Monthly Archives: August 2007
Romans 11 and Geocreationism with Conclusion
I have consolidated, edited, and updated the preceding three parts of this series here. Since it has been a while in posting (mostly due to serious computer issues that have crippled my Internet access) it may help to familiarize yourself with what has come before this so that you will be up to date. As sometimes happens, in writing and researching this piece I have changed my mind about the necessity of no physical death prior to the Fall, I now believe that it is possible the Fall only brought on spiritual death. However, I am not at all convinced that God merely breathed a soul into Adam, who prior to that had evolved from the ground up (so to speak). I have made some changes in the articles to reflect this new conviction.
The seat of Mike’s argument is Romans 11, which he says is the model for God allowing changes to occur on their own without removing his meticulous sovereignty. Unfortunately, this is difficult to reconcile given its proximity to Romans 9, which is the premiere Bible passage teaching election/predestination and the Calvinist view of soteriology. The ultimate passage in meticulous sovereignty would never be placed right next to the ultimate passage for letting things go and coming back later to see how they worked out. Paul wrote the to the Romans his masterwork letter, and he plotted its structure far too carefully to let two such contradictory notions slide in side-by-side.
There is a way to reconcile these points with each other, and for that we need not go any further than our own logic. Read the rest of this entry
Wow (I’m a Geek)!!!!!
Most people would be thrilled beyond words if, for example, they got a baseball signed by their favorite pitcher. They would display it proudly, buy a special glass case for it, or show it off to all of their friends. In this day and age, they would probably post pictures of it on Photobucket or MySpace or Facebook so that all of their online buddies would see it, too.
Well, I have just had the equivalent of this autographed baseball happen right here on my blog. I’ve looked up to James White of Alpha and Omega Ministries from my earliest days of answering God’s call to apologetics. I have bought two of his books (I was actually reading Pulpit Crimes last night!) and read his blog everyday. In fact, it was his blog that gave me the inspiration to start an apologetics blog of my own. From the first time I saw Tekton Apologetics Ministries, I knew I wanted to be an apologist, but it wasn’t until I discovered Dr. White’s blog that I had any inkling of how I should start. I owe quite a bit of thanks to both Dr. White and J.P. Holding for the direction of this ministry, for I patterned it after their own.
I think that my wife is tired of hearing “James White says…” at the beginnings of my sentences. I tend to over-quote him. Not on the blog, just in real life. In fact, when I discovered that he debated here in Toledo in the early 90s, I was sorry I had missed out. Who knows if he’ll be back?
But I’m just trying to set the stage for what I’m about to say. The equivalent of that autograph that I’m proudly displaying for all to see is that Dr. James White has left a comment on this blog!! And it was complimentary to the work I’m doing.
God Himself, being an invisible God, won’t come down and stand in front of me and say, “Good job.” But He orchestrated the next best thing: having the apologist I admire most do just that.
Now it’s my turn to feel warm and fuzzy.
I Love James White
Regular readers of this blog know that I love James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries. In addition to posting this beautiful graphic, he also made the following comments, which made me laugh really hard and really long:
In any case, it was what [Steve] Ray said in announcing his moderation of the combox that I found educational. Here is the graphic he posted with his announcement. Isn’t it…pretty? One thing is for sure: my graphics guys are pros. I pwn my opponents in that field, no question. (If that doesn’t make sense to you, ask someone who is under 25 and who plays video games and understands what “All your base are belong to us” means). (source, emphasis added)
Only James White would find a way to use “pwn” and reference the old “All your base are belong to us” line in the course of apologetics.
I said it in the title, I said in the opening paragraph, and I will close with it as well: I love James White.
Josiah Concept Ministries 