This morning on my way to school I tuned in to a Bible radio broadcast. The program was on a lesson of God's sovereignty and His involvement in natural disasters. The preacher made the statement that we must consider God to have directly willed for all natural tragedies that have occurred. My own position on the subject is that God specifically causes some tragedies since He is sovereign but that some tragedies (and not all) are an indirect effect of the curse on this world. The preacher I listened to then commented on this view and stated that it is a "hopeless theology", but he failed to qualify his statment, at least in my own opinion. In doing so he attempted to assert that the Bible is not as concerned with defending God's character as much as some theologians (like me) are and that God can be very harsh in punishing us when He judges us. I agree about the judgement bit but I don't believe that He wants to judge the world because He loves the world (please note that I am not saying that God is a big softy and that He will forgive all sin and not punish anybody).
If you agree with him in that it is in fact a hopeless theology, can you explain why?
Furthermore, if you do please consider these 3 questions: If you have a child that disobeys you, would it be your will to spank that child? (I would answer yes). Do you want to spank that child? (I hope not). And would it have been your will for the child to disobey so that you could spank that child? (if you answer yes to this question please provide your name, address, and names of your children so I can report you.)
My point is that if any one person answered yes to all three of those questions, I think we could safely assume that his/her character is more than slightly flawed when it comes to parenting. Yet this is precisely the kind of theology I hear coming from someone who holds the view of the preacher I listened to this morning.
Any thoughts?
If you agree with him in that it is in fact a hopeless theology, can you explain why?
Furthermore, if you do please consider these 3 questions: If you have a child that disobeys you, would it be your will to spank that child? (I would answer yes). Do you want to spank that child? (I hope not). And would it have been your will for the child to disobey so that you could spank that child? (if you answer yes to this question please provide your name, address, and names of your children so I can report you.)
My point is that if any one person answered yes to all three of those questions, I think we could safely assume that his/her character is more than slightly flawed when it comes to parenting. Yet this is precisely the kind of theology I hear coming from someone who holds the view of the preacher I listened to this morning.
Any thoughts?