Saturday, May 30, 2020
Thursday, May 21, 2020
Monday, May 18, 2020
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Sunday, May 10, 2020
Monday, May 4, 2020
Saturday, May 2, 2020
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Who is Right about Isaiah 10?
Who is right about Isaiah 10? Is James White correct about what God has said in Isaiah 10? Or is his commitment to Calvinism skewing his exegesis?
Is Leighton Flowers is correct or his commitment against Calvinism destroying his comprehension of scripture?
Read Isaiah 10 and see who is right. They agree that God is saying that He is going to use the Assyrians to judge Judah for their sins by allowing Assyria to occupy and plunder His own people. And then when the Assyrians are done, God promised to punished Assyria for their sins and actions again Judah!
James White says that this passage is proof that God decreed for the Assyrians to do what they did - allowing them to do what they wanted to do and punish them for it. Leighton Flowers disagrees that God decreed the Assyrians actions but instead took advantage of their sins to bring about God's own purpose. I think the disagreement is over who gets the credit for what happened. Did God purpose the Assyrians as an instrument of his wrath and then punish them for doing what he purposed them to do? I think the passage in Isaiah says God did exactly that. Assyria was nothing more than a blunt instrument in God's hands.
I think James White is right that the reason God is just to punish Assyria because He didn't have to force them to be evil. They did what they wanted to do. Recall also that this isn't the only passage that show God working the same way. Just read Habakkuk.
Is Leighton Flowers is correct or his commitment against Calvinism destroying his comprehension of scripture?
Read Isaiah 10 and see who is right. They agree that God is saying that He is going to use the Assyrians to judge Judah for their sins by allowing Assyria to occupy and plunder His own people. And then when the Assyrians are done, God promised to punished Assyria for their sins and actions again Judah!
James White says that this passage is proof that God decreed for the Assyrians to do what they did - allowing them to do what they wanted to do and punish them for it. Leighton Flowers disagrees that God decreed the Assyrians actions but instead took advantage of their sins to bring about God's own purpose. I think the disagreement is over who gets the credit for what happened. Did God purpose the Assyrians as an instrument of his wrath and then punish them for doing what he purposed them to do? I think the passage in Isaiah says God did exactly that. Assyria was nothing more than a blunt instrument in God's hands.
5 “Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger,
in whose hand is the club of my wrath!
6 I send him against a godless nation,
I dispatch him against a people who anger me,
to seize loot and snatch plunder,
and to trample them down like mud in the streets.
7 But this is not what he intends,
this is not what he has in mind;
his purpose is to destroy,
to put an end to many nations.
- Isaiah 10:5-7
I think James White is right that the reason God is just to punish Assyria because He didn't have to force them to be evil. They did what they wanted to do. Recall also that this isn't the only passage that show God working the same way. Just read Habakkuk.
Monday, April 27, 2020
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Saturday, April 25, 2020
We Need a Debate Between Dr Ken Wilson and Dr James White
In the past several weeks I have been watching an online back-and-forth between James White and Leighton flowers over Calvinism. Nothing new. The current debate centers on where John Calvin and Martin Luther got their ideas during the Protestant Reformation. Leighton Flowers and many folks who reject the ideas of Calvinism try to argue that the idea that salvation is outside of people's free-will choice was introduced to Christianity by Augustine and no early Christian church fathers believed in the total ability of man or God's meticulous control of reality, decreeing all that happens, before Augustine taught it. They even take it far enough to that Augustine was influenced by Gnosticism.
Of course James White disagrees and has been interacting with an interview of Ken Wilson by Leighton Flowers on his podcast and a book Ken Wilson has written on how he believes that Augustine was influenced by 4th century Gnosticism. James White is spending several hours on this because he is also explaining what Gnosticism was and reading quotes from the Church Fathers.
I think both sides are talking past each other and not really interacting. Both White and Wilson have said that they want to debate each other. I sure hope this will happen. I think they need to agree on definitions including on what James White and Ken Wilson believe about what Calvinism and what Provisionism are and what they believe before they really get down to the fundamental questions that their disagreement raises: "Was Augustine the first to introduce the ideas, regarding Human free-will, that gave rise to Calvinism?"
Here are two videos that really sum up Ken Wilson's arguments.
James White has not finished his arguments but he has presented evidence that some Church Fathers did affirm God's sovereign control over everything. Here is an example from White's webcast.
I don't think James White has answered Wilson's thesis yet, but I do appreciate White going through all this history and thought I have not been exposed. I sure hope he will answer the video where Flowers and Wilson speak to White's critiques directly.
Here are some questions that I want answered in the debate between White and Wilson:
What is "predestination"?
What is "free libertarian will? Is it autonomous?
Was the a single early Christian author agree with libertarian free-will?
Is there anything "good" in me or you apart from God?"
How do we know what "good" is?
Does God control human will?
Has God ever controlled human will or just responded to it?
Is there a difference between the New Testament and the Church Fathers use terms like "Boulimai" and "Thelo"?
Here are some questions that I want answered in the debate between White and Wilson:
What is "predestination"?
What is "free libertarian will? Is it autonomous?
Was the a single early Christian author agree with libertarian free-will?
Is there anything "good" in me or you apart from God?"
How do we know what "good" is?
Does God control human will?
Has God ever controlled human will or just responded to it?
Is there a difference between the New Testament and the Church Fathers use terms like "Boulimai" and "Thelo"?
Friday, April 24, 2020
Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Monday, April 20, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Friday, April 17, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Monday, April 13, 2020
James White vs Steve Tassi Calvinism Debate
Pastor Steve Tassi made the following video about James White on Romans 9:
James White reviewed the above video prior to a Debate with Steve Tassi.
James White vs Steve Tassi Calvinism Debate
James White further commented on the debate here:
James White reviewed the above video prior to a Debate with Steve Tassi.
James White vs Steve Tassi Calvinism Debate
James White further commented on the debate here:
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Mikki Kendall - Lifting Up All Women with “Hood Feminism” | The Daily Show
She makes so much sense. I wish leaders in our society would listen to her insights!
Cornavirus Maps and Visualizaitions
Links to up-to-date COVID-19 information!
Google - https://google.org/crisisresponse/covid19-map
John Hopkins - https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Global Health - https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/coronavirus-tracker/
ESRI Story Map - https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4fdc0d03d3a34aa485de1fb0d2650ee0
Worldometer dashboard - https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
World Health Organization - https://who.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/c88e37cfc43b4ed3baf977d77e4a0667
CDC - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/world-map.html
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Oneness Vs Trinity Debates with Robert A Sabin (1932-2014)
Is the God of the Bible triune in person or unitary? The debate has raged for millennia. Interestingly enough time has passed that we can compare and contrast this debate over decades of video recorded debates. We can even watch how the arguments change over the life time of one man: Dr Robert A Sabin. He was a member of the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) which is a oneness pentencostal denomination. He argued in two debates against the Trinity, and although I disagree with him I have to admit that he was consistent. In 1985 he debated along side Dr Nathanial Urshan against Dr Walter Martin and Dr E. Calvin Beisner. In 1999, he debated Dr James White. Watch how the discussion changes and grows.
1985
1999
1999
Friday, April 10, 2020
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Sunday, April 5, 2020
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Augustine of Hippo (modern day Algeria, Africa)
Here is a great discussion/interview with Dr Kenneth Samples by Vocab Malone about Saint Augustine of Hippo. I really enjoyed this! I only wish they had discussed Augustine's race, There is much debate as to whether or not he was a black-skinned African. They did not really go there hard. Vocab tried to soft-ball it by asking if he was a berber. If he was, then he would have looked nothing like a lot of the white-washed paintings of him.
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