Jon Webb

Anonymous asked: Why has Satan chosen evil? How can anyone chose evil having experienced God's presence?

While the Bible tells us a lot about Satan’s attributes and behavior, it does not reveal in detail the specifics of his rebellion. You pose an interesting question. Wouldn’t the fear and awe inspired by the presence of God Himself prevent any thought of rebellion from entering the mind?

The Bible does not go into great detail about Satan’s rebellion. We do know, however a few key facts about Satan and his angels. First of all, we know that Satan is a created being. Colossians 1:16 tells us that by Jesus Christ “all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.” This obviously includes angelic beings such as Satan. Also, Satan must be a creation because he can not be eternal. God alone is eternal, and for Satan to share in this eternality would introduce a duality to Christianity that is incompatible with the Bible.

We also know that Satan, must have rebelled against God at some point between his creation and his tempting of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Since God declared all things He had created “very good,” Satan, a created thing, must have also been “very good” at this point.

There is much debate on passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that are traditionally understood as referring to the fall of Satan. While these passages prophesy the downfall of earthly kings, many believe that there they may also refer to Satan’s rebellion. It is not unusual for prophetic passages to refer to two events, separated by a great length of time. This is true of many passages that refer both to King David and to Jesus Christ.

If these passages do refer to Satan, we learn a bit more about his character and history. Firstly, we learn that Satan was an unparalleled creation: incredibly wise, and highly privileged. Donald Barnhouse imagined the Satan’s position in heaven like this:

He awoke in the first moment of his existence in the full-orbed beauty and power of his exalted position; surrounded by all the magnificence which God gave him. He saw himself as above all the hosts in power, wisdom, and beauty. Only at the throne of God itself did he see more than he himself possessed, and it is possible that even that was in some sense not fully visible to the eyes of the creature.… Before his fall he may be said to have occupied the role of prime minister for God, ruling possibly over the universe but certainly over this world”

Secondly we learn the nature of his fall. According to Ezekiel 28:15-17, “sin was discovered” in Satan. He became proud because of his high position and beauty. In his incredibly foolish ambition, he wished to displace God Himself, claiming that he would “make himself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:12-17). As a result he was cast out of heaven.

The covers what we know of the history of Satan’s rebellion. It does not, however, answer your question. Why did such a privileged being, so intimately acquainted with the glory of God, ever choose to rebel against him?

I have only one thought. God’s majesty probably motivated Satan’s sin in the first place. He was jealous of God, jealous of his position, his perfection, and his glory. He lusted after it. He sinned, in the presence of a perfectly holy God. Do I understand it? No. I can say this: God knew that Satan was going to rebel. He knew that Satan was going to tempt mankind. He knew that mankind would rebel just like Satan did. But before He ever created Satan He had a plan, one in which Satan played an important role.

Satan’s rebellion against God truly is foolish, isn’t it? He can’t win. There is no possible outcome where Satan wins. This was as true before Satan was ever created as it is now. And yet he still persists in his rebellion, and he always will.

05/29/12

“He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me….And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

Am I the only one who finds loving God hard sometimes? At times it’s pretty easy. We think about the sacrifice Christ made for us on the cross, or the thing he did for us, and the emotion overwhelms us. We feel love for God.

But what about when we don’t? What if we don’t feel like we love God? What then?

We love him by proxy. We love him by loving others. When we selflessly give our time and attention to others and love them, we love God.

What if we don’t feel like loving those people either? I have bad days where I really don’t feel like I love anybody. I think C.S. Lewis explained real love wonderfully in Mere Christianity:

“The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you love your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find out one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”

I think the two great commandments are inseparable. We are to love the Lord our God with all that we possess. How do we do that? By acting like we do. What does this look like? It is when we love others more than we love ourselves. How do we do that? By acting like we do.

Love is not just a mushy feeling; it is an action that purifies our motives.

05/14/12

mynameistopher:

jonathonwebb:

“Believe the whole Bible? Yeah right, if you did that you would be stoning gays. You’re not stoning gays so you’re a hypocrite…it’s amazing how Christians don’t even understand the Bible.” - countless YouTube comments

quoting opponents = argument win?

Apparently this quote is so stupid that no argument is necessary. Problem is, it’s a good point!

It’s a matter of context. The commands in the Old Testament were addressed toward the nation of Israel. We are not the nation of Israel. So we don’t have to follow these commands. This doesn’t mean we don’t “believe” in these laws. They just don’t apply to us.

The maximum speed limit in most cities 100 years ago was 10 mph. Do you believe in these laws? In other words, do you accept the historical reality of these laws? Of course. Do you follow them? No. There is no reason to. The laws have been renewed and replaced. They do not apply to you.

05/10/12

The Evangelical/Fundamentalist Cold War (Long but worth it, I hope.)

Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism are two movements within Protestant Christianity in North America. They are similar in many ways, including their disapproval of modernism and liberal theology and their emphasis on orthodox Christian doctrines. Fundamentalism began as a movement within evangelicalism itself. Despite this, by the 1940’s fundamentalists and evangelicals were cutting ties. While there is overlap, the gap between the groups has widened significantly. There are many reasons for this split. But at the heart was the doctrine of “ecclesiastical separation”.

Evangelicalism is a movement within Protestant Christianity that began during the late 1600’s among the Methodists and Lutherans in Scandinavia and Germany. Evangelicalism discourages ritualism, instead emphasizing personal holiness and evangelism. Evangelicalism denies the office of a priest as practiced in the Catholic Church. Instead evangelicals adhere to the “priesthood of the believer,” which makes every Christian accountable not to a priest, but directly to God. Evangelicalism is not a denomination, but contains many denominational and non-denominational churches.

Evangelicals place high value on the inerrancy of Scripture and the doctrines of Christian orthodoxy. Like fundamentalists, evangelicals believe in separation from the world. Unlike fundamentalists, they tend not to separate from other orthodox Christian movements and denominations.

Evangelicalism came into its own in the 20th century, overtaking Roman Catholicism and mainline Protestant denominations in the United States. As of 2004, 28.8 percent of Americans describe themselves as evangelicals, while 22 percent are Roman Catholic and 13.9 percent are members of other Protestant denominations. About 10 percent of Americans attend an evangelical church service on any given Sunday.

The fundamentalist movement was a movement within evangelicalism early in the 20th century. In 1909, Lyman Stewart, a wealthy oilman, decided that the basic truths of Christianity needed to be defended against the onslaught of modernism and liberal theology. The result was a series of books titled The Fundamentals, from which fundamentalism gets its name. Sixty-four authors contributed to the series, which emphasized five basic doctrines of the Christian faith: the sinful nature of man, his inability to be saved apart from God’s grace, the centrality of Jesus’ death for the regeneration of the individual, and the authoritative revelation of the Bible. If a fundamentalist is one who affirms these five basic doctrines, then all evangelicals are fundamentalists. Indeed, at first this was true. But soon fundamentalism diverged from these teachings, and the fallout was tremendous.

Fundamentalism came to be characterized by its spirit of confrontation. As Jerry Falwell, perhaps the most influential of all the evangelical fundamentalists, put it, “A Fundamentalist is an Evangelical who is angry about something.” Soon evangelicals began distancing themselves from the fundamentalist movement. At the same time fundamentalists began to separate from the evangelicals. There were 3 main points of contention, with the last being the most significant:

(You’re a fifth of the way done! Continue reading after the break.)

Trinitarian Universalism

While I haven’t posted much recently, I have been reading everything in my stream, and there’s one thing that has caught my attention: the amount of universalism I am seeing. I am going to summarize Christian Universalism, then at the end I will give my opinion. Remember, it’s just that, an opinion. I’m not trying to judge anyone or make anyone feel guilty.

Universalism began to take root in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One important founder of Universalist thought in the United States was George de Benneville. He translated the first German Bible in America. What made his version unique was that all verses supporting universalist doctrines were bolded so that they would stand out!

Trinitarian or evangelical universalism is the type I will discuss. Unlike other forms of universalism, trinitarian universalism holds to Jesus Christ being the Savior of mankind. They are conservative and reformed in most of their beliefs, except in their understanding of hell. Instead of eternal punishment, trinitarian universalists believe in eventual universal reconciliation with God. According to trinitarian universalists, all mankind will be glorified and reunited with God at the end of time.

Now, I realize that there is an incredible amount of variation within the evangelical/trinitarian universalist camp. I would say that there is greater difference of opinion within trinitarian universalism than there is within conservative reformed/fundamental theology, with their five hundred year old (but still unresolved) debates concerning election, limited atonement, millennialism, and covenant versus dispensational theology. I am not intending to misrepresent universalism. I am intending to summarize some of their core beliefs, beliefs that are common to most universalists.

At the core of trinitarian universalism are beliefs that conservative Christians find familiar and fundamental.

They believe that God is a trinity.
They believe that God is love. They also believe that His holiness is an aspect of His love, one could call it “holylovingkindness”. This comes into play a little later.
They believe that mankind is reconciled through Christ.

Well, that wasn’t so bad! These are all doctrines that conservative Christians affirm and rejoice in! But hang on, we aren’t through yet. Many beliefs of universalists contradict highly valued teachings of conservative Christians. Many Christians react violently when these doctrines are denied. So take a deep breath as we venture deeper into the mind of a universalist.

Universal atonement of sins.

This statement elicits two distinct reactions from Christians at first glance. Calvinists balk, because it contradicts their belief in limited atonement, that Christ died for the sins of only the elect. Those who believe in free will smile, because they believe Christ died to give all the opportunity to be reconciled to Him.

But that’s not the universalist’s idea of universal atonement. Take the universal nature of the non-calvinist’s atonement, and splice it onto the Calvinist’s election. The result: an atonement that is, well, really universal. As in, you can’t escape from it. All mankind is atoned, all mankind is forgiven, and all mankind is saved. A truly lovingkind God cannot allow His creation to be separated from Him.

Jon Webb

The Evangelical/Fundamentalist Cold War (Long but worth it, I hope.)

Trinitarian Universalism

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