We got a request to review a video by a channel called “Faith by Reason.” In it the guy alleges some…well, pretty goofy things about God as part of his answer to the problem of evil. Let’s dive in and discuss why maybe apologetics people need to do more theological training.
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Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thegodcast/Godcast_361_FINAL.mp3
The video in question: https://youtu.be/TOfFWz7Ad3s
Koine in conversation: https://youtu.be/6RUvG6jWQ28
The guy’s typical Evangelical soteriology: https://faithbyreason.net/the-great-invasion-part-4-victorious-defeat/
William Lane Craig and the apollinarianism controversy: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/reasonable-faith-podcast/does-dr.-craig-have-an-orthodox-christology
C.S. Lewis had an inclusivist soteriology: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2014/06/29/tash-and-the-salvation-of-muslims/
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Thank you for posting this, this episode was great! I think Faith by Reason is a nice guy and certainly means well. I think he is also making his points in good faith, but there are certain parts I disagree on.
It seems like he’s positing framework theory for Genesis. I don’t agree with that, but I don’t know enough about it to really have an opinion against it. I thought your argument about the grammar not matching other poetry in the OT was solid, I’ve heard other pastors say the same. I’m not able to read ancient Greek/Hebrew, so I will take your word for it.
Right around when he was saying that though, he made the point that it was not divinely inspired, and that this was just a device to help us understand it better. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that “all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” All scripture would include devices to help us understand it, and I do not want to contradict scripture. Furthermore, picking and choosing what parts of scripture may/may not be divinely inspired is a slippery slope to go down. Just become muslim at that point.
I’m a Calvinist, and I like James White. I’m, not sure if he believes in double predestination, if he does then I’d disagree with him on that. Nevertheless, I would argue that relegating God to a purely reactive role diminishes his omnipotent capabilities. God can 100% stop evil from happening if he wants to.
While this may provide awkward positioning from an apologetics standpoint, I would much rather argue from that point than make the case that actually God isn’t able to stop evil from occurring. What else is God unable to do then? I think adopting this frame might help on explaining the problem of evil, but by making that point you are arguing that God is not all-powerful, and like… dude, that’s terrible.
This also reminds me of John Owen’s “A Display of Arminianism” where he makes the point that one of the goals of Arminianism is to put man’s will in co-sovereignty with God. While the topic isn’t explicitly Arminian, relegating God to a purely reactive role is certainly doing that.
Lastly, maybe I misunderstood the point, but the idea of needing to acquire enough Justice Points (trademark coming soon) to acquire material gifts from God is not scriptural. That sounds like something Joel Osteen would say. If you’re praying for a million doubloons, and your prayer is not being met, it’s may be because your heart is in the wrong place, and you’re asking God to assist you in worshipping idols. That being said, you don’t need to have enough Justice Points for God to grant you a million doubloons either, again, this idea of Justice Points is limiting the sovereignty of God. I don’t even think you need to be a Calvinist to have an issue with that.
Overall, he seems like a nice guy, and I’m certain he’s doing good work. He is certainly doing more work than I am, but I think he should get his theology straightened out. Pwning atheism by positing that God is not omnipotent, or that parts of scripture are not divinely inspired, is not the way to go.