Conversation - part 3

How can we build understanding with those who profoundly disagree with us?

Be sure to read the previous posts on this topic from January 2022 to get the full story...

   

Commentary:

After my last response to Derek, I realized that maybe I did not really address the issue of Reformed theology, which he seems to have a particular issue with. (See his comments on predestination in part 2.) This is tricky because, as C.S. Lewis writes in The Abolition of Man, you need to be “inside” the faith in order to be able to critique it authentically. We know this is a primary cause of many theological disagreements: a foundational misunderstanding of the source of truth and universal morality. Morality is not something that is imposed on us, but rather something that we impose on others or on ourselves. However, we always do this either in a vacuum (where there is no concept or recognition of who God is and His character of Goodness) or with some level of understanding that God is good and that any goodness we have originates with and from Him but must be refined and encouraged in us as humans. Anyway, I tried to address these ideas briefly for Derek before he was able to respond to my previous post. 

My post:

Sorry about the essay! I may have gotten carried away but I still didn’t address everything you brought up in your well written post. Here are a couple more comments:

1. Reformed doctrine demands some attention. I don’t come from this perspective but I completely understand your difficulty with it! Some of our friends of that persuasion claim that because God is sovereign, we have no opportunity to seek God of our own volition. Their primary question then is “Is God sovereign?” I don’t think this is a wise approach - if he is God, he must be [soverign]. But we don’t know what that means in terms of who knows what and how that impacts my decisions today. A better approach is to first ask “Is God good?” Then we can come to an understanding of His character and intentions toward us. This is certainly a key point for most of the debate in public forums such as this and is much more central to an understanding of the Bible.

2. I don’t agree with Prager on everything, primarily because he has no solution for the problem of evil. This may be why so many of his videos leave me disappointed. I see that if God wants us to be good, He must be good Himself. The problem is that we are not good - at least I know I’m not! If we think we are good, then we have no need to be forgiven. But if we are not good, it’s not “good enough” to just start being good now because there is too much hurt already in my past that I can’t ever fix. The only solution is that I pay for what I’ve done wrong (or if someone else pays - but that’s unthinkable, isn’t it?) If God is really good, then he would have to provide a way to both forgive sin and pay for it at the same time! That would be a good God!

So, I’ve gone on long enough and don’t have time to continue. Why don’t you stop by and see me here in Budapest and we can have a real discussion? I’ll even make you dinner and you can meet the family ;)

Questions for you:

Why is the issue of goodness so important to us in modern society? Do you think that people are primarily good or evil? Where does that leave you in regard to your expectations of yourself and others? If we view others and ourselves as primarily good, then why in the world does the Bible teach that we need a Savior?