Bill Pratt | April 19, 2009
Christians believe that God is completely self-sufficient, that he is complete within himself. There is nothing that God needs that he doesn’t already have. The quote below, from A. W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy, summarizes the point extremely well. To admit the existence of a need in God is to admit incompleteness [...]
Bill Pratt | April 18, 2009
No. The Bible seems to clearly teach that God must call on man before man will respond. Original sin has caused man to reject God without God’s intervention. Jesus said, ““This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him” (John 6:65). The Psalmist said, “Surely [...]
Bill Pratt | April 10, 2009
The Bible unequivocally teaches that faith in God is what saves. So the question before us is whether speaking a “sinner’s prayer” constitutes saving faith. All people possess intellect, will, and emotions – the ability to think, choose, and feel. When the Bible refers to faith, it seems to teach that faith involves all aspects of a [...]
Bill Pratt | April 7, 2009
Yes. There is absolutely nothing contradictory about an infinite God being in control of every little electron in the universe, but creating creatures in that same universe who have a special power of free will. God can accomplish everything he wants to accomplish in human affairs through human free will. While he commands volcanoes to erupt [...]
Bill Pratt | April 6, 2009
Because it is the best synthesis of all biblical data on the nature of God. All other views deny or ignore major swaths of Scripture. For example, on one of our blog posts, there is a thread where Darrell presented numerous passages to a Mormon about the oneness and unity of God. Instead of dealing [...]
Bill Pratt | March 31, 2009
Many Christians cringe in horror when they hear the word theology. They think of complex and boring doctrines that just don’t matter to the average Christian. After all, they think, I have the Bible and that’s all I need. But what is theology? Theology, in its simplest meaning, is a rational discourse about God. Theology [...]
Bill Pratt | March 30, 2009
Let’s define free will first. I define free will as the human ability to make contrary choices or decide between multiple options. Free will is the power of self-determination. It gives human beings the power to make real moral decisions. Some Christians deny that humans have free will because they say it diminishes God’s sovereignty. If humans [...]
Bill Pratt | March 9, 2009
In a previous post, we showed that God is not the direct cause of moral evil. But if God is not the cause, then who is? Christians answer that free creatures are the direct cause of moral evil. How does this work? God gave human beings the power of free will. Free will is defined [...]
Bill Pratt | March 6, 2009
Bill Pratt | January 5, 2009
The folks at Reclaiming the Mind are offering an online theology program, starting next week. I have not actually taken any of their courses, but I have heard very positive things about the curriculum, so I commend a visit to their website.
