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One of the challenges of the twenty-first century is its theological diversity. Right now within evangelicalism, a number of theologians affirm some form of divine change or passibility. But Christianity has seen such an affirmation as a Category One breach of orthodoxy.
How should we understand this? Answer: we should be slow to speak, quick to listen, and try to get behind the language of these theologians.
According to the Bible, Jesus is divine. More accurately, divinity and humanity unite in the person of Jesus. Jesus grew, lived, and still now lives as a true human. Yet he also has always been divine.
But don’t take my word for it. Take the Bible’s.
In my opinion, we should not wear uninterpreted Christian symbols or even have them in our houses like crosses. Or at least, we should not have them visible when non-Christian friends visit. The reason why is that Christian symbols have largely lost their meaning to the world apart from our interpretation. And we do not want to spoil an evangelistic opportunity by setting someone against us because they misunderstand what our symbols mean.
Sometimes Christians argue that Jesus has to be divine in order to atone for our sins. I noticed someone recently citing this argument and asking, “Really? Got a Scripture for that?” Well, that’s the real question for many of these theological questions.
What does the Scripture say? And what does Scripture mean by what it says? Put another way, what pattern of teaching does the Bible provide that can answer the question?
God created everything. Nothing came into being except what he made. Does that mean that God created evil? Isaiah 45:7 seems to suggest so: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things” (KJV).
But if God created evil, then he seems implicated in evil. How can evil come from a simple, good being like God? In him is no darkness. So why does God himself claim, “I make peace, and create evil”?
Exegesis, reason, and theology all point to one answer: evil has no being, and so God could not have created it. Isaiah 45:7 also teaches this same reality. Here is how.
I first heard Camille Paglia in a conversation between her and Jordan Peterson. At first, I did not register too much interest. She seemed intelligent and engaging. Later, I saw that historian Carl Trueman interviewed Paglia. This caught my attention. I respect Trueman. So if he found it worthwhile to interview Paglia, I should at least take a deeper look.
