“. He says: Doug, I really like your approach, but it’s hard to draw a line between what the Bible teaches, and what we think it teaches (i.e. our interpretation). You