Re: [asa] AIG's weakly message

Maybe we should really take this to heart and apply it to other difficult
questions in the Christian faith.

For example,

-- some atheists argue that God can't be one God yet three persons

-- some atheists argue that God can't be sovereign and yet permit us free
will

-- some atheists argue that a good Good wouldn't let good people / children
/ babies suffer and bad people prosper

-- some atheists argue that a good God wouldn't allow people to choose to
separate themselves from Himself eternally

-- some atheists argue that Jesus couldn't be fully man and yet fully God

-- some atheists argue the dead can't be raised

-- some atheists argue that a good and loving God wouldn't offer a plan of
salvation that involves the torture and death of his own son.

Actually, not only today's atheists question such things; they're mostly the
same questions raised by the pagans to whom Origen, Augustine, and other of
the fathers responded. Many have rejected the Christian faith because of
the above arguments.

Perhaps, then, we shouldn't inquire about God's attributes, the problem of
evil, the incarnation, the atonement, the resurrection, or the parousia,
lest the difficult questions these beliefs raise cause us to stumble.

On 2/10/07, Carol or John Burgeson <burgytwo@juno.com> wrote:
>
> From AIG this week -- a familiar refrain.
>
> Since Templeton accepted evolution, and since Templeton "lost his faith,"
> then it must surely follow that anyone accepting evolution is on slippery
> grounds.
>
> Burgy
>
> **
>
> *Q: When someone rejects Genesis, will they then reject the whole Bible?*
>
> *A: *The following is a terrible warning for the church today as to what
> happens when one compromises on the Word of God.
>
> In the 1950s, a famous evangelist named Charles Templeton received wide
> media attention across America. Great crowds flocked to hear him. Large
> numbers of people came forward when he challenged them to trust Christ.
>
> But in 1994 he published a book called Farewell to God in which he totally
> rejected the Christian faith. He died a few years ago as a man embittered
> against the Christian faith.
>
> What happened to Templeton is a warning for us all today. He went to
> Princeton University and was taught to believe in the evolutionary teaching
> of "millions of years." He recognized that if this were true, then God used
> death, bloodshed, suffering and disease for millions of years as part of His
> creative process—and then called this very good.
>
> All through his book, Templeton wrote that there can't be a God of love
> because of all the death and suffering in the world. The teaching of
> "millions of years" destroyed Templeton. Don't compromise, as he did, and
> destroy your faith.
>

-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Web:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com
Blog:  http://www.davidopderbeck.com/throughaglass.html
MySpace (Music):  http://www.myspace.com/davidbecke
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