The Existence of Evil and the Problem of God Alvin Plantinga, Richard Gale Ph.D. University of Tennessee 31 December 2008
A conversation with Drs. Alvin Plantinga and Richard Gale on the topic “The Existence of Evil and the Problem of God.” This conversation is followed by a question and answer session with the audience
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, (AH)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. AMEN.
Brant Bosserman Representing the Trinity vs Sean Finnegan Representing Unitarianism
Many people have misunderstandings when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity. I have stated else where that many cults and false religons have arose because of this misunderstanding.
Many times the Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons show up on the door steps, many Christians have no idea how to respond to the attacks on the Trinity. This debate will show you how to defend the attacks on the Trinity and hopefully make you want to dig in the scriptures and be equipped and ready next time a opportunity comes your way. As always comments and questions are welcome!
Many people have misunderstandings when it comes to the doctrine of the Trinity. I have stated else where that many cults and false religons have arose because og this misunderstanding.
Many times the Jehovahs Witnesses show up on the door steps, many Christians have no idea how to respond to the attacks on the Trinity. This debate will show you how to defend the attacks on the Trinity and hopefully make you want to dig in the scriptures and be equipped and ready next time a oppurtunity comes your way. As always comments and questions are welcome!
Rick sent in a question which I answered in the comments section, I thought I would reproduce the answer here on the blogs main post so those who do not check the comments would be able to read the answer. This is a question that is asked a lot and we need to be able to answer this as Christians, feel free to leave comments or questions!
Rick said
How is it that the Scriptures tell us that no man has seen God at any time (John 1:18) and yet men saw Jesus? I'm confused about this. How can I explain this to someone who doesn't believe that Jesus is God?
MY Response
Rick,
Great question, I would recommend that you get a couple of books that will help you out with "Bible Difficulties". The first book I would recommend to you is called "The Big Of Bible Difficulties". The Second one is Dr. Gleason Archers book " Encyclopedia Of Bible Difficulties" and lastly Dr. Walt Kaisers book "Hard Sayings Of The Bible". Also on my blog I have a section on the right called "Bible Difficulties" which will take you to carm.org and there Matt Slick has hundreds of them for free for you to look at.
OK with that being said let me answer your question.
This is whats going on. Jesus has 2 natures, one human and one Divine. This in theology is called the Hypo-static union. Jesus was fully God, and Jesus was also fully man. So when one asks a question about Jesus, you really need to ask the question twice. Yes men saw Jesus in his humanity, but no one has seen nor can see God in his full essence. For One God is Immaterial which means he can not be composed of parts, thus if Jesus was fully divine in his man hood he would be composed of parts and be a material being. But we are told God is Spirit in John 4:24, and that a Spirit does not have flesh and bone, Luke 24:39.
This would also take away from Gods other attributes such as omnipresence ( Every where at the same time).
So the way this is answered is that Jesus in one person who has 2 natures, fully human and fully God, thus those who saw Jesus only saw his humanity, not his divinity. If you are still unclear let me know and I will see if I can expound on it. Consider the following
The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to Christianity. Unfortunately this is one of the most understood teachings in the Bible. Many cults have sprung from a misunderstanding of what the Trinity is. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Muslims all have a major misunderstanding of what the Doctrine of the Trinity is.
The Bible is clear that there is only one God, consider these verses;
Isaiah 43:10 You are aMy witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
Isaiah 45:5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
There numerous verses that teaches Monotheism, the belief that there is one God. Unfortunately many Christians do not know how to defend the doctrine of the Trinity and will look for one or two verses which mention all three persons of the Godhead. However the doctrine of the Trinity is derived at through a systematic approach looking at numerous scriptures. We are told there is one God, but we also are told that Jesus is called God (John 5:18, John 28:20) We are told that the Holy Spirit is also called God ( Acts5:3-4, 1 Corinthians 2:11) and there is much more that can be said. I would suggest that as Christians we learn what the doctrine of the Trinity is, and how we can defend it against skeptics, and cultists!
