Playin' Around with Providence

Here is the lecture on "Middle Knowledge" Dr. White gave at a conference last Friday., October 23 2009. It is very good and I'm convinced that middle Knowledge does not explain how God runs reality.










Playin' Around with Providence: Part1

Is There A connection Between Jesus and Zeus?

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I really enjoy the History Channel series known as Clash of the Gods. In the series myths are explored and evaluated and the historical underpinnings are examined. Although it's not explicitly stated the "clash" is between the mythological god who is the subject of episode versus Christianity I say this because each episode does seem to try to suggest that Christian doctrine and theology is based on pagan myths and legends. This no different of the Zeus episode. Although the parallel is stated, it's not discussed. Let us discuss it now.

Zeus is said to have been born and his father tries to kill him. His father ate all his children because he was afraid that one of them would supplant him. His mother saved Zeus by tricking the father, Chronos, to eat a huge rock instead of the Baby. A full treatment is given in the following link: Jesus And Zeus May Not Be So Different After All - The Striking Parallels between the Christian Nativity Story and the Pagan Birth of Zeus

Where Christ was born in a manger in a cave, Zeus was also born in a cave. Where Christ was surrounded by animals that gave him warmth when he was born, Zeus was brought sustenance by the she-goat Amalthea. Where Christ was hidden from King Herod, Zeus was also hidden, this time from his father Cronus, who ate his other children whole.

Furthermore, Christians believe that Christ was crucified, died and was resurrected. The myths of Crete in Greece have it that the Cretan-born Zeus died in the autumn of each year and was reborn again in spring.

I find it shocking that Jesus' nativity would ever be compared to Zeus' birth. Baby Jesus being attended by animals is not even in the Bible. That idea was added later. Also to equate the flavor of the Zeus legend that has him dying and being reborn cyclically, sounds a lot more like Odin than the way Zeus was known all over Greece. It just doesn't hold up.

Let's compare Jesus and Zeus' character. Zeus was vengeful, womanizer and a serial rapist. In no way is Jesus anything like him. But a lot of men are like him. Zeus threw thunderbolts, but the Bible tells us Jesus controlled all of the power of a storm - not just Thunder and lighting. The interesting thing is from my research I have found that in the ancient world that only a god could control the weather. Jesus spoke and the weather obeyed. The Bible is clearly saying the Jesus can do things that Zeus was never said to do. In the myths, Zeus is said to dispense justice to men and the other Olympian gods. Jesus, as we see Him in the Bible, dispenses Justice and Mercy. Jesus also directly helps people - he heals the infirm, and he even raises the dead. Zeus never sacrifices himself for anything or anyone...he is selfish and self-centered. He is the complete opposite of Jesus. I see no way that if Jesus was made up that the archetype on which He is based is anything like Zeus. Jesus was a real person who actually lived and there is no such evidence for Zeus' existence.

I saw an internet question that caused a lot of insults against Jesus. The question asked who is more powerful: Jesus or Zeus? I was amazed at the answers people gave.They showed that they knew nothing of Jesus. One was that Zeus beat the tar out of monsters and the Titans, and then He asked what did Jesus ever do. I have an answer. Jesus beat death. Jesus conquered sin. Through Jesus we have victory over sin and reconciled back to God! That's more than anything Zeus has done. That is what Jesus did for me. A better question is what has Zeus done for you?

Today on the Dividing Line: A Review and Refutation of Middle Knowledge

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On last Thursday's Dividing Line pod cast, James White gave a sneak preview of the lecture he will give on the nature of God's sovereign will with an emphasis on refuting "Middle Knowledge" also known as Molinism (proposed by the guy on right,. originally). Now, I've posted on this subject before, but Dr. White did such an awesome job of defining it and explaining why it's Biblically untenable as a preview to the conference he lectured at last Friday, the I had to post a link to it. He directly challenged the public view of William Lane Craig. I admire WLC, but he is wrong on this middle knowledge thing. I would like to see a debate between these two on this subject.

Today on the Dividing Line: A Review and Refutation of Middle Knowledge

Christian Apologetics - Life and Doctrine: Trinity : Is the Father Identified as God?

Mariano continues his series on the Trinity. In this installment, he summarize the scriptural passages that show the Father is named God throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Christian Apologetics - Life and Doctrine: Trinity : Is the Father Identified as God?

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Books of the Old Testament

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Dr. Mariottini does a great job in summarizing the structure of the Bible and how we got our English Translation. Check this out

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Books of the Old Testament

Atheism is Dead: Science & Faith: Friends or Foes?

 Mariano announced on his blog that there will be a great conference on October 23 and 24  this year. I'm hoping that those of us who can't be there will be able to hear mp3 and watch video from the conference. If anyone find this information I sure hope they will share it. It seems interesting. Science and faith are compatible and not mutually exclusive.
Atheism is Dead: Science & Faith: Friends or Foes?

onegoodmove: Richard Dawkins - Bill Maher

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I saw Richard Dawkins' appearance on Real Time, and I'm offended. They seemed to be just going back and forth bragging that they are not Christians. It was bothersome to me that there was no rebuttal and no interaction with any other viewpoint.

Richard Dawkins on Real Time with Bill Maher (10-2-09)
Uploaded by Xrunner17. - Classic TV and last night's shows, online.

onegoodmove: Richard Dawkins - Bill Maher

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Windows 7 Now Available & Pawned by Apple

Well, In case you haven't heard Windows 7 is now for sale. I found a couple of resources to help.




And here is Apple's Answer







Windows 7 Now Available

Atheism is Dead: Adolf Hitler Was a Christian! Was Adolf Hitler a Christian?, part 1

Mariano has written several articles about the charge of Adolf Hitler being a Christian and therefore the arguments goes that because Hitler was evil, Christianity is evil. There are a lot of problems with this argument. Mariano does an excellent job providing everything you need to know to evaluate the claim.

I think the problem hings on what you think "Christianity" is. If you think a Christian is just someone who believes in God and goes to church, then demons fit that definition ans so does Hitler. That is not the correct definition of a Christian. A Christian is someone who believes that Jesus died for their sin, raised back to life three days afterward, and now intercedes for those who believe - Christians. A Christian believes that the Bible is infallible and is the main rule of faith and practice for their lives. A Christian does not ignore history or science or other viewpoints but shares what God has done for him/her with others. 

IF Adolf Hitler was Christian then so were Lucifer, Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, Mary Eddy, and David Koresh. And we know that none of them fit the definition I just gave.

Atheism is Dead: Adolf Hitler Was a Christian! Was Adolf Hitler a Christian?, part 1

William Lane Craig vs. Marcus Borg: The Resurrection MP3 Audio - Apologetics 315

I found another great debate from Apologetics 315.  Here is what Brian wrote:

William Lane Craig debates New Testament scholar Marcus Borg on the topic of the resurrection. Borg's position is that the resurrection is "really true," even though it is not "literally true." Daryl Schmidt and Darrell Bock offer further comments. Also added to the WLC Audio Debate Feed.

Full MP3 Audio here. (2hr 14min)

I was real disappointed with Marcus Borg's arguments. To be a Christian means that you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. You can't be born again unless you believe that Jesus was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification. That is definitional and what separates Christianity from every other religion and world view! Without it you don't have Christianity. Everything hangs on that. Because of this, I have no idea why Borg would argue that he is a Christian or that it doesn't matter if Jesus' tomb was empty or what happened to Jesus' body? This is the crux of "the Gospel". What ever he is smoking, I don't want any of it.


William Lane Craig vs. Marcus Borg: The Resurrection MP3 Audio - Apologetics 315

THE APOLOGETIC FRONT: Is William Craig a presuppositionalist?

I enjoyed Mike's post. I truly agree that William Lane Craig is not presuppositionalist but he is a gifted philosopher. This clip makes me wanna watch his debate against Peter Atkins because I agree with WLC's points that there are a lot of presuppositions that we all make and agree to do that can't be scientifically substantiated. The look on Atkin's face was priceless!





THE APOLOGETIC FRONT: Is William Craig a presuppositionalist?

Christianity Index - Did Jesus Exist?

Here another must-see website you should visit if you are ever challenged by the "Jesus is a myth" argument. It contains great articles explaining why you can faithfully believe what the Bible says of Jesus Christ. There is even a great response to the work of Earl Doherty who has made it his life work to push the "Jesus Myth" idea. I'm planning write more on this in the future.

Christianity Index

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Should Historical Events Be Dated B.C. and A.D. or B.C.E. and C.E.?

Dr. Claude Mariottini has posted an interesting discussion about whether Christians should follow suit with the world and us "BCE/CE" instead of "BC/AD" when we write dates. I've often wondered if anyone else had that question. In my own writing, I have tended to use "BCE/CE" for a few years now but because I noticed that most scholars are using that convention. I think I need to repent.  In the back of my mind I realized that it was an attempt to secularize scholarship and I fell for it. I have heard people justify it by saying that using Jesus' birth as a focal point offends people who aren't Christian. I've got to now wonder, why should that matter to me? Everything else about Jesus offends non-Christians, so why should I change what I am doing? What is more important than the birth of Jesus? Nothing, I like Dr,. Mariottini's response. Here is a quote from him.

According to biblical chronology, David reigned c. 1000 Before the Common Era and Solomon around 960 Before the Common Era. If David and Solomon lived Before the Common Era and we live in the Common Era, why was the age of David and Solomon so uncommon? And what has transformed that “uncommon era” to “the common era”?

There was nothing uncommon about the age of David and Solomon. The truth is that they lived one thousand year before Christ was born. It is the Incarnation of Christ that marks the transition from one era to the other. Even when scholars use BCE and CE to date historical events, one has to ask: what caused the transition from Before the Common Era to the Common Era? There is only one important factor that marks this transition, even when people refrain from using the name of the one person whose existence caused the transition from one era to the other.

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Should Historical Events Be Dated B.C. and A.D. or B.C.E. and C.E.?

McCain Asks Obama to Pardon Boxer Jack Johnson

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It's Amazing to me how years and year after event, the present can still be affected by that event. I had known about Jack Johnson, the first black heavy-weight champion Boxer ever. Without him, no Muhammad Ali, no Evander Hollyfield, no Mike Tyson, no XMA, no nothing. I've even posted about him on this blog before. I had heard that the fact that he liked white woman caused him a great deal of problems because society around him would not accept mutual and voluntary interracial relationships. I didn't realize that he had been convicted of driving his own wife across state lines. Further I didn't know the conviction was still on the books.

I don't think that Johnson would like to see his case used as club to hammer the first Black president of the United States. SI am amazed to see that Senator McCain is introducing this idea to pardon Johnson after all this time. I agree Johnson deserves a pardon...it is clearly an injustice done to the man and i don't care that Johnson has long been dead. He should be pardoned. I just don't think McCain is being altruistic in his motives. I don't trust "that one". He says that it's not meant to cause Obama any problems or to criticize him because the President is busy,, but it still seems like to me a ploy.

This article mentions a Kenneth Burns documentary on Jack Johnson's life. I've embedded it below

The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Episode 2 @ Yahoo! Video

McCain Asks Obama to Pardon Boxer Jack Johnson

Theology : The Works of James Arminius

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Brennon, has been kind enough to send e a link to a website containing the complete works of Jacobus Arminius. "Jacobus" in English is "James.", by the way. I really appreciate getting this information and i plan to go through it carefully to better understand what Arminius disagreed with John Calvin about. You can find the link below.,

Theology : The Works of James Arminius

Monergism :: Historic Jesus

I have found a treasure trove of resources for anyone who wants to delve into looking at Jesus from a historic viewpoint. Ir mostly includes a lot of articles to read but it also includes mp3sb and videos for some of the information. This must a must-see website.  It even include several excepts form the work of historian Paul Maier and other experts like NT Wright.

Monergism :: Historic Jesus

Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter Split?

I hate to see any family in turmoil. Although, I don't agree that two men or two women can adeqately raise a family, I have no doubt that they are doing the best they know how. Without God it's impossible for a man and woman to make it with optimal success. Is it any real surprise that when we circumvent God we give up any chance of success? I'm reminded of what James White wrote:

I was directed to this article about "Gay Marriages" (marriage, being defined by God, cannot be redefined by man, hence, these are not marriages at all, but celebrations of rebellion) and as I scanned down the page I encountered the picture found here. The AP picture by Tony Avelar carries the following caption:

Jennifer Kozumplik, left, and her partner of 17 years Nicole Webber, right, from Sacramento, Calif., hold their 18 month-old daughter Sophie as they pose for a photo after receiving their marriage license on the first day of same sex marriages at City Hall in San Francisco.

   As I stared at the picture I could not help but see only one thing: the selfish, self-centered abuse of a beautiful little child by two people committed to the fulfillment of their own desires. I once again immediately thought of the comments of Rosie O'Donnell. She was asked about her "son," and she said he has asked about where his daddy is. O'Donnell's response is the very essence of self-centeredness: "I tell him Mommy only likes other Mommies." 

Rosie O'Donnell and Kelli Carpenter Split?

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Is the World Ending in 2012?

On his blog, Dr. Mariottini, wrote a great article about the hysteria around the 2o12 date and people saying that according to the Mayan calendar, the world is going to end. I love this paragraph he said and it is so true!

If you believe Hollywood’s version of the events of the final day, as portrayed in the movie “2012,” which features earthquakes, meteor showers, and a huge tsunami that dumps an aircraft carrier on the White House, and if you believe Internet doomsday rumors, or the special program on the History Channel which mixed the predictions of Nostradamus with the Mayan calendar, then, it is for sure: the world will end on December 21, 2012.

If you believe what the Bible teaches about the last days, you have nothing to worry about.

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Is the World Ending in 2012?

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Cats and Dogs in the Old Testament

Cover of Cats & Dogs (Full Screen Edition)

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Dr. Claude Mariottini has posted an article in response to an question asked about Isaiah 1:3 which says:

The ox knows his master,
the donkey his owner's manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand."

The question is would it be more clear to change the text to read "dog" and "cat" instead of "ox" and "donkey"? The idea behind the passage is that people are so disobedient to God compared to oxen and donkeys towards us. Mariottini did a great job explaining why this a bad idea because of how cats and dogs figure into the context of the Old Testament and ancient Hebrew society as well as the undniable fact theat the verse does not say "cat" or "dog". I believe that what was written is what God really gave Isaiah to say. I want what God really said, not some distilled mistranslation. Besides, I don't think cats are obedient.

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: Cats and Dogs in the Old Testament

This Sounds Familiar

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I was going through my blog feeds and I found a post from James White about Frank Beckwith  talking smack against Frank Turk. I agree with Dr. White and Turk that Beckwith offers no logically defensible, let-alone theological defensible, reason for turning from Catholicism to Protestantism and then back to Catholicsm. I mean what is this? Musical chairs? I agree that the problems pointed out by Turk concerning Roman Catholic dogma as being unbiblical are unscalable and if you don't hold those pieces of their doctrine than according to them you are anathematized. I agree with Turk. If disagreeing that Mary was immaculately conceived and bodily assumed to heaven and co-redeemer from sin,  or rejecting transubstantiation, celibate priests, purgatory, and all other unbiblical teachings, make me anathema according to the Roman Catholic Church, then I'm proudly anathematized. When I read the quote from Beckwith on the blog post, I had to wonder where did I hear that before? Beckwith wrote:

I had no idea that Mr. Turk was so gifted in the clairvoyant arts, able to not only jump the space-time continuum to observe my teenage years but to pierce the veil of cognitive and spiritual privacy in order to extract from my soul the reflections, contemplations, and judgments that were instrumental in my journey back to Catholicism. Given his unusual interest in comic book aesthetics, perhaps he possesses powers not unlike the mutants that populate the imaginary world to which he seems so drawn (pardon the pun). Or perhaps he is just ill-mannered and presumptuous.

Then it hit me: This is the same kind of things I get from atheist on Twitter! Scary. Take a look at White's blog post and then tell me he's wrong. For that matter Turk's remarks are unassailable He's right. Roman Catholicism as taken from the official teachings of the Popacy is not the same Gospel as found in the Bible That's not saying that all Roman Catholics hold to these ideas, but I think it is fair to say that if you don't you may not be a true Roman Catholic.


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