Oct. 15, 2024

Is God In Control?

Is God In Control?

Is God really in Control?

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Is God really in Control?

WEBVTT

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon, everyone.

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It is Tuesday, October fifteenth, twenty twenty four. It is

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currently four thirty four pm Central Time, and I am

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coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located

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right here in Abilene, Texas. Now, for the next few minutes,

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I'm going to be giving you some statistics that's going

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to make all of us. You, me, anyone who listens

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to this episode have to face reality. And we may

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not like the reality that I'm about to make you

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and I face. I don't think we're going to like

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it in any way, shape or form. It's going to

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be depressing, it's going to be discouraging, it may bother

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you greatly. But sometimes we have to face reality, right.

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I sometimes feel like those within Christianity that they sometimes

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live in a land of delusion, a land of denial,

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a land of fantasy, and they don't really want to

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deal with reality. And we've kind of been talking about that.

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I think a lot of times the way Christians talk

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about sin and you know, basically act like we don't

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sin anymore, Like there's sometimes there's just they're such a

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delusion sometimes, and I think there needs to be voices

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that makes those sitting in the pew, make those within

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Christianity face reality, even if they don't like it, even

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if they don't want to deny it, but face reality

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because I believe faith is not an escape from reality

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or a denial of reality. Faith must exist within reality,

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right at least I believe. So you may disagree, but.

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I believe so.

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So for the next few minutes, I'm going to be

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giving you some very real statistics that's going to make

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you face reality and we may not like what we see.

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Are you ready? Here we go? As of twenty twenty four,

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let's start with statistic number one or each one of

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these may have more than one statistic, but they deal

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with one specific thing. So I'm gonna say statistic number one,

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but it may actually be you know, four or five

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statistics mixed in with it, but it's dealing with one

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specific thing, all right, So number one, I'll state it

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that way. As of twenty twenty four. This year, the

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death toll but from both the Israel Hamas conflict and

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the ongoing Russian Ukraine War has been significant. So while

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you've been living life in twenty twenty four, going about

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whatever you're dealing with, all the things you've been facing with,

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what has been happening while you're getting up, going to work,

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going to church, watching television, whatever you're doing, going out,

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doing something for fun. People have been dying on a

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regular and consistent basis in the ongoing Israel Hamas conflict

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and the ongoing Russian Ukraine War and the Israel Hamas conflict,

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the total number of deaths and Gaza alone has surpassed

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thirty five thousand people, with children making up a large

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proportion of the fatalities. I want you to hear that again.

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In twenty twenty four and the Israel Hamas conflict, the

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total number of deaths and Gaza alone, not even talking

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in Israel and Gaza alone, has surpassed thirty five thousand people,

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with children making up a large proportion of the fatalities.

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There is considerable uncertain around these figures, with reports suggesting

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the actual number may be much higher due to unreported

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or indirect deaths from the conflict's effects on infrastructure and

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healthcare and the Russia Ukraine War. Estimates vary, but the

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total number of casualties since Russia's full scale invasion in

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February twenty twenty two exceeds five hundred thousand. This includes

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around seventy one thousand Russian soldiers killed and a similar

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number of Ukrainian military personnel, alongside tens of thousands of

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civilian deaths. These conflicts continue to cause immense human suffering

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with no immediate end in sight. Children are dying, Civilians

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are dying, people are suffering. As that source said, immense

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human suffering is occurring because of the ongoing conflict between

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Israel and Hamas and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Well,

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we're living our lives. People are dying, Their lives are

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torn apart. People's lives are coming to an end. And

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many of them are children, as Evians, who they're just

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caught in the midst of all of it. They don't

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even necessarily are involved in any way, shape or form,

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but they are suffering and they are dying. And that's

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a reality. You can turn it into a political argument,

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you can turn it into whatever you want, but the

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reality is people are suffering and dying. Does that bother you?

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Do you think about it? Do you care? And I'm

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asking not only am I asking you, I'm asking myself

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and twenty so there's kind of statistic number one dealing

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with the subject of war, focusing on really two major

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conflicts Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas. But let's

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move to natural disasters. In twenty twenty four, natural disasters

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have caused a significant number of deaths globally, with varying

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estimates depending on the event and region. One of the

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deadliest events was the series of earthquakes in Turkey and

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Syria and February, which resulted and around fifty eight thousand fatalities.

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So just those earthquakes and Turkey and Syria, fifty eight

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thousand people died. This event was the most destructive natural

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disaster of the year, both in terms of lives lost

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and financial damages all right. Additionally, there were typhoons which

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caused widespread destruction, though the death toll were lower compared

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to the earthquake and total. Natural disasters typically claim between

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forty thousand and fifty thousand lives every single year, So

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natural disasters between forty and fifty thousand people die every year,

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and twenty twenty four appears to be following a similar trend.

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Those specific figures for all disasters combined are still being compiled.

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As the year progresses, these events, driven by factors such

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as cl change, continue to increase in severity, leading to

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more frequent and intense storms, floods, and wildfires globally. For

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instant wildfire, for instance, wildfires in Canada destroyed over eighteen

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point five million acres of forests, though these did not

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result in significant loss of life. So we have war,

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we have natural disasters, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands

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upon thousands upon thousands of people are suffering and dying

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and their lives are turned upside down. These things are happening,

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So we go from war, we go to natural disasters. Now,

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this next one may be a little uncomfortable, but we

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have to discuss it. And twenty twenty four reports reveal

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alarming statistics regarding sexual violence, particularly against women and children.

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According to our report, over three hundred and seventy million

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girls and women that would be one Are you ready

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for this? In eight? Worldwide? One in eight worldwide women

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and girls have experienced rape or sexual assault before the

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age of eighteen.

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Where non contact forms of sexual violence such as online

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harassment are included, this number rises to while even far

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greater one and eight worldwide women and girls have suffered

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some form of sexual assault or rape.

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Just try to wrap your mind around that. Boys and

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men are also affected, with an estimated two hundred and

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forty to three hundred and ten million miles having experienced

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childhood sexual violence, with figures rising to four hundred and

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ten through five hundred and thirty million when including non

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contact forms. These figures highlight the global scale of sexual violence,

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which occurs across all regions and socioeconomic backgrounds. So we

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have war, we have natural disasters, and we have sexual

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assault and rape all happening in this world every single day.

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Lives are being totally ripped apart and destroyed. So we've

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looked at we've looked at war, we've looked at natural disasters,

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and we look at sexual violence. How about terminal illnesses?

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And twenty twenty four million of children didn't even bother

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looking up statistics for adults. Millions of children are suffering

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from terminal illnesses, with cancer being a significant contributor. It

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is estimated that around one thousand and forty children in

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the United States alone are expected to die from cancer

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in twenty twenty four cancer remains the second leading cause

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of death in children age one to fourteen following accidents.

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While childhood cancer survival rates have improved significantly due to

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medical advancements, many children continue to face the challenges of

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terminal illnesses, including cancers and other diseases and other forms

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of infections. Globally, childhood mortality from various from various causes

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remains a major concern in twenty twenty to concern. In

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twenty twenty two, four point nine million children under the

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age of five died from conditions including pre term birth complications, infections,

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congenital anomalies. These statistics likely extending twenty twenty four, with

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the need for improved health care and vulnerable regions being

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a priority to reduce child deaths. Just think of four

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point two million children under the age of five died

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from certain conditions, terminal conditions. That's millions of children every

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year dying. So we have terminal illness and millions of

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children dying. We have sexual assault, millions of people being impacted.

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We have natural disasters, millions of people, we have war,

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millions of people being impacted, death suffering all around us.

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But let's move from those. Let's go to starvation. The

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estimated number of deaths due to starvation and hunger related

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causes globally varies each year, but it is significant. According

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to data from the UN and organizations like the World

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Food Program, hunger related causes account for approximately nine million

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deaths annually. Nine million people die every year from starvation

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or hunger related deaths. Just try to wrap your mind

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around that. Every year people are starving, every year, people

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are dying from terminal illnesses, every year people are suffering

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from sexual assault, every year people are suffering from natural disasters,

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and every year in some part of the world, war

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is taking and claiming lives. All of that is happening

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twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, around

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the clock. Now I could bring up more statistics. I

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could bring up more statistics, but that gives you some sense.

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That's reality. That's not fairytale land. That's reality, suffering and death,

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suffering and death, suffering and death. And this is why

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I get so absolutely ticked off at charismatic theology, which

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tries to claim no, no, no, if you just believe

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in Jesus, you will be held of this and go

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heal someone all the people suffering and dying. Go stop

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talking to me, go to a children's hospital and fix

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the problem. How about fix all the people dying from starvation.

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They continue to make their claims when people continue to

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suffer and die, don't even give me sorry. That's why

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I loathe charismatic theology with every ounce of my being.

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But I don't want to deal with charismatic theology. I

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want to deal with this. On Thursday, October tenth, twenty

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twenty four, I received in my email box an article

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from the Christian Post. I sign up for the their

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newsletter whatever, and as soon as I saw the headline,

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I'm like, well, at some point I'm going to address

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this in a podcast episode. I just don't know when. Well,

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the win is now October fifteenth, so it's been five days.

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The headline of the story is in a question form

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is God really in control? Is God really in control? Now?

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When I saw the headline, I was like, Okay, here's

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what I'm not going to do. I'm not going to

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read it in advance. I'm not going to read it first.

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What I'm going to do is I'm going to look

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up all these statistics, because when you look up all

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of those statistics is God really in control? I think

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is a reasonable question. Right when I put this question,

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is God really in control? And light of all those statistics,

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I think now it becomes maybe you may I know

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what we're supposed to say, right, I know what. Again,

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it's typically young Christian men. I'll be like, obviously God

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is in control and he doesn't have to explain anything

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because he's God and he's softign he can do whatever

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he wants. And we talk about and usually it's Christian men.

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You can talk such a big game, but yeah, you

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go look at the women who've been raped, Go look

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at the children who've been molested for year after year

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after look them in the face and say, God can

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just do whatever he wants. Go look at the people

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who've lost loved ones because of starvation. Look at the

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people whose lives have been destroyed because of war. Look

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at the lives of people have been destroyed by natural disasters.

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You can talk a big game and a philological debate.

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You can talk a big game standing in the foeyer

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of your nice little air conditioned church where you're drinking

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your latte and talking about, well, God is in control,

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he can do whatever he wants. But when you say

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God is in control, and the face of all of

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this reality, you may want to kind of wisp a

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little bit more? Right? Is God really in control? Do

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I need to go back? Do I need to take

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that phrase and put it and next to those statistics

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all the people who have died and just two wars,

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the Israel Hamas conflict and the Russian and Ukrainian War.

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Just just those numbers alone are staggering. Do I need

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to give those numbers again? About how many millions upon

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millions of women and children have been raped or sexually assaulted?

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I mean, do I do I need to go through?

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How many children are dying from terminal illnesses, how many

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are dying from starvation? How much suffering has occurred because

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of natural disasters? Do I really need to go in? I?

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Do I need some more statistics to really drive this

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point home? So? Is God really in control? Look? You

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have in your mind some kind of a thilological answer

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to that question. Is God really in control? I know

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you do, now, I don't know how you reconcile that

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answer with all of that suffering and pain and death.

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I don't know how you reconcile it. You do, so

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somehow in your brain. I don't know. I think a

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lot of ways we reconcile it as we just like

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the theoretical idea, well, God is in control, that's what

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the Bible says, and we just kind of ignore all

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the suffering. But the suffering is real and it cannot

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be I guess you can ignore it again sitting in

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your nice little, nice little church, with your nice little building,

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with your nice little cushion seed, drinking your coffee, talking

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about the weather, you know, I guess I guess that's

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you know, it works for you. But this is real issue.

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So I don't know what this article is going to say,

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but we're gonna look at this article and lie of

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those that reality that we just had to face. I

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don't know how this is going. I don't know, I

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don't know what. I have no idea what's about to happen.

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But we're gonna work through this together. Right here we go.

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There are forty five comments underneath this article. Now again,

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this article published on a Christian website, meaning a lot

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of the people underneath this article claim to obviously be Christians.

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So we will read some of the comments. That's probably

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what we'll get. So discouraged that we'll want to give up.

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All right, but let's at least look at this. Here's

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the first paragraph. When a well meaning Christian says God

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is in control, they typically mean that God makes things

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happen or stops them from happening at random. But the

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Bible teaches us that God's sovereignty is an essential aspect

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of who he is, and that he has absolute authority

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over all things. Now they quote Isaiah fourteen twenty four.

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I'm going to look up Isaiah fourteen twenty four so

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that we can see the passage and hear it in

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two different translations the Bible that you hear me turning

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the King James version Isaiah fourteen twenty four, where we

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read this word Isaiah fourteen twenty four, the Lord of

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Host has sworn, saying, surely as I have thought, so

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shall it come to pass as I have purposed? So

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shall it stand? Now? I would warn everyone, because see

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the the way that sounds is God will do whatever

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he wants, and it's going to happen. But I think

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Isaiah fourteen the context there is the fall of Assyria.

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So do we just extrapolate from that everything or do

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we place it in its historical context. And I'm assuming

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the article doesn't give it doesn't care at all, It

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doesn't give two cents worth of its attention. Most likely

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to the context. Maybe it will maybe a no, it

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will not, but we will see. All right, here we go.

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They quote it. The Lord of Host has sworn, saying, surely,

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as I have thought, so it shall come to pass.

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And as I have purposed, so shall it stand. A

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thing is random or comes by chance, especially not in

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the lives of believers. God will never say WHOA, I

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didn't see that. When coming, God has resolved to do

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what he will do, and nothing or no one stands

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in his way. I will make known the end from

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the beginning, from ancient times what is to come? I say,

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my purpose will stand, and I will do all that

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I please. That's from Isaiah forty six to ten. No,

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please note they quoted Isaiah fourteen twenty four. They provided

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no context. Now I'm not saying we can't extrapolate something

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from Isaiah fourteen twenty four, but I think the con

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I think the context there. You can correct me if

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I'm wrong. I think that's about the fall of Assyria.

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I could be wrong, So do we extrapolate from that,

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or do we say all right? But then they quote

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Isaiah forty six. They quote Isaiah forty six, Isaiah forty

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six to ten, Isaiah forty six to ten. We read

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declaring the end, from the beginning and from ancient times,

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the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel

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shall stand, I will do all my pleasure. Now, what

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exactly is he referencing here? What exactly is he what

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exactly is he referencing here? We would have to look

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for context. The article doesn't care about the context. It's

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just taking the general idea, basically their general idea that

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they're putting forth in this article. God will do what

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God will do. Nothing is going to stop him. Whatever

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God wants to happen will happen. He is in control.

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That's basically the argument being made. They go on to

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quote this, This is our powerful, purposeful God who is

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in control of everything. They quote Psalm one point fifteen three.

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He says our God is in the heavens. He does

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all that he pleases. A well known actor said recently,

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I don't know if there is a God, but if

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if there is, he's got a lot of explaining to do.

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Now that's a reasonable question. Hey, I don't know if

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there's a God, But there is a God, I think

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he has a lot of explaining to do. Because look

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at the world, and look at all those statistics that

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gave you at the beginning about how many people dying

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and those two military conflicts, how many people died in

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twenty twenty four from natural disasters, how many women have

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experienced rape, women and children have experienced rape or sexual assault,

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and twenty twenty four, how many people have died from starvation,

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how many people have suffered from natural disasters. You go

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through all of that, those numbers are staggering, they're frightening,

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they're discouraging, they're depressing, but they show you a reality. Well,

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when you see that reality, you may say, well, I

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know there is a God, but you still may feel

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like he has a lot of explaining to do. But

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how will a Christian article handle the fact that some

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people may think God has some explaining to do or

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are they're going to respond with this? No, God doesn't

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have to explain a single thing. God doesn't have to

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explain a single thing. Now that's convenient, isn't it. Hey,

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God is in control. The world is out of control, pain, suffering,

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death everywhere. And God doesn't have to explain one thing.

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Isn't that con isn't that a great philological position to have? Hey,

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there is an all powerful, all knowing God who went

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ahead and created. In fact, he created this being named Satan,

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knowing that Satan was going to rebel, knowing what it

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was going to do. But when Satan rebelled, did he

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destroy him? Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no

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no no, We're not going to destroy him, even though

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God could have no, No, I'm going to allow him

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to come to this place where I've created a man

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and a woman, and I'm going to allow him to

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get into the garden and tempt them, knowing that they're

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going to sin, and even after they sin. Oh I

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could stop everything. No no, no, no, no, no, no,

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no no, no I could I could. I mean, he

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could have just forgiven Adam and Eve. He made a

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you know, we typically say that he played provided animal skin,

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so there was the first sacrifice. He could have found

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a way to save them and just let them live

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in the garden forever and there had been no more problems.

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But no, no, no, he let he kicked him out

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of the garden, let them then produce children, knowing that

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sin now had entered it in the world, and there

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was going to be pain and suffering and death month

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after month, day after day, week after week, hour after

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hour for the rest of human history. He knew it

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was going to happen and did nothing to stop it.

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Nothing murder, rape, pain, suffering, disease, year after year, month

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after month after month after month, and and it's again,

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it's typically Christian men. I don't know if a man

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wrote this article. I'm going to guess that it was

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a man, but that's very much a man. He doesn't

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have to explain a single thing, and we say it

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with such bravado. Hey, how dare someone says God has

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a lot of explaining to do. Now, I understand theoretically,

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you could argue theologically God doesn't have to explain anything,

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but you can understand why some people may raise their

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hand and go like, I'm a little confused here. Your

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God is all powerful, right, yeah, so he wants all

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these people to suffer? Well, no, well, then why doesn't

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he do anything about it? And then we come up

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with some reason why God can or can't or don't

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or does it and then we have to try to

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answer all of these questions. But God knew all this

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was going to happen before he created, and he did

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not have to create, unless you're going to say there

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was something imperfect in God and he needed something. But

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God is perfect, so he didn't need anything. And you say, well,

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God allows the world to continue because he loves people. Well,

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if he loved people, he would have stopped us from

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ever being created, So then nobody would have to go

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to Hell and there and forget the suffering on the

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plan in this life before we even go into eternity.

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I mean, there's a million yeay, no matter how you

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address this, there's issues. When the time is right, I

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the Lord will make it happen. They're quoting Isaiah sixty

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twenty two. Again, they're doing just they're just ripping verses

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out of context from Isaiah. Just please note that this

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is not even an attempt to deal with this text

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in any kind of even meaningful way. A little one, okay,

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how did they quote that? Isaiah sixty twenty two? All right,

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a little one shall become a thousand and a small one,

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a strong nation. I the Lord will hasten it in

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his time, and they just quote it. When the time

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is right, I the Lord will make it happens. There's

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obviously a context to Isaiah sixty. They just ripping verses

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out of context here. They're not even a not only

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do they feel like God doesn't have to give an explanation,

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they don't have to give an explanation, and how they're

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using scripture as well, it appears. They go on to say,

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some say this versus a reminder that God will do

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what he needs to do even when people hell or

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once flesh think he shouldn't. Others say that this is

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a reminder to trust God's assurance that everything will fall

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into place and is perfect timing. How about instead of

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speculating what people think the verse means, how about I

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don't know, looking at the actual context and trying to

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figure it out. But okay, maybe we'll do some work

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on Isaiah chapter sixty. Okay, maybe we'll do some work

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on Isaiah chapter sixty. We don't have time to get

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into it now, but we'll make that a priority. All right,

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So the next paragraph, but how much power does God

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actually have? God's complete sovereignty over the entire creation stands

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and start contrast to open theism, which holds that God

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is ignorant of the future, and he must continually alter

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his purpose and respond to the action of sinful creatures

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exercising their free will. However, believing that our assistance, cooperation,

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or exercise a free will is necessary for him to

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carry out his purpose places us in charge of him,

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making us gods. Now, I completely reject open theism, and

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I completely agree with this theologically. Look theologically, it sounds

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like I may be in great agreement with this author.

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Where I disagree is this simple idea of Hey, God's

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in control and he doesn't have to explain one single

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thing and people, and who cares if people are suffering?

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It comes across very cold, right, and sometimes in theological

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discussion we can be cold and heartless with those who

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may have very real pain and suffering. Just imagine, just

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imagine you were a child. I'd say, starting at the

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age of eight, you were sexually assaulted and molested from

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the age of eight to the age of eighteen, horribly,

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over and over and over again. Now you're twenty four,

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twenty five, maybe you're in your thirties. You still suffer

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from the trauma of that. It's greatly impacted your entire life.

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It may have impacted you mentally, emotionally, it may have

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impacted you sexually. You just are dealing with you. You

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still have all the internal scars. But someone looks at

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you and says, God is in control. God was in control,

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and he doesn't have to explain a single thing to you.

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You see how utterly heartless that sounds. You see why

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that person may say, week, so God is in control.

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And I suffered week after week after week after week

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after week after week after week, month after month, year

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after year, year after year, and God couldn't do one singlely.

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He couldn't even be bothered to lift a finger to

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stop it. While Christians running around saying, oh, God did this,

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and God did that, and God does this, and God

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does that, and God did this, and God told me this,

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and God, God, God and all and acting like God

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is basically doing something twenty four to seven. But it

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couldn't stop that child from being molested and raped year

464
00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:33.680
after year. You see where that could raise some questions?

465
00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:40.839
Don't you a cat? Have you ever been to a

466
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:46.160
children's hospital? Have you see the children who have been

467
00:30:46.200 --> 00:30:49.799
suffering most of their lives from some more terminal illness.

468
00:30:50.279 --> 00:30:52.359
Sometimes they'll get good news thinking it's got and then

469
00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:55.759
the disease will come back. Have you ever been there

470
00:30:55.799 --> 00:31:00.519
and seen that these children ten eleven years of age,

471
00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:03.319
their whole life has been surgery and medical procedures and

472
00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:05.279
suffering and suffering. And many of them know they're not

473
00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:07.519
even going to make it to sixteen or seventeen. They're

474
00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:09.519
not gonna have their first date, their first kisser. Their

475
00:31:09.559 --> 00:31:13.680
whole life is just gonna be years and years in hospitals, suffering. Yes,

476
00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:19.160
and you and you will. I start getting angry, and

477
00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:23.240
I get angry at Christians who seem heartless because sometimes

478
00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:26.640
in our want to we want to phil logical answer. Right,

479
00:31:26.880 --> 00:31:29.440
So what's it? God is in control, He doesn't have

480
00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:33.960
to explain anything. Next, Yeah, that's you talk a big game.

481
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.119
Look into the face of people suffering. It's not so

482
00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:48.599
easy to be all bravado. So it goes after open theism.

483
00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:52.799
And because it and they their argument, it kind of

484
00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:54.640
makes us like God. And it says, where have you

485
00:31:54.680 --> 00:31:57.000
heard that lie before? It is a repetition of the

486
00:31:57.039 --> 00:32:00.359
old delusion spread by Satan in the garden. Will be

487
00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:03.119
like God? Our freedom of choice extends only to the

488
00:32:03.160 --> 00:32:05.759
extent that God grants it to us. All the people

489
00:32:05.839 --> 00:32:08.000
of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as

490
00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:11.240
as pleases, as he pleases. With the power of Heaven

491
00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:13.400
and the people of earth, no one can hold back

492
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:16.119
his hand or say to him, what have you done?

493
00:32:16.440 --> 00:32:19.640
Daniel Chapter four, verse thirty five. I understand you can

494
00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:22.359
quote Daniel four thirty five say God can do whatever

495
00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:25.160
he wants and nobody can question it. I understand that

496
00:32:25.559 --> 00:32:30.480
from a thiological perspective, I am not denying God is sovereign.

497
00:32:30.720 --> 00:32:34.000
I'm not denying that. What I am saying is that

498
00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:37.480
may sound great in a seminary classroom, may even sound

499
00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:40.359
good in church, maybe, depending on you don't know who

500
00:32:40.400 --> 00:32:49.920
you're preaching to. There's major implications. No one's free will

501
00:32:49.920 --> 00:32:53.759
can override God's omnipotence. Some people find it interesting to

502
00:32:53.799 --> 00:32:57.319
believe that God is continuously changing his plan, his plans

503
00:32:57.359 --> 00:32:59.960
to account for Satan's tricks, and that Satan controls us

504
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:02.720
certain amount of life. The Book of Job provides a

505
00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:05.400
crystal clear example of who is in charge and who

506
00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:08.319
is not. In essence, Satan approached God and said, Job

507
00:33:08.359 --> 00:33:10.480
serves you only because you protect him and God therefore

508
00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:13.440
permitted Satan to harm Job in certain ways but not

509
00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:17.799
in others, demonstrating that who's in charge, God is Satan

510
00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:20.359
capable of more than that. No Satans minions are under

511
00:33:20.400 --> 00:33:23.960
God's authority, and they make constant attempts to obstruct God's purposes.

512
00:33:24.079 --> 00:33:26.519
Satan was aware of God's Old Testament plan for Jesus

513
00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:29.279
to come to earth, be betrayed, crucified, and rise again

514
00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:32.240
as the salvation of mankind. And there were and if

515
00:33:32.240 --> 00:33:34.480
there was any way to keep it from happening, Satan

516
00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:37.920
would have done it. According to Acts two, Jesus was

517
00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:42.599
delivered by the determined purposes, and foreknowledge of God. Nothing, no,

518
00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:46.440
nothing the Romans, Pharisees, Judas, Judas or anybody else did

519
00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:49.559
prevented God's plan from coming to pass precisely as He

520
00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:54.480
intended it. From the beginning. God created the heavens and

521
00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:56.480
the earth, which tells us that God had to be

522
00:33:56.519 --> 00:34:00.119
present to start the beginning. God was here before the

523
00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:04.759
beginning began. We were selected in Him before the world

524
00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:09.360
was created. According to Ephesians one, I'm agree agreement with

525
00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:14.519
all of this Philologically, Ultimately, knowing God is the only

526
00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:19.920
path to tranquility in his omnipotent rule, gain confidence in him.

527
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:22.840
Being aware of his qualities and past accomplishments. The people

528
00:34:22.840 --> 00:34:25.800
who know their God shall be strong to perform great exploits.

529
00:34:25.800 --> 00:34:30.920
Exploits according to Daniel eleven thirty two, imagine such power

530
00:34:30.920 --> 00:34:33.599
in the hands of a God who is unjust or evil,

531
00:34:33.840 --> 00:34:36.400
who genuinely has no concern for us. However, since our

532
00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:39.840
God's goodness, love and mercy, compassion, faithfulness, and holiness silver

533
00:34:39.920 --> 00:34:42.639
shadow it, we can rejoice in his sovereignty. Hey, you

534
00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:45.400
can rejoice in his sovereignty. Well, all of this pain

535
00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:49.800
and suffering and death occurs, you can rejoice in it. Yeah,

536
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:51.920
you rejoice in it when it goes your way. You

537
00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.599
may not rejoice in it when I don't know. I

538
00:34:54.599 --> 00:35:00.920
can give you countless to examples, but yeah, so it

539
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:04.719
never addresses all of these problems that basically just ends

540
00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:08.559
with this. We will then rejoice in it because we

541
00:35:08.599 --> 00:35:10.840
will know firsthand and be able to trust the only

542
00:35:10.880 --> 00:35:19.239
God who controls all things for his perfect purpose. So

543
00:35:19.320 --> 00:35:22.960
their ideas, God controls everything, and we're not going to

544
00:35:23.039 --> 00:35:27.559
even acknowledge all the pain suffering that's happening all around us. Basically,

545
00:35:27.559 --> 00:35:29.119
what we're going to say is God is in control

546
00:35:29.159 --> 00:35:31.039
and you have no right to question it. You have

547
00:35:31.119 --> 00:35:32.960
no right to even ask why God doesn't have to

548
00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:35.679
explain anything to you. Get over it. That's basically the

549
00:35:36.159 --> 00:35:41.880
tone of it. Not even a paragraph dedicated to Hey,

550
00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:45.960
there is a very great difficulty with this idea. God

551
00:35:46.039 --> 00:35:49.599
is in control. However, but no, it's not. It's just

552
00:35:49.679 --> 00:35:51.880
ignores all of that and then just rips Versus completely

553
00:35:51.920 --> 00:35:55.000
out of context in Isaiah and doesn't even bother to

554
00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:59.800
provide any contextual understanding in any way, shape or form. Now, philologically,

555
00:35:59.760 --> 00:36:03.599
there as much here I would agree with. So this

556
00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:07.039
is me agreeing necessarily with the theology. It's disagreeing with

557
00:36:07.119 --> 00:36:09.599
the rehea that what do we do with this reality

558
00:36:09.599 --> 00:36:12.480
in the face of suffering? Now, what do you think

559
00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:17.880
the people in the comment section did? What do you think? All? Right?

560
00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:25.840
Here we go first content for our first comment. If

561
00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:29.000
you look at the bad stuff happening every day, I

562
00:36:29.039 --> 00:36:32.480
would say, no, it's like he threw up his hands

563
00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:38.199
and said whatever. Now, you can't blame someone for posting that.

564
00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:41.519
You can't then come after them and say, how dare you? No?

565
00:36:41.719 --> 00:36:43.719
If you look at the world, that's why I started

566
00:36:43.719 --> 00:36:48.079
with all of this absolutely horrible statistics. You would be like,

567
00:36:48.239 --> 00:36:58.440
I don't know what to do with this next comment?

568
00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:05.480
Good thought provoking article? All right? Now, this is where

569
00:37:05.480 --> 00:37:07.760
I get frustrated. I don't know what's thought provoking or

570
00:37:07.760 --> 00:37:12.280
good about it because it ignored the problem, ignored reality.

571
00:37:13.119 --> 00:37:16.599
But okay, I believe he's in control, but at the

572
00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:19.079
same time has allowed us the privilege of free will

573
00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:22.320
to determine our own outcome. Even the Bible, from Genesis

574
00:37:22.360 --> 00:37:26.000
to Revelation is full of mankind using our free will. Yes,

575
00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:30.000
there are consequences for our actions, good and bad. The

576
00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:32.880
Bible is loaded with those these as well, but we

577
00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:35.360
ultimately make our own choices. This, I believe, is one

578
00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:38.280
reason that bad things happen. God does not prevent bad things,

579
00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:40.519
but he is there for us when bad things happen.

580
00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:46.679
All right. At the same time I believe he's so,

581
00:37:47.119 --> 00:37:50.400
he is also in control. He has made that control

582
00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:52.239
clear in the past, and the Bible tells us he

583
00:37:52.280 --> 00:37:55.440
will do it again at a time of his choosing.

584
00:37:55.559 --> 00:37:57.280
I don't even know how you even reconcile that in

585
00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:00.480
any logical way. Hey, God is in control, but in

586
00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:03.679
reality he's letting us do our own thing. So he's

587
00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:07.000
he's in control, and this is how he used his control.

588
00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:09.599
Everyone has free will, and I'm not gonna get involved.

589
00:38:09.599 --> 00:38:12.400
But hey, when bad things happen, I'll be there for you.

590
00:38:13.239 --> 00:38:15.039
How is he going to be there for me? So

591
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:17.000
let me get this right. So let's go back to

592
00:38:17.039 --> 00:38:20.519
my illustration of a child being sexually molested and raped

593
00:38:20.559 --> 00:38:23.280
from the age of eight to eighteen. Hey, I'm not

594
00:38:23.320 --> 00:38:25.519
gonna stop it from happening, because you know, people are

595
00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:27.519
using their free will. I'm sorry that happened to you,

596
00:38:27.639 --> 00:38:32.280
but I'm there for you. How is he gonna be

597
00:38:32.360 --> 00:38:34.320
there for me? Well, what is he going to do?

598
00:38:34.440 --> 00:38:37.199
Is he gonna take away all of those years of suffer?

599
00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:39.480
Oh okay, he's not gonna do that. What is he

600
00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:41.639
gonna do? He's gonna just pat me on the head

601
00:38:41.679 --> 00:38:45.480
and say it's all okay, all things work together for good.

602
00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:49.920
You're gonna give me some little church cliche, some bumper

603
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:58.760
sticker theology. See, everybody thinks free will is the answer.

604
00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:01.199
See free will. God is a control. But free will,

605
00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:03.719
I don't know why everyone thinks that somehow resolves the right?

606
00:39:03.800 --> 00:39:06.199
Who gave the free will? God? Who knew well man

607
00:39:06.320 --> 00:39:08.280
was going to do with free will. God, So God

608
00:39:08.320 --> 00:39:10.480
obviously knew what was going to happen and is allowing

609
00:39:10.519 --> 00:39:12.400
it to happen, and it's doing nothing to prevent it.

610
00:39:12.440 --> 00:39:15.519
And if God is completely allowing free will to run

611
00:39:15.559 --> 00:39:18.119
its course, then God cannot intervene in any way, shape

612
00:39:18.199 --> 00:39:21.679
or form, because any intervention is probably somewhere, somehow going

613
00:39:21.719 --> 00:39:25.719
to mess up someone's free will. And then what are

614
00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:30.920
we praying for? Because God can't intervene unless he has

615
00:39:30.960 --> 00:39:34.320
everyone's free will, accepting and allowing it. That just it

616
00:39:34.360 --> 00:39:39.920
becomes philosophically nonsensical. Hey, free will, free will answers it?

617
00:39:39.960 --> 00:39:41.719
How does that free will answer it? The God who

618
00:39:41.800 --> 00:39:43.760
knew what men would do with free will gave them

619
00:39:43.760 --> 00:39:46.039
free will, knowing exactly what was going to happen, and

620
00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:48.480
has said back year after year after year after year

621
00:39:48.519 --> 00:39:51.639
after year, thousands of years watching pain, suffering and death

622
00:39:51.840 --> 00:39:54.239
all for what. And people say, well, because he's given

623
00:39:54.280 --> 00:39:56.239
people a chance to repent, it would have been better

624
00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:58.440
not to let people be born than to give people

625
00:39:58.480 --> 00:40:01.199
a chance to repent, especially if it's up to their

626
00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:03.719
free will, knowing that the majority will not repent. So

627
00:40:03.719 --> 00:40:05.239
therefore the more is going to go to hell. It

628
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:11.199
makes absolutely no sense. So I don't even know how

629
00:40:11.199 --> 00:40:14.239
that's an answer. That's a nonsensical God is in control,

630
00:40:14.239 --> 00:40:17.679
but yet man has free will and God may not intervene,

631
00:40:17.960 --> 00:40:20.360
but he's there for you when the bad things happen.

632
00:40:22.239 --> 00:40:24.000
How is he going to be there? What is he

633
00:40:24.039 --> 00:40:27.920
going to do for you? I've often been baffled by

634
00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.039
Christians and sometimes in this, Hey, we need to pray

635
00:40:31.079 --> 00:40:32.960
about this situation. I'm like, Okay, I always want to

636
00:40:33.000 --> 00:40:34.559
raise my hand. So we're going to pray to the

637
00:40:34.639 --> 00:40:38.800
God who knew it was going to happen, did nothing

638
00:40:38.840 --> 00:40:41.239
to prevent it from happening. But now we're going to

639
00:40:41.239 --> 00:40:44.960
pray to that God after it happened to do what

640
00:40:49.760 --> 00:40:51.960
did he not want it to happen? And if he

641
00:40:52.039 --> 00:40:53.960
wanted it to happen, are we now going to pray

642
00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:55.880
for him to intervene in the midst of it happening

643
00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.159
so that he'll stop it from happening? Up? Okay, Now

644
00:40:59.199 --> 00:41:01.639
it just becomes And we talked about this and the

645
00:41:01.679 --> 00:41:04.760
different theological systems and how they understand prayer and what

646
00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:12.280
they think prayer does or doesn't do. The next comment

647
00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:18.280
is this. The old God is all powerful and we

648
00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:22.559
don't understand, and he does not need to explain while

649
00:41:22.639 --> 00:41:28.000
maintaining the Bible possesses all relevant knowledge for us, and

650
00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:31.280
pastor get up regularly to tell us exactly why God

651
00:41:31.360 --> 00:41:35.440
acts or does not act. I don't know exactly what

652
00:41:35.519 --> 00:41:41.159
this person is trying to say. Basically, God, God is

653
00:41:41.159 --> 00:41:45.639
all powerful, and he doesn't have to tell us why. Okay,

654
00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:53.760
I don't know exactly where this person is going. Next person,

655
00:41:54.639 --> 00:41:58.119
he brings good and evil. He controls Satan. Did you

656
00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:01.880
know that job? The New Testament? The evidence is all over.

657
00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:04.039
The seven spirits of God and the four living creatures

658
00:42:04.079 --> 00:42:06.639
before the throne are sent by God to reveal himself

659
00:42:06.679 --> 00:42:09.159
to those who seek him those who reject him. He

660
00:42:09.239 --> 00:42:12.400
turns over to strong delusion of his kingdom and government.

661
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:14.320
There is no end. The elder sitting on thrones have

662
00:42:14.400 --> 00:42:16.960
judgment given to them. We are a little short right

663
00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:20.360
now on those who want to judge, as Jesus Christ delegates.

664
00:42:21.119 --> 00:42:23.199
I don't even have a clue what that's even talking about.

665
00:42:23.360 --> 00:42:26.679
This is what frightens me. It's Christian websites where I

666
00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:30.960
hear Christians say things that I'm just like what has happened? Like?

667
00:42:31.239 --> 00:42:33.400
These people are like, I do you just say the

668
00:42:33.440 --> 00:42:36.280
most Like, what does even any of that mean? It

669
00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:39.840
just sounds like words. It's like blah blah blah blah

670
00:42:39.880 --> 00:42:42.800
blah blah blah blah. It has no what does it

671
00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:49.599
even mean? Another person in put I've had experiences where

672
00:42:49.599 --> 00:42:53.079
it was clear Satan was on a short leash. God

673
00:42:53.199 --> 00:42:55.760
might let you be in a trial with Satan, but

674
00:42:55.800 --> 00:42:58.599
Satan has strict rules to follow as what he can

675
00:42:58.719 --> 00:43:02.280
and can't do. He can mainly only tempt but if

676
00:43:02.320 --> 00:43:06.199
you fall into temptation, you can you can be hurt.

677
00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:11.920
I don't really know what that does. Nybody know what

678
00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:15.559
that means. I guess God, God has put Satan on

679
00:43:15.559 --> 00:43:17.480
a leish. Aren't you glad that God has put Satan

680
00:43:17.519 --> 00:43:19.199
on a leish? And of course Satan doesn't even need

681
00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:21.360
to exist because he could just gotten rid of him, right,

682
00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:22.960
But okay, but he's on a leash. I guess that

683
00:43:23.000 --> 00:43:36.480
should make me feel better. Then someone else said, but

684
00:43:36.599 --> 00:43:38.760
I thought you said Satan had dominion over the earth,

685
00:43:38.840 --> 00:43:41.880
so the earth does belong to God after all, And

686
00:43:41.920 --> 00:43:44.599
then the next person says, why would God want the earth?

687
00:43:44.719 --> 00:43:46.960
He doesn't care about the earth. He cares about us.

688
00:43:47.519 --> 00:43:49.679
Satan is the prince of the power of the air.

689
00:43:50.440 --> 00:43:51.960
I have no idea what any of that he is

690
00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:55.159
even talking about. I don't even know. Next person says

691
00:43:55.280 --> 00:43:57.599
Joseph King's comment that God is not in control because

692
00:43:57.639 --> 00:44:01.000
people have free will is partially correct. God's sovereignty means

693
00:44:01.000 --> 00:44:03.480
that God has ultimate control. However, the fact that God

694
00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:06.559
can grant us free will is based on him having prerogative.

695
00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:10.599
I consider free will as simply a choice of good

696
00:44:10.679 --> 00:44:14.119
or evil, obeying God or not obey. Within God's sovereign

697
00:44:14.159 --> 00:44:22.000
will is God's desired will and God's permissive will. Kamala

698
00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:25.199
Harris popularize the use of then diagrams. So picture a

699
00:44:25.280 --> 00:44:28.159
large circle which represents God's sovereign will. Think of it

700
00:44:28.199 --> 00:44:30.440
as meaning of everything that happens in the world is

701
00:44:30.480 --> 00:44:32.920
because God allows it to happen, or nothing happens that

702
00:44:32.920 --> 00:44:35.480
God doesn't permit to happen. Within the large circle is

703
00:44:35.480 --> 00:44:39.000
a smaller circle that represents God's desire will. His desire

704
00:44:39.000 --> 00:44:41.920
will is that God wants or wishes as ideal. The

705
00:44:42.000 --> 00:44:43.960
Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some

706
00:44:44.320 --> 00:44:47.159
count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that

707
00:44:47.199 --> 00:44:50.360
any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. You know,

708
00:44:50.480 --> 00:44:52.679
and I know that not everyone will be saved, although

709
00:44:52.719 --> 00:44:55.519
that would be the ideal. The ideal doesn't happen because

710
00:44:55.559 --> 00:44:58.119
God gives us free will. Many people choose evil or

711
00:44:58.199 --> 00:45:02.400
choose to sin. Yeah, so only some choose to sin.

712
00:45:02.440 --> 00:45:04.760
I guess others don't choose to sin? All right? Oh man,

713
00:45:04.880 --> 00:45:07.679
The other small circle consists of God's permissive will. Both

714
00:45:07.760 --> 00:45:10.760
small circles are within the larger circle of God's sovereign will.

715
00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:13.519
But God's desire will will not overlap his permissive will

716
00:45:13.639 --> 00:45:16.119
because he permits or allows to choose sin or to

717
00:45:16.119 --> 00:45:22.440
do evil, because that is free will. I don't even

718
00:45:22.519 --> 00:45:25.480
know what, idiot, what does idy of that even mean?

719
00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:30.559
And again it breaks down that you can just choose

720
00:45:30.559 --> 00:45:32.800
to sin or not sin. So this is basically a

721
00:45:33.079 --> 00:45:36.559
This is basically coming at it from a strongly Pelagious viewpoint,

722
00:45:36.599 --> 00:45:38.239
all right. And again, if you come at it from

723
00:45:38.239 --> 00:45:41.880
a Pelagian standpoint or Pelagia standpoint, Pelagius Pelagian isn't okay,

724
00:45:41.920 --> 00:45:44.400
You get the idea it's coming from a Pelagian standpoint.

725
00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:46.679
If it comes from a Pelagian standpoint, the people can

726
00:45:46.719 --> 00:45:49.960
be perfect and they don't even need God. So is

727
00:45:50.280 --> 00:45:52.920
this going with libertarian free will? From a Pelagian standpoint?

728
00:45:53.079 --> 00:45:55.559
It's like, you see Christians just making these comments and

729
00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:57.840
I don't even know if they even have the philological

730
00:46:00.119 --> 00:46:02.599
edged even making clues, but they just say these claims

731
00:46:02.599 --> 00:46:11.840
as if they've got it all figured out. Someone else

732
00:46:11.920 --> 00:46:14.880
then jumps in, when the time is right, I the

733
00:46:14.920 --> 00:46:17.679
Lord will make it happen Isaiah's sixty twenty two. Yes,

734
00:46:17.719 --> 00:46:20.519
God's perfect will is in perfect time. Again, nobody wants

735
00:46:20.559 --> 00:46:22.679
to actually deal with what Isaiah sixty twenty two is

736
00:46:22.719 --> 00:46:28.360
even about. I guess. I guess the way Christians deal

737
00:46:28.360 --> 00:46:29.920
with things, you just run to a verse and just

738
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:31.719
rip it out of context. I guess that's the way

739
00:46:31.800 --> 00:46:35.440
Christians want to deal with something. Would someone actually provide

740
00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:40.360
some meaningful context. It's a reminder to trust in God's

741
00:46:40.360 --> 00:46:42.719
assurance that everything will fall in place in perfect timing.

742
00:46:42.719 --> 00:46:48.280
Ephesians three twenty Now to him who is able to

743
00:46:48.360 --> 00:46:50.880
do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask, according

744
00:46:50.920 --> 00:46:53.920
to the power that works within us. Genusis one to one,

745
00:46:54.000 --> 00:46:55.760
it says in the beginning God created the heavens of

746
00:46:55.760 --> 00:46:57.280
the earth, which tells us that God has to be

747
00:46:57.280 --> 00:47:00.800
present to start the beginning. God has has has before

748
00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:04.039
the beginning began. Good point ultimately, knowing God is the

749
00:47:04.039 --> 00:47:07.599
only path to tranquility, is his omnipotent rule. Knowing God

750
00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:11.280
in obeying him a relationship. So I don't know what

751
00:47:11.320 --> 00:47:16.880
any of that even means. I know that people posting

752
00:47:16.880 --> 00:47:19.440
these things probably think that they're sounding very profound, but

753
00:47:19.480 --> 00:47:22.639
I mean, none of it. Does any of this help

754
00:47:22.679 --> 00:47:24.920
you with any of the things that I've already established,

755
00:47:25.079 --> 00:47:30.679
Just the reality versus this concept we've got reality versus theology.

756
00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:34.440
Theology says God is perfectly in control, he's sovereign, he's omnipotent,

757
00:47:35.159 --> 00:47:39.719
he's omnipresent, he's omniscient. But the reality is pain, suffering death, pain,

758
00:47:39.760 --> 00:47:42.599
suffering death, pain, suffering death, pain, suffering death, pain, suffering death,

759
00:47:42.639 --> 00:47:44.280
twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, through

760
00:47:44.400 --> 00:47:52.840
the entire existence of human history. Now this person says,

761
00:47:52.880 --> 00:47:55.079
excellent piece of writing. How is it an excellent piece

762
00:47:55.119 --> 00:47:57.159
of writing? I don't even know how this can even

763
00:47:57.199 --> 00:47:59.519
be classified as an excellent piece of writing. It came

764
00:47:59.559 --> 00:48:02.719
across not even okay, all right. The whole process of

765
00:48:02.760 --> 00:48:05.239
God's plan of salvation is under his control, and He

766
00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:07.480
will reveal himself to those whom he chooses on a

767
00:48:07.519 --> 00:48:10.199
spiritual level through his son. At the time, our creator

768
00:48:10.239 --> 00:48:14.079
alone has determined this plan and tells humans having to

769
00:48:14.199 --> 00:48:18.639
learn lessons under the most extreme or difficult circumstances due

770
00:48:18.679 --> 00:48:21.000
to our failure to listen to Him or the prophets

771
00:48:21.039 --> 00:48:23.400
that have been sent to help us realize the folly

772
00:48:23.400 --> 00:48:26.840
of not heeding Yahweh. God is in control even when

773
00:48:26.840 --> 00:48:29.039
it seems he is not. Satan is only alive to

774
00:48:29.079 --> 00:48:31.599
serve as an instrument for his purpose to help people

775
00:48:31.679 --> 00:48:34.639
understand our need to exercise faith and accordance to God's

776
00:48:34.679 --> 00:48:37.960
will and not give into the temptation that Yahweh allows

777
00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:40.840
for one to experience. God knows our hearts better than

778
00:48:40.880 --> 00:48:43.360
we do, as he searches our innermost being with the

779
00:48:43.480 --> 00:48:46.800
utmost care and concern for our welfare on a spiritual level.

780
00:48:47.760 --> 00:48:51.840
Trusting in Him through faith and through obedience has been

781
00:48:51.920 --> 00:48:55.000
a humanity's problem as a whole, and again, experiencing the

782
00:48:55.039 --> 00:48:58.079
results of rebellion, whether willfully or not, has been quite

783
00:48:58.119 --> 00:49:01.880
an undertaking for mankind. Once God's kingdom is established on earth.

784
00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:04.400
Upon the return of Jesus, there will no longer be confusion.

785
00:49:04.559 --> 00:49:06.960
Once the world he represents is made known to every

786
00:49:07.039 --> 00:49:10.119
tribe to the Once the word he represents as made

787
00:49:10.199 --> 00:49:12.639
known to every tribe, nation, and tongue. We look forward

788
00:49:12.679 --> 00:49:14.679
to that appointed time in order for all to be

789
00:49:14.760 --> 00:49:18.320
saved and none to perish. The Second Peter, Chapter three. Again,

790
00:49:18.519 --> 00:49:21.840
it's just words, there's no look, what does any of

791
00:49:21.880 --> 00:49:28.360
that even mean? Hey, God, God is allowing this for

792
00:49:28.440 --> 00:49:31.440
our own good. God's allowing a child to be molested

793
00:49:31.480 --> 00:49:33.639
for his own good. God will allow God's allowing a

794
00:49:33.679 --> 00:49:35.239
woman to be rape for his own good. God is

795
00:49:35.280 --> 00:49:37.519
allowing someone's child to be murdered for their own good.

796
00:49:37.639 --> 00:49:40.239
Like I don't what does even any of that even mean?

797
00:49:43.000 --> 00:49:45.760
None of it wants to address the real reality here

798
00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:54.519
someone else again, I'm just going through these. God is

799
00:49:54.559 --> 00:49:57.400
not in control because people have free will. He can

800
00:49:57.440 --> 00:50:02.119
only control us if we let him, and if we

801
00:50:02.239 --> 00:50:04.840
let him be in control. He can also control situations

802
00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:07.000
so that we are protected, like he did in Trump's

803
00:50:07.000 --> 00:50:12.079
assassination attempt. And God is ultimately in control of one

804
00:50:12.079 --> 00:50:15.159
important thing, and that is where you go when you die.

805
00:50:16.239 --> 00:50:21.440
So God is not in control because you have free will.

806
00:50:21.840 --> 00:50:24.199
But if you allow God, God will be in control.

807
00:50:24.239 --> 00:50:26.239
And then if God is in control, then he will

808
00:50:26.239 --> 00:50:28.719
protect you like he did Trump, because I guess Trump

809
00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:31.199
is allowing God to be in control, even though Trump

810
00:50:31.280 --> 00:50:33.760
has said he's never asked God for forgiveness, and every

811
00:50:33.760 --> 00:50:36.000
time he even talks about anything related to God he

812
00:50:36.079 --> 00:50:42.119
sounds utterly, completely insane. I am so confused. This is

813
00:50:42.119 --> 00:50:48.400
the Christian world, Ladies and gentlemen. Someone else says, you

814
00:50:48.440 --> 00:50:51.119
do not fully understand the ramifications of review. If God

815
00:50:51.199 --> 00:50:53.840
is not in control and things occur beyond his control

816
00:50:53.880 --> 00:50:57.960
without his knowledge, God is not omnipotent or omniscient. God

817
00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:00.480
would cease to be God. God's will will be done

818
00:51:00.559 --> 00:51:05.679
with or without human participation. Next, God does not control

819
00:51:05.719 --> 00:51:07.760
the lives of we humans. He has given us control

820
00:51:07.760 --> 00:51:09.679
of our own lives as well as our destiny beyond

821
00:51:09.719 --> 00:51:11.719
this life. He set up the game, but we don't

822
00:51:11.760 --> 00:51:13.840
have to play by the rules. Even though He wants

823
00:51:13.880 --> 00:51:15.320
all to be saved, he will not stop us from

824
00:51:15.400 --> 00:51:20.880
choosing Hell and that he respects, and he in that

825
00:51:20.960 --> 00:51:24.599
respect he relinquished control. God has no input in our

826
00:51:24.639 --> 00:51:27.320
lives unless we are one of his. And even then

827
00:51:27.360 --> 00:51:30.000
it's not really control, but really he feeds our desire

828
00:51:30.039 --> 00:51:34.239
for him to guide us on a daily basis. So

829
00:51:34.360 --> 00:51:41.599
God is not in control. I I don't know. I

830
00:51:41.639 --> 00:51:43.559
guess The one thing I do know by all of

831
00:51:43.559 --> 00:51:46.400
this is everyone's attempting to try to process it. Everyone

832
00:51:46.440 --> 00:51:49.239
tries to process all of this in some way, shape

833
00:51:49.280 --> 00:51:54.440
or form another person. Paul actively rejected Jesus and persecuted

834
00:51:54.440 --> 00:51:58.119
his followers. Would that not open him to manipulation by

835
00:51:58.119 --> 00:52:01.119
Satan or the other gods? Can they give visions and

836
00:52:01.199 --> 00:52:03.360
dreams and to see people who have turned from Jesus?

837
00:52:05.119 --> 00:52:08.079
Someone said, prior to Damascus Road Conversion, even Paul was

838
00:52:08.119 --> 00:52:11.400
a servant of Satan, which he later acknowledged openly. Homework,

839
00:52:11.679 --> 00:52:15.360
tell me where he did as a servant of Satan?

840
00:52:15.679 --> 00:52:18.480
Could Satan give him long detailed vision dreams and visit him,

841
00:52:18.519 --> 00:52:22.119
deceiving him into believing he was Jesus? Homework, Tell me

842
00:52:22.159 --> 00:52:24.119
where he did acknowledge he'd been a servant of Satan

843
00:52:24.119 --> 00:52:27.679
prior to Christ interrupting his life abruptly saving him. Where

844
00:52:27.719 --> 00:52:32.239
did he acknowledge it? Or for he it? For he

845
00:52:32.320 --> 00:52:37.400
did do so? The other Apostles considered him the Antichrist.

846
00:52:37.639 --> 00:52:39.880
Then they quote First John two eighteen, which I have

847
00:52:39.960 --> 00:52:42.320
no idea what that's referring to, because First John two

848
00:52:42.320 --> 00:52:44.719
eighteen is referring to Gnostics, so I don't even know.

849
00:52:44.840 --> 00:52:47.840
So once again, you just there's these Christians engaging in

850
00:52:47.880 --> 00:52:50.360
this back and forth and I don't know what any

851
00:52:50.400 --> 00:52:54.119
of them are talking about. Like it's just it's just nonsensical.

852
00:52:54.679 --> 00:53:03.719
What does any of that have to do, ladies, angel

853
00:53:03.800 --> 00:53:15.159
Is this is from a Christian website. I all right,

854
00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:18.559
So someone else comes in. If God knows the future,

855
00:53:18.760 --> 00:53:20.800
the future is already set and there is no way

856
00:53:20.840 --> 00:53:22.599
for you to surprise God and no way for God

857
00:53:22.639 --> 00:53:27.159
to alter the future. Sorry, no free will either. This

858
00:53:27.239 --> 00:53:31.599
even goes this even goes together with science, the block universe.

859
00:53:33.119 --> 00:53:36.320
So then someone comes in. Of course, you know, good Christians,

860
00:53:36.400 --> 00:53:38.320
you know we always are so nice and loving to

861
00:53:38.360 --> 00:53:43.320
one another. Lame atheist argument twenty nine or twenty nine

862
00:53:43.800 --> 00:53:46.599
nine and thirty nine. Do you have free will? You

863
00:53:46.639 --> 00:53:49.480
can choose to go to hell, which choice you are

864
00:53:49.599 --> 00:53:51.760
using at the moment. You can choose to rebel against

865
00:53:51.760 --> 00:53:53.599
God your whole life. You can choose to murder, hate,

866
00:53:53.679 --> 00:53:57.400
follow other gods commit crimes. All that comes under free will.

867
00:53:57.599 --> 00:54:01.119
God gives you the only input God has into your choices,

868
00:54:01.239 --> 00:54:03.039
or that he has watched a video of your life

869
00:54:03.480 --> 00:54:05.920
far into the future and knows everything you choose to do.

870
00:54:06.199 --> 00:54:08.800
You're now choosing to rebel against God and are doing

871
00:54:08.880 --> 00:54:11.079
exactly whatever you want to do. No one forced you

872
00:54:11.159 --> 00:54:12.679
to do that. You could have chosen to be a

873
00:54:12.679 --> 00:54:14.639
follower of Christ, but you were one who chose to

874
00:54:14.679 --> 00:54:17.480
remain arrogant. Some respond to the Gospel and are saved

875
00:54:17.480 --> 00:54:20.199
from Hell, and some don't. It was all there and

876
00:54:20.239 --> 00:54:22.960
your choice to reject God and go to Hell or

877
00:54:23.039 --> 00:54:25.239
choose Christ and be saved from it. God only knows

878
00:54:25.280 --> 00:54:27.719
your choices because he can look back from the future

879
00:54:28.159 --> 00:54:31.159
at your life movie. He had absolutely no input in

880
00:54:31.159 --> 00:54:34.840
your choices. They were entirely your decisions for your entire life.

881
00:54:34.880 --> 00:54:36.840
He just knows the outcome of your choices when you

882
00:54:36.880 --> 00:54:39.400
will end up because of your own choices. I don't

883
00:54:39.400 --> 00:54:41.320
know what any of that has to do with anything

884
00:54:41.840 --> 00:54:45.119
but okay, but the point is to that individual. If

885
00:54:45.119 --> 00:54:47.920
then everyone has completely free will, then everyone can perfectly

886
00:54:47.960 --> 00:54:50.480
choose to obey God, so there can be perfect people.

887
00:54:51.880 --> 00:54:55.079
That was and Pelagius at least acknowledged that. But I

888
00:54:55.079 --> 00:54:57.119
don't know if this person even knows who Pelagias was.

889
00:54:57.159 --> 00:54:59.000
I don't know. And why would you just go after

890
00:54:59.039 --> 00:55:02.400
someone as lame atheist argument? They're simply making an argument.

891
00:55:02.480 --> 00:55:06.639
If God knows all things and his knowledge precedes my existence,

892
00:55:06.840 --> 00:55:09.519
then how can I ever do something contrary to the

893
00:55:09.559 --> 00:55:12.960
knowledge which he already possesses. Then everything I do will

894
00:55:12.960 --> 00:55:15.440
be what he already knows, and that knowledge is before

895
00:55:15.440 --> 00:55:18.760
I get Okay, we get into a major philosophical issue there,

896
00:55:24.159 --> 00:55:27.840
all right. So then someone replied he had absolutely no

897
00:55:28.039 --> 00:55:31.800
input on your choices. Hmmm. Our freedom of choice extends

898
00:55:31.800 --> 00:55:35.559
only to extent that God grants it to us. And

899
00:55:35.599 --> 00:55:38.440
then someone responds, and he grants us total freedom to

900
00:55:38.440 --> 00:55:41.000
make any choice that we choose. God has relinquished his

901
00:55:41.119 --> 00:55:42.840
control so that we can live our lives as we

902
00:55:42.880 --> 00:55:45.599
want and make our own choices. However, once we relinquish

903
00:55:45.639 --> 00:55:48.440
our control of our own lives and choose to follow Jesus,

904
00:55:48.480 --> 00:55:52.880
he still does not control us. But we'll discipline us

905
00:55:53.360 --> 00:55:55.280
as well as bless us so that we learn to

906
00:55:55.280 --> 00:55:57.360
make the right decisions. But we don't make the right

907
00:55:57.400 --> 00:56:00.280
decisions because of the carrot or the stick. Either we

908
00:56:00.320 --> 00:56:02.679
can learn or what a perfect parent he is and

909
00:56:02.760 --> 00:56:05.559
respects his guidance and love. I don't know what this

910
00:56:05.599 --> 00:56:09.639
person's even talking about. None of this makes literally any sense.

911
00:56:09.679 --> 00:56:12.400
But this is how an article about his God is

912
00:56:12.400 --> 00:56:14.639
in control. And then Christians just once again, what if

913
00:56:14.679 --> 00:56:17.519
they've done They're ignoring the reality of life. They just

914
00:56:17.559 --> 00:56:19.880
are start trying to just throw out scriptures or throw

915
00:56:19.920 --> 00:56:23.559
out some kind of philological narrative without really dealing with

916
00:56:23.599 --> 00:56:29.800
the bigger issues here. Someone else responded, and he grants

917
00:56:29.880 --> 00:56:32.320
us total freedom to make any choice that we choose.

918
00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:35.079
He didn't grant that to Satan in the Book of Job.

919
00:56:35.360 --> 00:56:38.320
Nobody has the freedom to harmss unless God allows that choice.

920
00:56:39.719 --> 00:56:41.960
We come to learn of what a perfect parent he

921
00:56:42.159 --> 00:56:45.679
is and respect his goidance a love true. I don't

922
00:56:45.679 --> 00:56:50.639
know he's a perfect parent. God's a perfect parent. Again,

923
00:56:50.880 --> 00:56:53.920
he's a perfect parent. And there's someone being raped and murdered,

924
00:56:54.039 --> 00:57:03.639
suffering dying disease. Again, the point is, I understand what

925
00:57:03.679 --> 00:57:08.079
you're saying theologically, but nobody's dealing with the reality here.

926
00:57:12.119 --> 00:57:17.280
Then this one person just keeps arguing with everybody, and

927
00:57:17.599 --> 00:57:20.960
and so then someone says, ladies and gentlemen, this is

928
00:57:20.960 --> 00:57:23.280
what happens when you try to put God in a box.

929
00:57:23.440 --> 00:57:25.760
And then someone responded, no, this is what happens when

930
00:57:25.760 --> 00:57:30.920
you think logically. And guess what the person who says no,

931
00:57:31.000 --> 00:57:33.599
this is what happens when you think logically. Everyone gave

932
00:57:33.599 --> 00:57:35.920
it a thumbs down, because see, you can't bring logic

933
00:57:35.960 --> 00:57:39.480
into a discussion with Christians because Christians do not like logic.

934
00:57:39.800 --> 00:57:42.280
They do not like it in any way, shape or form.

935
00:57:42.519 --> 00:57:45.639
They hate it. They don't want They just want their

936
00:57:45.639 --> 00:57:48.639
pilological narrative, and they don't want to ever be forced

937
00:57:48.639 --> 00:57:51.760
to deal with reality. That's one of my major issues.

938
00:57:56.960 --> 00:57:59.440
Someone says, I will tell you what happens when people

939
00:57:59.480 --> 00:58:03.039
begin to think logically. They fall miserably to be spiritually

940
00:58:03.079 --> 00:58:05.880
discerning and fail to apply biblical standards because they think

941
00:58:06.039 --> 00:58:09.519
they're ever so clever for some proud focus. Impossible for

942
00:58:09.599 --> 00:58:15.400
them to apply Proverbs three five. So as the cap fits,

943
00:58:15.599 --> 00:58:17.760
you work it out if you can. Now. I love

944
00:58:17.800 --> 00:58:20.519
how they say you're being arrogant. Well, they come across

945
00:58:20.519 --> 00:58:23.559
as so arrogant because they quoted a verse. Oh my goodness,

946
00:58:23.679 --> 00:58:27.000
they quoted Proverbs three five. They've got it all figured out.

947
00:58:27.199 --> 00:58:30.199
And while they condemn anyone. See, you're not allowed to

948
00:58:30.199 --> 00:58:34.840
bring questions, you're allowed to bring logic. You're not allowed

949
00:58:34.840 --> 00:58:39.280
to bring anything to Christianity because Christians will be condescending jerks,

950
00:58:39.559 --> 00:58:42.280
just throwing scripture in your face and you're never supposed

951
00:58:42.320 --> 00:58:49.880
to ever ask a question. Man, it ticks me off

952
00:58:49.920 --> 00:58:52.880
so much. You want to just go to these people

953
00:58:52.920 --> 00:58:56.320
and say, hey, hey, look these are Christians on this website. Leave.

954
00:58:56.599 --> 00:59:00.440
Don't talk to Christians. Go talk to Satan. I'll treat

955
00:59:00.480 --> 00:59:04.079
you better and will be more understanding than stinking Christians

956
00:59:04.119 --> 00:59:07.440
who will just be arrogant, condescending jerks. Well, they accuse

957
00:59:07.519 --> 00:59:10.480
you of being an arrogant, condescending jerk because you dared,

958
00:59:10.639 --> 00:59:14.159
you dared ask a question, you dared to try to

959
00:59:14.159 --> 00:59:16.639
figure this out logically. No, no, no, you're not allowed

960
00:59:16.679 --> 00:59:19.280
to do that. You just have to shut up and

961
00:59:19.360 --> 00:59:22.199
color with whatever they tell you to color with and

962
00:59:22.239 --> 00:59:27.280
the lines that they give you to color in. And

963
00:59:27.320 --> 00:59:30.519
then someone else quotes One Corinthians three nineteen for the

964
00:59:30.519 --> 00:59:33.360
wisdom of the world is foolish, foolishness before God, for

965
00:59:33.440 --> 00:59:35.079
it is written. And see again, they just quote a

966
00:59:35.079 --> 00:59:38.880
scripture they don't bother, They don't bother to explain anything.

967
00:59:44.840 --> 00:59:47.159
And then that basically is Then the last thing is,

968
00:59:47.360 --> 00:59:50.760
so did God force you to be a rebel against him? Who? Is? That?

969
00:59:50.920 --> 00:59:55.199
Entirely your decision? So then it says down here, how

970
00:59:55.239 --> 00:59:58.119
would you rate the quality of this conversation? I would

971
00:59:58.119 --> 01:00:03.960
be I'm gonna put toxic all right. Oh, there's a

972
01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:06.199
couple of more here. There's a couple of more here.

973
01:00:06.519 --> 01:00:12.480
And none of this offers any Nobody has even a clue.

974
01:00:12.599 --> 01:00:15.039
Nobody even attempts to even come close to answering this.

975
01:00:15.119 --> 01:00:18.159
No nobody, nobody, of course, not, of course, not because

976
01:00:18.239 --> 01:00:20.960
Christians don't know what to do with this. Now there

977
01:00:21.000 --> 01:00:24.199
are Christians, but I'm saying, this is just your general

978
01:00:24.360 --> 01:00:28.239
probably everyday Christian reading the Christian Post and then just

979
01:00:28.239 --> 01:00:31.159
this post, the greatest amount of nonsense that you've ever

980
01:00:31.199 --> 01:00:33.679
heard in your life. And they all are coming across

981
01:00:33.679 --> 01:00:36.159
it like they think they've got it all figured out.

982
01:00:36.519 --> 01:00:41.360
How about we all just acknowledge this? Hmm. The Bible

983
01:00:41.360 --> 01:00:45.280
seems to attribute certain attributes to God. One would be

984
01:00:45.599 --> 01:00:50.440
omniscience meaning all knowing, and omnipotence, which is all powerful.

985
01:00:51.000 --> 01:00:54.199
And these are attributes attributed to God, so he's all

986
01:00:54.239 --> 01:00:58.760
knowing and all powerful. Even though he's all knowing, and

987
01:00:58.800 --> 01:01:03.920
even though he's all powerful, he created Satan, and when

988
01:01:03.960 --> 01:01:07.760
Satan rebelled, he did not destroy him. So he created

989
01:01:07.840 --> 01:01:09.960
him knowing he was going to be there, but didn't

990
01:01:09.960 --> 01:01:13.679
destroy him after he fell. He created Adam and Eve

991
01:01:13.920 --> 01:01:17.119
knowing that they were going to sin, and knowing exactly

992
01:01:17.159 --> 01:01:18.800
what was going to be the very thing that tempted

993
01:01:18.800 --> 01:01:21.880
them to sin, which would be Satan, whom God created. Now,

994
01:01:21.880 --> 01:01:24.440
God could have stopped Satan from even entering into the garden,

995
01:01:24.679 --> 01:01:26.719
or he could have just never allowed him to be created,

996
01:01:26.840 --> 01:01:28.960
or could have destroyed him after his rebellion, but he

997
01:01:29.039 --> 01:01:31.000
chooses to do none of that and he lets them in,

998
01:01:31.159 --> 01:01:32.960
knowing Adam and Eve is going to sin. Now, what's

999
01:01:33.000 --> 01:01:35.280
Adam and eve sins? God could have prevented all of this,

1000
01:01:35.320 --> 01:01:36.840
stopped all of this, and he knew it was all

1001
01:01:36.880 --> 01:01:40.199
going to happen. He did absolutely nothing to stop it

1002
01:01:40.440 --> 01:01:42.719
or in any way shape or war, and created it

1003
01:01:42.760 --> 01:01:45.079
and allowed it all to happen. Then, when Adam and

1004
01:01:45.119 --> 01:01:47.280
Eve leaves the garden, he could have then, well, he

1005
01:01:47.280 --> 01:01:49.280
could have destroyed them once they said, but he didn't.

1006
01:01:49.360 --> 01:01:51.400
He could have kept him in the garden and said, Okay,

1007
01:01:51.400 --> 01:01:54.000
now here's where you're going to live forever, in the garden,

1008
01:01:54.079 --> 01:01:56.199
and I've forgiven you, and you can be in perfect

1009
01:01:56.199 --> 01:01:59.400
fellowship with me because I have I will forgive you,

1010
01:01:59.440 --> 01:02:01.719
because I mean can forgive, right, I mean Kenny, forgive Kenny,

1011
01:02:01.800 --> 01:02:03.440
not forgive okay. Well, God is the only one he

1012
01:02:03.480 --> 01:02:05.119
can forgive sens okay. But he lets them out of

1013
01:02:05.159 --> 01:02:06.559
the garden. Now, he knows immediately when he let them

1014
01:02:06.559 --> 01:02:08.280
out of the garden, they're gonna have children. He knows

1015
01:02:08.320 --> 01:02:10.320
those children are going to sin. He knows that there's

1016
01:02:10.360 --> 01:02:12.320
gonna be murder, and he knows there's gonna be murder,

1017
01:02:12.360 --> 01:02:14.400
and there's gonna be rape, and there's gonna be incess

1018
01:02:14.440 --> 01:02:16.679
and there's gonna be all these horrible things that happened

1019
01:02:16.719 --> 01:02:18.480
through the Book of Genesis. He could stop it at

1020
01:02:18.519 --> 01:02:20.639
any point, but he does not. At one point, he

1021
01:02:20.639 --> 01:02:23.039
gets so upset he wipes everything, everyone off the face

1022
01:02:23.039 --> 01:02:24.840
of the earth. But he allows people onto an arc,

1023
01:02:25.000 --> 01:02:26.639
knowing that the people on the ark are just like

1024
01:02:26.639 --> 01:02:29.039
the people that he destroyed because they're sinners. And they

1025
01:02:29.079 --> 01:02:30.800
got out of the ark and they sin and he couldn't.

1026
01:02:31.039 --> 01:02:33.039
But he doesn't do anything, and he allows it to happen,

1027
01:02:33.119 --> 01:02:34.960
and there's pain and they're suffering and their death, and

1028
01:02:34.960 --> 01:02:36.880
at no point does he do anything to stop any

1029
01:02:36.920 --> 01:02:39.440
of it. Oh well, certain times in the Bible he

1030
01:02:39.440 --> 01:02:42.159
steps in, but other times he just lets utter complete

1031
01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:46.679
chaos reigns. Right, he steps in to stop anything from

1032
01:02:46.719 --> 01:02:49.880
happening to Sarah. Right, he stopped anything from happening to her.

1033
01:02:50.000 --> 01:02:53.519
But you know, hey, too bad, too bad. If you

1034
01:02:53.559 --> 01:02:55.880
were a certain husband of a wife who was you know,

1035
01:02:56.360 --> 01:03:00.360
you know, well having an affair, well was having a

1036
01:03:00.400 --> 01:03:02.920
sexual relationship with the king, and the king decided he

1037
01:03:02.960 --> 01:03:05.480
wanted you dead. God didn't step in to save that husband,

1038
01:03:05.559 --> 01:03:07.960
did he? No, No, didn't. We go on and on

1039
01:03:08.000 --> 01:03:09.360
and on and on and on and on. It's just

1040
01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:11.280
so many. I mean, we go through scripture after scripture

1041
01:03:11.280 --> 01:03:20.079
after scripture, and so what do you conclude? Then, all knowing,

1042
01:03:20.239 --> 01:03:23.159
all powerful God knew exactly what was going to happen,

1043
01:03:24.079 --> 01:03:26.800
and he allowed it to happen, and he did nothing

1044
01:03:26.800 --> 01:03:32.599
to stop it from happening, which somehow concludes or somehow

1045
01:03:32.920 --> 01:03:37.079
means it's a part of this plan. Now, I don't

1046
01:03:37.079 --> 01:03:39.960
know how. I don't know how you reconcile that it

1047
01:03:40.000 --> 01:03:42.559
had to be a part of his plan, and He's

1048
01:03:42.559 --> 01:03:45.920
allowed it to continue year after year after year after

1049
01:03:45.960 --> 01:03:50.480
year after year after year, with all this pain, with

1050
01:03:50.519 --> 01:03:54.360
all this suffering, with all this death, and I don't

1051
01:03:54.400 --> 01:03:59.719
understand it. I don't understand the things that happened to

1052
01:03:59.760 --> 01:04:02.239
me my life. I don't know that. I don't understand

1053
01:04:02.239 --> 01:04:04.679
the things that happen in the lives of other people,

1054
01:04:06.960 --> 01:04:14.400
whether it was murder, sexual assault, horrible abuse, abandonment, torture.

1055
01:04:16.760 --> 01:04:22.440
I can't explain it, but it's a reality we cannot

1056
01:04:22.440 --> 01:04:27.079
ignoree Is God in control? Well? If God isn't in control, well,

1057
01:04:27.119 --> 01:04:29.800
if you remove him too far from the picture, then

1058
01:04:30.199 --> 01:04:33.679
does he stop being God? If God is in control,

1059
01:04:34.000 --> 01:04:36.000
then how do you reconcile God be in control with

1060
01:04:36.039 --> 01:04:39.079
all of these things? This is the reality of theology

1061
01:04:39.119 --> 01:04:41.639
and the reality of faith that people just don't like.

1062
01:04:42.039 --> 01:04:44.480
But that article about God is in control? Okay, fine,

1063
01:04:44.519 --> 01:04:47.199
you can establish God is in control? Great, Now, how

1064
01:04:47.199 --> 01:04:51.159
do we understand this in light of reality? You've got

1065
01:04:51.159 --> 01:04:54.280
the theology, how does it work with reality? And Christians

1066
01:04:54.360 --> 01:04:56.400
just think you if you just throw the word free will,

1067
01:04:56.480 --> 01:05:01.119
it fixes everything. It doesn't fix a stinking thing. If

1068
01:05:01.159 --> 01:05:03.920
you take away free will, it doesn't fix a stinking thing.

1069
01:05:03.960 --> 01:05:08.039
You're still left with these very problematic issues that somehow

1070
01:05:08.119 --> 01:05:10.639
Christians just want to pretend la la la la la

1071
01:05:10.760 --> 01:05:13.039
la la la. It's and just think and do you

1072
01:05:13.119 --> 01:05:15.519
become arrogant and you just we want to shut up

1073
01:05:15.559 --> 01:05:19.840
any questions, any struggle. We just immediately attack the person

1074
01:05:20.000 --> 01:05:22.480
because we don't know what to do. It makes us uncomfortable.

1075
01:05:22.559 --> 01:05:25.039
You shouldn't be uncomfortable. You should welcome the struggle, and

1076
01:05:25.079 --> 01:05:26.599
you should put your arm around them and go. You

1077
01:05:26.639 --> 01:05:29.800
know what, I'm right there with you. This stuff makes

1078
01:05:29.960 --> 01:05:37.400
no stinking sense. And I'm with you and all powerful,

1079
01:05:37.599 --> 01:05:40.119
all knowing God. And yet this is the world we have.

1080
01:05:44.880 --> 01:05:47.320
On one hand, we claim God is always intervening. On

1081
01:05:47.360 --> 01:05:50.000
the other hand, we try to say, well, well, well,

1082
01:05:50.039 --> 01:05:51.719
man's free will. But God is the one who gave

1083
01:05:51.760 --> 01:05:53.960
man free will, knowing exactly what may we're going to do.

1084
01:05:54.079 --> 01:05:55.800
And how come we have sometimes where God seems to

1085
01:05:55.800 --> 01:05:59.079
intervene and not worry about people's free will? And why

1086
01:05:59.079 --> 01:06:01.719
do we pray? If if God has to protect everyone's

1087
01:06:01.719 --> 01:06:03.840
free will, then how can he interfare. I mean, there's

1088
01:06:03.880 --> 01:06:06.719
just no matter which direction you go, it's one problem

1089
01:06:06.800 --> 01:06:11.679
after another problem after another problem. There is no easy answer.

1090
01:06:11.840 --> 01:06:15.719
There's only the philological reality that we claim. The Bible

1091
01:06:15.760 --> 01:06:18.800
teaches there is a God, He is all knowing and

1092
01:06:18.840 --> 01:06:26.000
he is all powerful. Yet here is the reality of

1093
01:06:26.039 --> 01:06:29.000
the world in which you and I live. How do

1094
01:06:29.039 --> 01:06:31.320
we reconcile it? Can it be reconciled? I don't know.

1095
01:06:31.480 --> 01:06:34.039
Our hope is that there will come a time that

1096
01:06:34.119 --> 01:06:38.400
all things will be made right wonderful. Great, that's great

1097
01:06:38.400 --> 01:06:40.800
that the end of the story says we're going to

1098
01:06:40.840 --> 01:06:44.679
all live happily ever after. But in the meantime, I

1099
01:06:44.679 --> 01:06:47.400
don't know how you process it. And if you go

1100
01:06:47.679 --> 01:06:50.920
depending on your theilological circle. If you go for say

1101
01:06:50.960 --> 01:06:56.039
the London Baptist Confession Westminster Confession, God decrees everything that

1102
01:06:56.199 --> 01:07:05.320
comes to pass, Okay, that has massive implications. If you

1103
01:07:05.360 --> 01:07:08.320
have God not decreeing everything comes to pass, then to

1104
01:07:08.440 --> 01:07:10.400
God just create it and then just step back and

1105
01:07:10.480 --> 01:07:13.000
letting everything just spiral out of control, Well then then

1106
01:07:13.159 --> 01:07:15.719
you can't then have God intervening here or like then

1107
01:07:15.760 --> 01:07:23.719
it makes no sense. Is God in control? Well, we

1108
01:07:23.760 --> 01:07:28.079
can say the philologically, we would make an affirmative answer,

1109
01:07:29.159 --> 01:07:32.599
and light of reality and the world, I think we

1110
01:07:32.639 --> 01:07:38.360
can all say, hmm, I don't understand and I need

1111
01:07:38.400 --> 01:07:42.679
some answers. You know what, That's perfectly okay to struggle

1112
01:07:42.679 --> 01:07:44.960
with that. And you should be able to struggle with that,

1113
01:07:45.199 --> 01:07:47.119
you should be able to question with that, you should

1114
01:07:47.119 --> 01:07:49.039
be able to be uncomfortable with that, you should be

1115
01:07:49.159 --> 01:07:51.199
very bothered by it. And you know where you should

1116
01:07:51.199 --> 01:07:53.400
be able to do all of that inside the church.

1117
01:07:53.480 --> 01:07:55.559
But no, no, no, no, no no, don't do that because

1118
01:07:55.599 --> 01:07:57.559
you'll get thrown out at church because you're not supposed

1119
01:07:57.559 --> 01:08:00.199
to bring any questions because Christians will just be again

1120
01:08:00.280 --> 01:08:18.399
condescending jerks and basically condemn you. So what did we

1121
01:08:18.439 --> 01:08:19.720
get from all of that. I don't know if we

1122
01:08:19.800 --> 01:08:21.399
got anything from it. I know this, we got to

1123
01:08:21.399 --> 01:08:23.560
work on isaiahs Chapter sixty because I don't know what

1124
01:08:23.600 --> 01:08:25.960
in the world they're doing with Isaiah sixty and all

1125
01:08:26.000 --> 01:08:28.000
of those scriptures. They just riped them so far out

1126
01:08:28.000 --> 01:08:31.279
of context. Nobody was providing any context. Every even in

1127
01:08:31.319 --> 01:08:33.079
the comments. It was just throw out a scripture, throw

1128
01:08:33.119 --> 01:08:35.680
out a scripture, throw out a scripture, and nobody like

1129
01:08:36.159 --> 01:08:38.640
you can't. That's that's the one of the biggest issues

1130
01:08:38.680 --> 01:08:41.000
I have with arguing with Christians. They think you can

1131
01:08:41.039 --> 01:08:43.359
just grab a verse, just throw it out there, and

1132
01:08:43.439 --> 01:08:45.079
you're like, well what about this verse? And then this

1133
01:08:45.119 --> 01:08:46.920
pers like, well what about this verse? And then it's

1134
01:08:46.960 --> 01:08:49.720
death by cross reference. You can't just play, you know,

1135
01:08:49.760 --> 01:08:52.960
grab a shotgun andh and just send out all of

1136
01:08:53.000 --> 01:08:56.239
the different verses and then I don't know, you supposedly

1137
01:08:56.359 --> 01:09:00.960
when verses require context and context and context, and then

1138
01:09:00.960 --> 01:09:02.680
you got to try to understand what it's saying, and

1139
01:09:02.680 --> 01:09:04.680
then you gotta understand how that connects with this. It

1140
01:09:04.760 --> 01:09:09.800
requires hours and hours and months and years of work.

1141
01:09:11.640 --> 01:09:13.199
Christians just think you just open the ball and go

1142
01:09:13.239 --> 01:09:15.159
look at the verse, look at her I win, Like,

1143
01:09:15.199 --> 01:09:18.960
what did you win? What did you win? I don't know.

1144
01:09:21.840 --> 01:09:23.600
Do you need a medal? Do you need an award?

1145
01:09:23.640 --> 01:09:25.319
Because you just ripped a verse out of context and

1146
01:09:25.359 --> 01:09:28.880
quoted it like it Isn't it much more complicated than that,

1147
01:09:29.720 --> 01:09:36.079
especially in a subject as difficult as this one. I've

1148
01:09:36.119 --> 01:09:38.520
said it a million times. The most complicated verse in

1149
01:09:38.560 --> 01:09:41.600
the entire Bible starts with the very first verse of

1150
01:09:41.640 --> 01:09:44.840
the Bible. In the beginning God. Now, if it just

1151
01:09:44.840 --> 01:09:47.119
stop right there, I could be okay. But it's the

1152
01:09:47.119 --> 01:09:50.199
next part in the beginning. God created, And as soon

1153
01:09:50.199 --> 01:09:52.800
as I start reading the word create, I want to

1154
01:09:52.800 --> 01:09:54.560
stop and go no, no, no, don't do it, don't

1155
01:09:54.600 --> 01:09:58.399
do it. Don't it's a bad idea. I know what

1156
01:09:58.600 --> 01:10:01.680
happens after you say created the heavens and the earth.

1157
01:10:01.800 --> 01:10:06.640
I know what happens after, and it's just pain, suffering, death.

1158
01:10:06.760 --> 01:10:11.199
Oh it. And it seems to end with the majority

1159
01:10:11.239 --> 01:10:15.439
of people burning for all eternity. Yeah, it seems really

1160
01:10:15.520 --> 01:10:19.279
confusing that God knowing exactly that the most of his

1161
01:10:19.399 --> 01:10:23.319
creation will spend eternity burning forever. Yeah. That raises some

1162
01:10:23.399 --> 01:10:34.800
serious questions. And again everybody said, free will. That fixes it.

1163
01:10:34.920 --> 01:10:38.000
I feel so much better. Yeah. So the God who

1164
01:10:38.000 --> 01:10:40.640
created gave free will, knowing exactly what would happen with

1165
01:10:40.680 --> 01:10:44.079
free will, and still you know that's and if it's

1166
01:10:44.079 --> 01:10:47.039
free will, then you can't have God intervene in any

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01:10:47.039 --> 01:10:50.279
way that would violate free will, which then almost stops

1168
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God from being able to intervene almost in any way,

1169
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shape or form. Yeah, the whole thing just all right.

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Another wonderful, uplifting episode of the Theology Central Podcast, where

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we are left with, well, you know what, We're left

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with facing a reality. And if our faith cannot handle reality,

1173
01:11:19.720 --> 01:11:23.800
then our faith is useless because we can either have

1174
01:11:23.840 --> 01:11:26.560
a faith where we play pretend or we can have

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a faith that faces reality. God bless