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Webcasting around the world from the desert metropolis of Phoenix, Arizona. This is the dividing line. The Apostle Peter commanded Christians to be ready to give a defense for the hope that is within us.
Yet to give that answer with gentleness and reverence. Our host is dr. James White director of Alpha Omega ministries and an elder at the Phoenix Reformed Baptist Church. This is a live program and we invite your participation.
If you'd like to talk with dr. White call now. It's 602 nine seven three four six zero two or toll-free across the United States. It's one eight seven seven seven five. Three three three four one and now with today's topic.
Here is James White.
And welcome to another jumbo edition of the dividing line 90 minutes today at the top of the hour. We will open up the phones for your phone calls haven't taken calls in quite some time. So if you want to comment on what has been said Maybe if you're that Muslim with whom I had the Twitter debate this morning before I went on my ride in the dark.
Whatever eight seven seven seven five three three, three four one is number. You will wish to call then at the top of the hour, but first first half hour we will continue with the Fernandez Comas debate on Calvinism on the five points Calvinism and Second half hour.
We will dive into the Roger Perkins Matt slick debate on Oneness in preparation for also listening to the two-day debate. I'm not sure if we'll do the second day I think we might we'll see how much time we have between now and when I head down to Brisbane for that that debate as well.
So 90 minutes. Phones will be open in an hour from now and we'll take your phone calls then a date seven seven seven five three three Three four one very quickly before we get back into the friend. It's comas debate.
James Anderson wrote an article. I forgot to bring it up on my screen. I apologize for that I've I've kept it up in Chrome now for three or four days. I'll just transfer it over and I never got around to it.
But basically he was taking exception to my stating that he was the Roger Perkins student. I apologize for that I That's where my recollection of what was said in the chat channel when I was given the URLs to the various Debates I listened to and I was also since that person provided me with that information and I also heard that James Anderson was Involved in that debate with mr. Reeves as the moderator and as a UPC minister, then I just sort of put it all together.
He says he's not the student maybe the term in protege, but evidently that's not the case either. I certainly have never heard Roger Perkins utilizing Jimmy Dunn as a source and personally from my perspective I Sort of wonder what the result the long-term result will be of one this Pentecostal isn't being exposed to the kind of higher criticism that Jimmy Dunn practices.
I just don't see how the two can fit together for any lengthy period of time. But anyways, that's another that's another issue. We might get into that at some time in the future I don't know, but he wanted to correct that in regards to The topic of his relationship with Roger Perkins according to what I heard this today.
On my ride I was listening to him introducing mr. Perkins for the second day of that debate with mr. Reeves and in his introduction He said that Mr. Perkins is a moderator one of the forums on his own website.
So I know there's a close relationship I just find their arguments to be very very different from one another and their positions to be different as well on a number of Issues, but we'll get into that.
And so I wanted to make that That correction there was one other item. Oh, I did want to mention one other thing.
I.
Was listening again to the debate between Roger Perkins and mr. Reeves. Brett Reeves, I believe is the name the Church of Christ minister and I was I Listened to an entire rebuttal period at one point today.
Well, I've listened to most of Entire day, so obviously I'd hear a whole rebuttal period but I was thinking to myself You know, I don't know that I would have said anything differently than what mr. Reeves said here.
I might have chosen a couple different texts, you know a few things like that, but I was very impressed with mr. Reeves Self-control there were a lot of places where he would have been I think well grounded to have.
Let's just say mr. Perkins threw a lot of fire on the flames a lot of gas on the flames I would say and He remained quite calm there a couple times and I'm gonna really suggest mr. Perkins. Don't even bother with this with me.
Where you could tell he was trying to get mr. Reeves to start talking during mr. Perkins part. That's not what a debates about you don't do that. You know, why don't you look over? Why don't you answer it?
No, you don't do that. I've had a few people do like that. That's trust me I I know how to make that backfire on you very very badly. He was doing that to mr. Reeves. Mr. Reeves did not give into that.
So the reason I mentioned all of this is Church of Christ folks love to have them. I think this is a four-day debate. I only heard Monday and Tuesday I don't know what the rest of us on they had they love to have these long.
Every night, you know, I don't know what to do during the day, but there's big long Debates and I'm thinking, you know, here's a guy and and during the Tuesday debate. It was mentioned that Fact mr. Perkins says and your debates against Calvinist, you know.
It all means all and he was making some point about all and so the thought crossed my mind today. You know, I think it would be a really good idea if sometime the future we I've never debated Church of Christ guy I'm the doctrines of grace and If we could do it, you know like a three-night debate or something like that.
We could actually cover a fairly lengthy I did debate one guy. What there's only one night and it was only on the subject of election, but not the doctrines of grace, you know. Do the do do particular redemption do the sovereignty of God do?
Perseverance the Saints or something, you know something like that or you know divided up so at least we could cover majority of the issue. Yeah, we'd be a Paul Barber. That was just on election. It was just it was a brief one for one night and I was coughing my head off the whole time, too.
So I was real sick on that trip number four eight eight, thank you very much rich. How many times can you put down the screen for me four eight eight is the order number? Right debate with Paul Barber, so we'll have to figure out maybe if We've got a lot of people listen to this program anymore and maybe someone who knows.
Mr Reeves can contact him and drop us a note and see if we can arrange my. I think he was down, Texas. Something like that down there. At least I go down to Texas. I can go shooting during the day and have myself some fun.
It's not like going to you know, Spokane, Washington or isn't like that be a little bit different. Okay, we've taken about five minutes off of our time here. I mean we'll just tack that on to the because I was all about the one the saying anyways.
What a source shifted over there first debate to get to the Fernandez Comas debates most recent one. I I need to find out when that other debate took place. I would like to know. Maybe someone could Google that since you came up with his name if you could find out when that debate with With Roger Perkins took place between mr. Reeves and Roger Perkins.
That would be interesting to know as well. There wasn't a date on the on the URL that I saw. But this was just last month or month before that Fernandez Comas debate. We've picked back up. We're listening to brother Fernandez in his opening.
He had just been saying that you can't tell anybody that God loves them. And we were again pointing out that our minion friends tend to miss The distinctions that we recognize in the subject of God's love the different kinds of love that God has just as human beings have different kinds of love and we how do we get that ability because it reflects our Creator and I remember last week I had asked the question.
You know. If you don't think God has Distinctions of love if you think that he has only one kind of love for every single creature. Not only do you have the idea that God is going to be eternally bummed for eternity.
Yes, they debated twice actually, but there was supposed to be like two other days. But anyways, oh they two different separate debates. Okay. Anyways, but you also would have to explain such things as how there was a disciple whom Jesus loved a Disciple who Jesus loved well all the disciples.
Yeah, but what then does that mean the disciple who Jesus loved? But that would have to mean he didn't love the others. So February of this year that wasn't all that long ago. Okay, and that's Good to know nature the Godhead of February this year.
So thank you. I'm that's very up-to-date. And so that also helps I knew it was after the Matt slick debate because he mentioned that and in fact Interestingly a Roger Perkins said to him. I know you've been listening to that James White debate, too.
Like well, I'm glad to have been of some service somewhere along the way along the line.
But all right, let's jump back into the Fernandez Comas debate. If Calvinism is true. We do not know this. The Bible clearly teaches that God loves all mankind John 3 16 to 18.
Matthew 5 for now, let me stop right there loves all mankind. Okay in what way is the love shown for John the disciple. The same as the love shown for the high priest of one of the various religious cults of the Amorites to whom no Prophets were ever sent and Who were wiped out by the Israelites man woman child and beast?
I think it's fair question is is that do we describe this the same love? Now if that if that high priest of that cult Was allowed to live life and to experience happiness and joy then he has received something from God's hand.
But it's not the same kind of love as John the Apostle experienced. Is it I? Think we just we you know the the subject of the love of God remember when Peter Lumpkins posted that edited video where I had to change my words check up with an argument remember that one and Remember what I had actually said in that in that video was that the love of God is a dangerous subject.
It's dangerous because people have such traditions and they rarely have much of a biblical foundation have rarely been challenged to even think through The nature of the love of God and if you don't get challenged to do that.
Then it's real easy to poke holes in your views because all you gotta do is look at the reality of the world around us. This idea of a of a monochrome love of God that has no distinctions. No differences.
Just simply can't stand up to examination and I would think especially for dr. Fernandez who is an apologist. That's not something you want to do three to forty-eight.
He that he desires that all be saved 2nd Peter 3 9. Her.
That's so here here. We have the big three or at least part of the big three for anything else I'm Peter three night. We will not get any exegesis. We will not have any response to the exegesis that I've offered in the potter's freedom and have repeated in this program over and over again.
If you want to disagree with the exegesis that is. You're right but once you understand that Peter for example is distinguishing between the people he's addressing and others and It's you he's addressing.
He's identified his audience. He's spoken of them. They he's not talking about them. He's made a distinction once you know that and you follow the pronouns. Then you have an antecedent for all and Any not wishing that any any of who any of you which has been distinguished from others so you can't turn into universalistic perspective, but if you're going to Then you have to answer The objections that are raised by the exegesis that has been offered.
Just simply citing passages and saying this passage teaches this and though there's counter exegesis I will not deal with it and I will not even explain to you why I think that exegesis is wrong. I will not give you counter exegesis.
That's not debating. That's not argumentation. That's not how these issues need to be addressed and So you can say why I just never heard any other interpretation well, okay, what does that tell you? These issues need to be dealt with and the exegesis that has been offered.
It's there. You can't just simply say well I'm not sure. No, I haven't turned it on yet. I'm gonna do that only for the phone calls I I'm not sure that you know, that might lead to this or that but that's not responding to exegesis.
I do not believe I have in any way shape or form been unfair with the context of Peter and Every time I hear somebody using that text. Otherwise, I ask where's their exegesis? Where is their contextual discussion of the pronouns?
Where is their contextual discussion of the audience to which Peter is right? I don't I don't find it I just see the text cited and oh, there it is. And that's that's what it means and That's not how you do exegesis.
Timothy 2 1 2 6. 1st Timothy 2 1 2 6. I this is gonna come up a little bit later on again. And so maybe we'll zero in on it. But once again What is the text talking about? It is talking about the work of Jesus Christ.
He's the one mediator between God and man is talking about kinds of men. In fact, the thing is and since he just quotes it here quickly I'm gonna wait till he gets it a little bit more deeply He will recognize that talk is talking about kings and those in authority.
There's the kinds of men. It's right there types of men. You're supposed to pray for all types of men. But how you jump from that to every single human being who has ever lived that God has a salvific desire that is The equivalent of his decree to save and It's for every single person for the for the high priest the Amorite cult as as well as for John the Apostle.
They're equal. How do you get there from that and what you're left with if that's the case is that Jesus Christ intercedes for all men as well every single human being. Jesus Christ is pleading his blood before the Father and now you have a Disruption in the Godhead now, you have God the Father not decreeing to save those that the God the Son wants to save or you can get even worse if you want and Say that well, actually it's not a disruption to Godhead.
Jesus is interceding for all those people he does provide the perfect grounds for salvation, but It's not up to God whether they're saving up the Father will try the Son has provided the perfect foundation of spirit will come and bring conviction of sin, but It's not up to the trying God.
Every person the Godhead can fail in Their deepest desires all because of the almighty will of man. I Mean if that's how you if that's where you want to go That's where you got to go. So here Here again this this was one of the things really bothered me about the format of this debate is is when you make it so wide All you can really do is Say here's my point.
Here are some verses. I can't exegete any of them I'm just gonna throw them out there and You have to decide on your own whether These verses actually substantiate what I'm saying or not and I part in in a sense This is the fault of the organizers or those that agreed to do it this is just way too broad a Topic for this time frame because that's all you end up being able to do is Here's my point.
Here's my verses and is there any need for that? I mean seriously aren't there enough books that do that aren't there enough websites out there? I mean if you just want lists of verses that one's easy It's actually Demonstrating that the text substantiate what you're saying.
Yeah, it takes a little bit more work That takes a little bit more work. Indeed.
Second Peter to one there Jesus even bought and paid the. You know, I didn't get that previous verse. So.
Let's go further back than that.
All right, that's that's that's got at least get that. Jesus died for their sins. We do not know if they are of the elect. In fact since Jesus has no intention of saving Calvinism is true. It is misleading to even tell people that God loves them if Calvinism is true.
We do not know this the Bible 2nd Peter 3 9 1st Timothy 2 1 2 6 Luke 19 10. Scripture declares that Jesus died for all mankind. John 1 29.
All right, let's let's at least take the time that you know, slow these things down and and let's just point out that Just quoting verses doesn't necessarily mean anything. John 1 in 29 the next day He saw Jesus coming toward him and said behold Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
All right. How do we understand that? Evidently, dr. Fernandez thinks well, there it is Jesus has taken away the sin of the world. Okay. Why is anybody condemned? Well unbelief unbelief is not a sin. Either he's taken away the sin of the world and world here means every single human being or he hasn't which is it?
Is it a perpetuatory sacrifice? What is propitiation mean? Propitiation means that the sacrifice it takes away the guilt and the reason for the wrath Of God it is a full sacrifice. So if he is the propitiation The sins of every single human being is ever lived if you absolutely insist that in the in the biblical mindset.
There is a modern Western Universal individualism, which I don't believe you could ever substantiate. But that's the assumption. Well all means all that's all all means so one all drew someone out to see Jesus.
There wasn't anybody left even the doggies and the kitties came out to see Jesus, you know, I'm sorry. It's just it's just not how the people thought you can just find so many examples of where all and every in the New Testament doesn't mean what we Moderns mean by that of every single human being in a given place or given time or anything else it's just it's just obvious, but when if you're gonna assume that then you have to go all the way with it and so They look at a text.
We just heard John 1 29 behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world then that means every single human beings sin has been dealt with and. What then is the ground of their condemnation?
That means the father caused the wrath. That is due to that Amorite high priest who's already dead and under his wrath in hell. Well, not in hell in Hades. That am I priest has been gone forever if all the world means all the world then the wrath that is due him.
He put on Jesus knowing full well that he was wasting That substitution because the man can no longer repent. So is that what's being said that everyone already dead because aren't they a part of the world.
Or do we do we just they don't they don't get this extra kind of you know. It's if it's this peanut butter love and everybody gets loved equally then what about the people before Jesus did you just die for them?
Or they have no chance at all. How does how does that work? I don't know how dr. Finesse is gonna answer that. Maybe we'll get a chance to ask him sometime. But the point is That man that high priest we keep using him.
He seems to be a good example today. Amorite high priest Who dies on an is Israelite sword as Moses comes into the land? Okay well, actually as Joshua comes in and God has. Do we really understand that God has placed?
The wrath that is due him even though he's been experiencing that wrath for 1200 years at least somewhere around there. He's placed the wrath due to that man's sins which are many in manifold on Jesus.
Knowing full well that the man never repented. Why would he do that? I Suppose this would open up a consistent understanding of that perspective.
Consistent understand got a little farther away from the microphone there cuz you're stretching that leg out guy. I don't want to scream. I don't want to scream. Hey, I Add to rush a little bit after the ride today to get in on time.
So I didn't get the stretch quite as well. So we're gonna stretch that leg now. Sorry about that. So This is what has led honestly consistently to the concept of post-mortem evangelization and If you don't think that's popular Do I just simply need to remember the name Rob Bell.
Yeah, unfortunately that's out there too and There are other people promoting the same thing. Clark Pinnock was big one on post-mortem evangelization. So how's all this work? Is that what we are to believe?
Now I look at John 1 29 and I do not have to in any way shape or form Argue with the context or anything else Jesus Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What's the world Jews and Gentiles?
Anybody in this world Jew or Gentile who turns to Jesus Christ in faith repentance will find him to be the perfect sin bearer and So we can go into all the world. I can go to Sydney and Brisbane and Germany and I was just down a few months ago in Lima Peru and and Places like that and I can say to anyone anywhere Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.
But it does not follow that I then have to redefine propitiation. I have to ignore what Romans Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 say about the specific application and the resultant Perfection of those for whom Christ died and I have to do anything.
I can take everything the Bible has to say and So when you hear these these rapid-fire lists You just you have to keep in mind boy, you know if we went to each one of those and at least when I when I am forced by time constraints in a debate to have to go into sort of a More surface level mode, which I don't like to do but sometimes you're just stuck with it at least when I list verses and I know what the counteracts of Jesus is I will try to present in such a way as To at least acknowledge the counteracts of Jesus and provide at least some kind of response to it.
It is very rare that I hear my Arminian friends even make that attempt.
Second Peter 2 1 there Jesus even bought and paid the price for the false teachers who are obviously not elect.
First second Peter 2 1. We have discussed a number of times on the program and once again I I don't get the feeling that brother Fernandez has. Is aware of the counter exegesis to the text, but I would just simply in passing ask him when you say bought Why is this the one place in the New Testament where no price is mentioned if this is the redeeming work of Christ?
Are you sure that our garage though here is meant in that way. And when it says Despot a sir, why is despot ACS instead of courios. If we're talking about Christ here, what's the difference between the two meanings?
What's the relationship to this to Deuteronomy chapter 32 and again entire discussion of this in the appendix of the potter's freedom. But it's this kind of just, you know, throw the verse out there assume a Interpretation do not respond to other Interpretations that are exegetically derived just throw it out there that unfortunately, like I said, it's it's it's part of.
The problem of this kind of format for the Jesus paid the price for them.
Also other passages that teach that Jesus died for all mankind 2nd Corinthians 5 15 and 19.
And when you don't read them, you know all people can do is write these down and and wonder well, what what did you mean by that and obviously the question Would be What do you believe the death of Christ what was its intention and what is the mechanism by which it accomplishes its intention, you know I just this past Sunday preached the end of Hebrews 9 the beginning of Hebrews 10 and it is just so clear that the the reason for the manifestation of the Son of God at the very climax of history was to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself to put it away to deal with it not on a Hypothetical level not on a well, you know if you do this then this.
No, this is the whole purpose second Corinthians chapter 5 Was just cited as evidence for a universal concept of the Atonement Love of Christ compels us or controls us. Seneca. Because we have concluded this That one has died for all therefore all have died and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves.
But for him who for their sake died and was raised. Okay so that sounds like. Does that that's something that the Amorite high priest could save under Moses? Seriously, I mean honestly. Does the love the us the love of Christ controls us who is that?
Is that is that. Is that the Buddhist is that the the the secular atheist the love of Christ controls us really? That's the us isn't it? Because we have concluded this That one has died for all why isn't it all of us?
I mean, why just you know, well, that's every that's every single human being has ever lived. Therefore all have died really I it's isn't it the Christian confession that we have died with. With Christ have all people died with Christ.
Will will people be able to stand in the parapets of hell and say ha. Yeah, you tried to save me you I died with Christ. I've emptied the cross of its effectiveness. I'm here in hell. I've undone the work of Christ.
Ha ha ha. Is that what they'll do? I Don't believe so. I Don't believe so. There was a specific people who are united with Jesus Christ and The result of their union with Christ is his death becomes their death.
Where their his burial becomes their his resurrection their resurrection. Who is that that everybody? Really every single human being Ever lived ever will live was united with Christ in his death. That certainly makes a mishmash out of Romans chapter 5.
You no longer have two humanities or but they're coextensive. This is the very essence and foundation of universalism, but dr. Fernandes isn't a universalist, but why not is the question. And he died for all that those who live well.
Who's alive? Isn't it those who've been made alive in Christ those who've been raised to spiritual life? But isn't that the result of regeneration? So this couldn't be talking about unregenerate individuals.
Could it? Those who are not going to experience that in their life. That they should no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. I actually think 2nd Corinthians 5 14 through 15 is a very good argument for particular redemption.
Not for universal redemption. In the same way 2nd Corinthians 5 19 that is In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us a message of reconciliation so if Again, you take world here is every single human being individually speaking then There is no counting of their trespasses against them.
So why is anyone condemned? Remember unbelief is sin. So this would seem to mean that that God God's wrath would have no longer have any basis to fall upon all of humanity because all of humanity has already been forgiven.
By the way, could I mention something sort of in passing that's actually relevant to the next upcoming debate and we will mention it then. But just in passing You will hear Roger Perkins More than once cite this text God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself well, sati theos ain and Christo cos mon kata las own hey alto and Every time that he cites it He looks at the word in the phrase and Christo in Christ as what's called a locative.
Now in the Greek language you have five morphological cases. Eight conceptual cases. So sometimes you'll teach people what's called the 5k system sometimes the 8k system. But but morphologically speaking there are five five cases a nominative the genitive the dative the accusative and evocative.
Each indicates a different function now. I Learned the eight case. So I had a nominative genitive ablative locative instrumental dative accusative evocative. So Mr. Perkins understands in Christo. Which is the dative in a locative sphere?
That is that God the Father as a divine person was in the Messiah in Jesus Reconciling the world to himself. I don't think that's an even slightly natural reading of the text. It may be common for English readers to take it that way because in for us frequently has that locative sense, but If if again, and this is where actually reading the language and reading it in General outside of only those texts that are under dispute is of tremendous assistance and what I mean by that is You would encounter the word n in In numerous other contexts that would not be translated as in in English.
And with the dative is very frequently. The instant the the instrumental by means of and so I believe the best way to understand verse 19 is That God was by means of Christ Reconciling the world unto himself and Christo by means instrumental.
I Remember I'll never forget this.
A.
Small divergence here, but I like diverging everyone's wrong and we'll make this the end of our divergence. Didn't get very far in in the sorry about that, but anyway, I Had the privilege of taking one class With dr. J. Niles Puckett.
Dr. J. Niles Puckett taught Greek at Grand Canyon College. Well, let's just put this way Puckett was the direct student of William Hersey Davis and William Hersey Davis is a direct student of a T Robertson and I learned in using Davis's grammar.
It's not nearly as friendly as The the grammar of Mounts, but that's you know, I'm old Dr. Puckett Had taught generations of young students the Greek language and he was a adult Sunday school teacher while I was adult Sunday school teacher at a very large Southern Baptist Church here in the Phoenix area back when I was Well much younger and One morning we had both finished teaching our adult sessions and they had broken up into groups and I was just walking down the hall to get a drink and Dr. Puckett saw me and he approached me and he said Now remember he's he's from Mississippi.
And he had a very thick, Mississippi accent still had it. Just a wonderful man. Just a southern gentleman and he comes up to me and says my ask you a question. Now that's scary when J. Niles Puckett walks up to you.
And they says it's about the Greek now. Okay. I'm about ready to faint. Okay, because I mean this guy studied under William Hersey Davis who stayed under AT Robertson. He was the one who taught my professor Mike Baird.
Okay, so it is time for a pop quiz. Here comes the pop quiz and he says How do you take in Christo in 2nd Corinthians 5 and I said well, sir I I think that would best be understood syntactically as An instrumental use of and God was by means of Christ Reconciling the world unto himself.
He goes that's how I take it. Thank you very much. He was just such a wonderful gentleman. In fact, I think it's actually named the school after him now the J. Niles Puckett School of Christian Studies or something like that I remember but anyway, I have never heard Roger Perkins.
Even acknowledge the possibility. He doesn't it's just plain language plain language. Well, you know, there are things in Bible that are That are expressed in very plain language but you need to make sure that it's like the language in which it was richly written because very often our Traditions are couched in our English language understanding and we reflect our English language understanding back on to the original language and I catch myself doing that all the time and I would highly recommend To Roger Perkins that he do that.
In fact, we're gonna switch over to the Roger Perkins one. Sorry, I didn't get very far on the Fernandez Comas thing there. In fact, I think I got about 53 seconds At this rate. Oh, it's good. We're gonna have to do a lot of more jumbo DL's if we're ever gonna catch up on this one.
Especially we have open phones, which we will open the phones lines up in 25 minutes for those of you who are just itching to get.
In.
25 minutes from now. We will we will get to that. But I do have the oneness debate queued up here and the sound quality is not nearly as good and I'm not sure why because there's a couple times when also the sound quality pops in really good and then it goes back to House sound and I'm gonna have to ask Matt slick and I'm not sure if anyone's told Matt that I'm reviewing this.
But I have to ask Matt what happened to the sound because it just it just needs it's not nearly as good as what we were just listening to but I Was I was listening and I'm not sure if we're gonna get to it, but I was listening.
I think it was this morning.
And I.
Know it was yesterday. It was yesterday. I listened to a Roger Perkins and he was using.
The.
Text in Isaiah 9, which we will look at very carefully and. This is a perfect example of what I mean by taking your English language traditions and forcing them onto the original language. He was you know, one us advocates.
Look at the word and it's a single word here aviad. You have Pele awaits wonderful counselor Elgibor Mighty God and then you have aviad and then sarshalom. Aviad is normally translated everlasting father and they assume this is the same kind of.
Name.
Identity that is revealed in New Testament. And so therefore since this is a prophecy of the one who's come therefore he's it's interesting Nobody in the New Testament identified Jesus that way. But anyway I think aviad has to do with Christ as creator and I'll go into that during the debate.
But what I heard him say Was and this was in the debate not with Matt slick, but with mr. Reeves he said. He said it's the everlasting father definite article. Mr. Reeves and I started thinking and I was on my bike at the time and I did not stop and I have not bothered to put a Bible program on my iPod.
I'm not even sure if there is one nor would I probably be able to see through all the sweat to be able to utilize it anyways, but I've done a lot of work on Isaiah 9. It's Isaiah 9 5 in Hebrew and and I was going There's an article there there's a need to be because of the construct state but It's not even in the English translation.
His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor Mighty God Everlasting Father Prince of Peace and so you wouldn't you wouldn't expect the Everlasting Father because you already have In in the language you already have the particularity of the deafness provided by the word name specifically by by the use of These are names and therefore you don't you don't need it but Even in the English translation, it's not there.
Now that was one of the only Drawbacks to the Reeves Perkins debate Was I will emphasize very strongly and we will hear it as we dive into Mr. Perkins comments this morning this afternoon. Yeah, it is this morning whenever There is a fundamental hermeneutical disagreement between us and I I don't I don't think that it's really a disputable point the oneness argument it's gonna be very interesting.
Like I said, this would be the second time I've done a oneness debate and a Muslim debate and both times in The past we were debating the deity of Christ. That's why I debated Hamza Abdul Malik and I did the oneness debate against Saban.
They both used the same arguments to come to a completely different conclusion. The same thing's gonna happen in Australia and I can tell you why I I think I think At least I've suggested that the Muslim topic beyond the incarnation of Christ.
And so we're gonna hear the exact same arguments because both sides assume Unitarianism and If I would again, my hat is off to mr. Reeves and his presentation I thought he did a very good job. But if I was going to strengthen his presentation at all There would have been a couple of things within two things.
I would have absolutely over and over again said listen to mr. Perkins Assuming Unitarianism not proving it just assuming it it is his overriding Interpretational grid and since that is the subject that we're debating.
You cannot assume it you have to prove it and I will have be repeating that ad nauseum of the next number of weeks as we listen to these debates because Mr. Perkins never assumes you never proves Unitarianism.
He only assumes Unitarianism and That's why he's rarely really in the debate at that point. And that's what our Muslim friends do too. They assume Unitarianism. That's what our Jehovah's Witness friends do they assume Unitarianism.
You must challenge the assumption that the being of God the fact There's one being of God absolutely necessitates there's only one person that shares that being because we all agree that being is it is finite and unlimited and Since it's since it's it's infinite and unlimited.
I say finite infinite unlimited and since it is Then why do you say can only be shared by one person? You have to prove that you can't just assume it. It's it's you that's that's the big thing you're gonna Hopefully want if you take anything else, maybe your biggest interest is Roman Catholicism.
You know, man, it's been all this time time oneness and Calvinism is like that when you listen to a deconstruction of debates. Hopefully no matter what the subject is. What you're learning to do is to hear the hidden assumptions that make up 99 of most argumentation in debates.
And what you're gonna hear from Roger Perkins is an absolutely uncritical repetition of the same assumption of Unitarianism and I just didn't hear you know, what I would suggest to mr. Reeves is the strongest point to make is we are both absolute monotheists.
Mr. Perkins keeps saying well, I'm a strict monotheist what he means by strict monotheist is Unitarian rather than Trinitarian. But that's where you have to focus and the other suggestion I would make is the doctrine of the Trinity is Revealed between the Testaments.
It is revealed in the incarnation of the Sun and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament is the document that is written in the ocean of Trinitarian experiential experience. Every author of the New Testament is an experiential Trinitarian.
The Father has spoken from heaven. They've walked with the Son. They're now indwelt by the Spirit and So the revelation has taken place now, can we see? Instances, can we see with the light of fulfillment in the Old Testament these things?
Sure.
John tells us for example in John chapter 12 who is seen by the angels upon the throne saying kudos kudos kudos Yahweh sabbaoth. Who was that? Well, according to John 12, it was the Son not the Father the Son and.
So we can we can see things like that. But the revelation itself and so Perkins will say oh you're telling me Moses didn't. Moses was deceived about God. No, Moses knew God as he had revealed himself up to that point in time.
But you see the oneness person and the Muslim both together. Reject the possibility of any progressive further revelation of God's being in God's purposes especially in the coming of Jesus Christ and the establishment of his church and.
That is a major major problem. So mr. Perkins always say listen to all these Trinitarians the same if you debated one you debate them all. He said that I heard this morning. He said that if you debate one debate them all they all go the New Testament first.
No, I go to the Old Testament and get monotheism. There's only one true God, but then I don't stop there and say oh, this is it. If there's anything beyond this and that's what my Muslim friends do.
No.
It's where would. How many times have I had a Muslim say. I'd like to have a debate on whether the doctrine of God in The Old Testament is more consistent with this law or Christianity. Why is that. Because they refuse to accept the revelation of God and Jesus Christ just as modern Jews do.
Now I don't understand why mr. Perkins is constantly saying a Jewish person would laugh at this theology. They never believed in God of three persons.
Well.
I am going to point out that there was a whole lot more diversity in Jewish views of the nature of God at a time of Christ than he seemingly has any concept of. I mean, you know, I had to fight through a lot of silliness in a Fuller Master of Arts and Theology program.
But one thing I'm also awful appreciative of is that they forced you to read a whole lot of literature wide variety of stuff and and I know enough about intertestamental Judaism and especially their views of the Memorandum and The Devar and things like that to know that there was a whole lot wider view than mr. Perkins seems to think there is.
But be that as it may that's not the point and The Jews didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah and then he and the Jews believed that that it was God that was gonna come. And he's assuming Unitarianism there.
Really? Wow, that one's easily challenged. I mean, I I agree read the Old Testament in that way, but that's what a modern Jewish person. Yes, we think God the Messiah is going to be God. Honestly, everybody that's all that all the Jews believe that hmm interesting.
Well, uh. Seek to challenge that too. So there's there's lots of things as you can tell lots of things going through my mind getting into debate mode. But let's actually get into the debate now once again.
You got to listen a little bit more carefully because the sound quality just pops up and down and isn't all that great. But this is right at the beginning. This is right after. And he repeated this twice.
He Perkins falsely accuses Matt slick of unorthodoxy because he uses the term separate obviously Matt slick does not mean separate as in each one possessing a third of deity or being a Different deity or something like that.
Matt affirms that there is only one being of God that is shared Fully by three divine persons that not that they have one-third of the being of God. God's being cannot be divided up. It's it's simple not compound Etc, etc.
He's just using the term separate as in the sense of not to be confused with one another because that's exactly what oneness does because you end up in oneness theology with Jesus being two persons. Where he's praying to himself and every time brought this up.
It's interesting. Mr. Perkins. Mr. Reeves brought this up and said You know this the prayer life of Jesus is something that oneness Pentecostal ism. It is its downfall. I mean there there is no Consistent oneness Pentecostal understanding of the prayer life of Jesus because you have one person praying to himself.
You have two persons. I'm sorry you have Jesus who's two persons and half of Jesus is praying the other half of Jesus. The non deity half is praying to the deity half and and it just it just doesn't make any sense at all.
And and it makes a mishmash in New Testament. That's why why this type of modalism was rejected long long long ago. But when that's brought up, mr. Perkins response is so you've got one deity praying to another deity.
How do you have one God? No, that's not an argument. It may be for oneness Pentecostals, but it's not for someone who's actually seeking truth. That's not an argument. Because we're not talking about two deities.
First of all, we believe that there are three persons and then they communicate between one another and So we don't limit the being of God. And so you don't have God being limited in some some ways to where.
This can't happen. You have one person communicating with another person and There has to be communication be. It's recorded for us all through scripture. So just simply going I can have just that's not an argument.
Because you're assuming what you've yet to prove. What's the assumption? Well God's Unitarian. Well isn't aren't we debating whether God's Unitarian or Trinitarian? So just assuming it can't be like that because I'm right.
That doesn't accomplish anything. That's not an argument it and. And the question I'm gonna be asking mr Perkins all through this is who are you debating for if you're debating just for your side to sort of get them to go rah-rah.
Because during the during this debate. Clearly the camera which is recording. This is right next to the oneness group so you get all sorts that they don't didn't realize if you get all this whispering and hey and you know, it's stuff like that and that sort of little cheering squad in the back and If those are the people you're debating for and you just want to get them to all rah-rah it up.
Okay, that's not why I do debates. I'm not I don't want to fly all the way up to Brisbane and have a conversation About this with somebody and I just try to get all the Christians going rah-rah. I want to engage what?
Roger Perkins believes that's why I've already listened to these debates twice each three times for one of them and I'd listen to others if someone would direct me to him. Because I want to interact with what my opponent is saying.
Not what I think he should be saying. So anyways, let's let's dive back into the debate.
New Testament distinctions as arriving in the incarnation in which God acquired a human consciousness that he did not have. Under the Old Testament, which would explain why we never see father-son dialogue under the Old Testament.
I want you to notice.
So here's as I said his assertion that well. You start with the Old Testament. Well, of course you do. And what do you drive in the Old Testament. Well, unfortunately what Mr. Perkins drives from the Old Testament is not just monotheism.
But something that goes beyond what the Old Testament teaches and that is Unitarianism. He thinks that the Old Testament is teaching Unitarianism. He will try to. I think in the second debate he gets into Elohim Aloha and so on so forth and again misuses lexical sources.
To say it means one person, you know. Because he finds one use with it with a word where it can mean one person therefore everywhere. That's what it means including when it talks about God. That is a very unfortunately Off repeated error on Mr. Perkins part and and I think this is part of the system itself.
But here you have the idea We start with the Old Testament, but what they're actually doing is they're starting with their understanding all the ramifications of monotheism in the Old Testament and therefore not allowing the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ in The New Testament to determine the categories of fulfillment the Old Testament becomes the norm at that point.
Trinitarian.
And of course, I would say just the opposite I think they're doing a theology backwards they are taking and they're inserting and war it's an assumption a Presupposition shall we say into the nature of God in the sense of the concept of Unitarianism and then really making mishmash out of the clear distinction that is made between the Father and the Son and The revelation of the Son is the divine pre-existent person.
They come up with just grossly unnatural readings of those texts to because of that errant Presupposition that they insert into the Old Testament.
Starts with diversity and so they end up with the same and easily. Content into the waters of tritheism, even though my opponent denies that I conclude that they set sail from Rome. Not Jerusalem. So why do we say they set sail from Rome?
Because it doesn't matter tonight if I'm debating Matthew Slade or if I'm debating a round-collared Christian from Rome. They will both acknowledge and embrace the Trinity doctrine so they find commonality between the two doctrines.
Now I'm not sure what the relevance of pointing that out is. Would it be relevant for me to point out? That the arguments against the Trinity that I will be facing are the same from a Muslim or a oneness.
Does that make the one oneness have a commonality of doctrine of the Muslim? Yeah, they're both Unitarians. Is there a direct genetic relationship? No, don't think so. But that's that's how it works. And I would point out that my belief in the Trinity is Derived very differently than most Roman Catholics today.
Most Roman Catholics today believe the Trinity because the church tells them. So I'm a biblical Trinitarian and it is most people know that if you really want to get me upset. Then as a Roman Catholic parallel the Trinity do some unbiblical a historical concept like the bodily assumption of Mary as a dogma and then Generally gets my juices flowing just a little bit.
Now it's interesting. Well before I forget this with the invention of the word persons one of the things you hear from oneness advocates all times. We just use biblical terminology. We don't use all this extra theological stuff that you guys throw in here.
The problem is they cannot possibly Talk to us about the relationship of the divine and human Christ even in their own theology without utilizing this language. It just can't be done. One of the things that is going to be discussed in this debate.
And by the way, if you want to get phone line. If we don't get phone calls here in the next five minutes for the break I'm just going to continue on with this debate. So if you want to if you want to get in there need to be phone calls in and waiting.
Or we're just going to press on so eight seven seven seven five three three four one eight seven seven seven five three three three four one. One of the things that came up in this debate that I don't think was necessarily useful.
Was.
Yes, Roger Perkins Wallace will will Constantly make the accusation of tritheism polytheism and things like that and Matt Slick's response was we don't believe that okay. That's that's true. There's no question that we don't but you have to deal with the argument that well Functionally, you may you may say conceptually you don't believe it, but you Functionally do believe it by your application how you How you you know, this is the natural result so I do believe that we have to provide a rebuttal To the assertion and of course for me, it's just it's just very simple Easily 95 of mr. Perkins arguments are based upon mixing cat category errors logical errors that are very easily identified and Functionally Refusing to allow the distinction between the being of God Between the terms being in person to stand up now He has to use those distinctions in talking about Jesus has to but then when it comes when I come to dealing with the nature of God Well, then those those distinctions aren't allowed to stand and We will be calling for consistency at that point when we meet down under.
Never once. No, it's obviously not a violation of sola scriptura, we are not seeking to add any authorities outside of scripture.
We're not seeking to add other. Some type of tradition or something along those lines, I think. That's a again. Didn't we just recently have. What was his name Jack? Yeah, I remember brother Jack and his attack on Calvinism.
Those Calvinists don't believe any of the soul. Is I even believe in sola scriptura. Well Believe me. I I believe firmly in in sola scriptura.
I'm trying to go into what all of them mean. For example, he said that Christ prayed as one person prayed to another person. The Bible never acknowledges.
Now there's an excellent example of I think just the incapacity of the oneness perspective to to even Interact meaningfully with the the historical arguments. In the biblical arguments the Bible never acknowledges God is a person.
Really? Does he speak? Does he have a will that makes him a person? Oh, but I don't use the word doesn't matter and so To say God is spirit. Oh, he's an impersonal spirit. No, he's a personal spirit. It uses personal pronouns Yeah as a will.
Yeah. So he's personal so he's a person well not like you know, I didn't say it was human person. But you see it's just it's not a meaningful form of argumentation. So the Bible never says God's a person.
When you then have to admit well, okay if you what we mean by that is is a self-conscious being that recognizes his own existence over against others and Has a will and communicates well, yeah, okay.
All right. So why even that's not why even waste the debate time to say the Bible never Acknowledges God's person if what you mean by that is the Bible never uses the phrase God is a person. Then yeah, but then again it never said, you know.
It's sort of like the Muslim argument the Bible never said Jesus never says I'm God worship me. Therefore. He's not God. We can't worship him.
It's.
Not a meaningful form of argumentation it really isn't and Should be recognized along those lines. Well didn't get very far there either but actually sort of did Covered a lot of foundational ground there.
And so we already have three folks online still have one line open at eight seven seven seven five three three four one. We've already got one person I believe on dividing that line on Skype and So it looks like we will be able to take our open phones interestingly enough.
None of which have anything to do seemingly with the topic Discussing. Oh, well, we'll be back with your phone calls right after this Today.
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And welcome back to the Dividing Line. We go to Open Phones on this jumbo edition of the Dividing Line. 877 -753 -3341. Dividing dot line via Skype is a number. So let's talk with David. Hi David.
Hey, Dr. White. Yes, sir. Pleasure to talk to you. Yes, sir, and I do apologize that it has absolutely nothing to do.
Yeah, I know nobody nobody cares what I'm talking about. It's okay. Yeah, I'm used to it.
Well rich let me on. So let's just both blame him together. I do that all the time.
That's his job so it's just yeah, he's whipping himself in the other room now, so actually he can cut me off too. We have a group called Opus Riche. So.
Anyway.
Apologetic methodology and it had come to me from a couple of conversations you had had and this goes back a few months now when you were talking to open-air atheist and Right before you talked to him like a week or two before you talked to another atheist.
That was almost identical and I think in the conversation it kind of went off in a different direction. So it didn't circled started the conversation with you by saying something like this. I Have read the Bible.
I know what you James White believe about Romans. 1 About me suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. And I am here to tell you that that is not what is going on with me. I am NOT suppressing the truth and unrighteousness.
Even though I know you believe I am. I do not go to bed with my conscience screaming at me that I am wrong. I do not have this beach ball of truth in a pool that I am trying to keep down. It keeps popping up.
I am NOT wearing myself out by doing this which is why you're calling a Christian webcast. Deny that you're actually doing that. Yeah, go ahead.
Well, there is a there's a bit of oddity to that. Even though these guys at least knew their Bible well enough to say I know what you believe and I'm here to tell you you're Wrong. Your presuppositions are incorrect.
You're gonna have to try. So I was wondering as you deal with something like that. Do you you doing knowing that Romans 1 is your way?
Yeah, I mean that's that's what you have to do. Is you you you can't the. The parameters of apologetic methodology.
Define.
How we do apologetics and and if we want to present the gospel to someone with with absolute clarity and Without compromising its biblical content then we have certain certain limits. And so even if someone starts off saying look I've I've run into enough of you crazy Christian Calvinists on on the internet.
I know what you're gonna tell me. I'm not doing all that stuff. Well, what's the what's the first step that you go from that you you demonstrate that they are I and they're not going to be able if if what we're saying is true.
They're not going to be able to discuss almost anything Without providing you with the very evidence you need to document your case. You could go to almost any moral or ethical Discussion you could do anything to where we would be applying the law of God to their life which we know is written upon their conscience and Provide ourselves with all sorts of ammunition.
Shall we say all sorts of evidence? That they cannot live consistently with the the assumption that they're making and with the with the presentation they're making so. The wonderful thing is that the point of contact?
With the unbeliever is the fact these create an image of God and it's always there. You can always go there. That's the only ground you can stand on. There's no neutral ground you can stand on. They're always going to have that.
You know mark of the maker upon them and in fact the more they try to escape that the more obvious it becomes the observer. That they are purposefully attempting to escape that. I mean, what is it that makes?
Even the the the hardened secularist. Not want to be on Main Street during a gay pride thing. They know they know in their own worldview. Oh, we should just be celebrating all this but most of them don't want to be there and there's a reason for it and You know, so.
Yeah, I I think it's actually both. I continue on. But I continue on to utilize the fact that they're creating the image of God as the very mechanism of demonstrating. That they are suppressing that knowledge and that they cannot live consistently within their own worldview.
They will keep. They will keep having to borrow from my worldview to prop theirs up. And I think you did you hear the story of young Eric from from, Illinois?
Apparently not.
It's a story. I've told a couple times. I didn't want to bore you with it you've already heard it, but I was I was speaking at a University in Illinois and They I thought I was speaking to a Christian group, but actually end up just being a campus group where they had put out flyers it said Stump the chump of the Christian.
Yes, don't stump. No stump the chump and then advertised free pizza and This this atheist showed up and he was I think was dressed all in red with blue hair as I recall but we had quite a long conversation and I never got anything eaten, but I Just let him talk and talk and talk until finally he gave me what I needed.
He made a statement about how he knew he should do better in living consistently with What he had come to understand to be his worldview and and once as soon as he said that I had him and It was it was not difficult to Show him the incredible inconsistency in what he had just said and what he was doing and what he was going to do when he walked out of that place and how he was gonna live the rest of his life and how I was gonna pray that every single time He he violated his own principles and borrowed from my worldview.
God would convict him of that now I don't know whatever has happened to Eric but that's just the example that I like to use of where you can you can be in almost any situation and Make that kind of application.
Now, um, so so to connect the dots on that. He said I know I should be doing better with what I say I believe. And you then said what why why do you need to be better at all?
I I immediately nailed him on why he had any type of consciousness of Failing to Hold to these standards and I started pointing out things because I mean he had gotten he had gone so far as To say that he could not actually affirm epistemologically the existence of his coat.
Yeah, and I said he'd be mad if you took it away. No, I said well, it was about 21 degrees outside. I said let me tell you something you may not think that code exists. But I can guarantee you you're taking it and putting it on when you leave.
And he did and You know, I said, you know, you're gonna walk down the right side of the road. You're not gonna walk down the middle of the road. If you can drive a car you go on the right hand side not the left hand side because you know That your radical epistemology doesn't work in the real world.
You're gonna be borrowing my regularity of nature and my worldview and you can keep propping yours up until you finally realize it. It's just gets really boring putting out all that energy to create this Silly worldview that doesn't exist and the only reason you're doing it so you don't have to deal with my god.
And he has looked at me like wow, where did you come from? You know, obviously I don't speak like the professors in the philosophy department did at that particular University. So you can always find a way to do that.
So my answer would be both of your responses actually. But I find a way to demonstrate the inconsistency of the way they're living. Okay. All right.
I think I was thinking back over your second Dan Barker debate and I it's been a while since I listened to that. So I couldn't remember how if you got into it in the question and answer section or if you.
Know what? I've been more of the first one. I mean the second one was more on the issue of Christ allegedly being the Result of mythology and stuff like that. Yeah, right. Now the one where you got kind of weird.
Yeah, the first one sounded like you're right. It was the first one that I better but did you get in with that with on him?
And well, I certainly tried to use it. I certainly was trying to make my presentation consistent with that, but I don't read to be honest with you. I don't recall what the audience questions were. So I'm not sure how much of that actually came out there.
Yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay. Thanks. Thanks David. All right. Eight seven seven seven five three two three four one. I believe we're gonna go to our escape call now. All right, and let's talk with Landon. Hi Landon.
Hi, dr. White. How are you?
Can you hear me? Okay. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you for taking my call, buddy. I had a quick question about a Christian response to naturalism. I was listening about a month or so ago to a white horse in and it had Mike Schermer the skeptic magazine guy on there and he was giving a defense of his naturalism why he Rejects the Christian message and he made a statement in there that he subscribes to free will you know as he was discussing, you know, the mutation and evolution of Species into humans and whatnot and he was saying that he agreed with you know.
He subscribes to free will and I was thinking of a lecture that Robbie Zacharias had given where he quoted Stephen Hawking and saying that Everything is determined and we don't know all the variables.
So it's kind of irrelevant, but he believed everything was determined. So given these two kind of opposite views of Both being naturalistic and evolutionary How do we as Christians respond to each one in regards to?
One says we are completely free and the other says we're completely determined.
Yeah, well, you have to find out where that person is. And unfortunately majority of the folks you're talking to Have taken their cue from just whoever their favorite author is and may not even be aware of the fact that there's great disagreement Amongst even the new atheists as to the nature of libertarian freedom or what kind of freedom that we have and and very few of the people who tout neo-darwinian micro mutational evolutionary theory actually really understand what it entails and you know, they're always coming up with some new theory a theory based upon a theory based upon a theory based upon a theory and.
And as long as you got a big name behind it, then all is well, I guess but The the basic idea is you have to find out where this person is coming from if they Take the free will perspective then. Yeah, you have a strong basis for saying well you're being inconsistent with your own naturalistic materialism because I would think that if you really are a darwinist and you really have bought into the the concept that we are nothing more than what we are made by our genetics, we're nothing more than a As as Dawkins would put it a a container to carry our Genetic code and pass it on to as many in the next generation as we possibly can and that's pretty much the highest transcendental value of mankind.
I don't really see why you would even be thinking about such things as free will or transcendental meeting meaning anything. And I really think that the the reason That the New Atheists are trying to you know, I listened to that Mexico City debate.
It took place a few months ago, and it was very clear. The New Atheists were desperately trying to Say to the world well, we we can find a ground for meaning and So they're trying to distance themselves as much as possible from the rather dismal Bleak, this is just the way it is.
There is no Sutton. There's nothing special about you. There's nothing special about life. We're heading for heat death. There's no transcendent meaning or beauty in anything of the Dawkins variety the rest of them really trying to sort of separate themselves from that and What I would do in light of the last call we had is use their desire to separate themselves from that as one of my lead-ins in the sense of demonstrating the inconsistency from a naturalistic perspective of their position but Recognizing you know what?
I'm glad you have that feeling. I'm glad you recognize the desire to do something more to have something more. It's not just as Dawkins says a wishful thinking type thing. There is a reason why all of us if we've if we've ever Experienced transcendental meaning in life and Most of us have in the birth of a child In in our marriage in at the side of a loved one as they pass away.
You know, I I was I you know being a Scotsman with no emotions. I was amazed Last weekend when I gave my daughter away in marriage, man there was there was something there that connected me with all the fathers that went before me and and I now had experienced something that I could not have understood beforehand and there's something that goes beyond Just simply the synapses in my brain firing and coming to those experiences.
And so I would use that with those people and say I wonder why you're even going there because your worldview doesn't provide you with a reason for even Trying to do this and you seem to be desperate to be doing it.
I wonder why it is now with the other person. They're not gonna even Dawkins. Dawkins has a wife and kids. He doesn't live consistently with his worldview at that point. And so with the the pessimistic no-free-will everything's just determined person.
You can I think pretty easily show the inconsistencies, but they're gonna be much more hardened to it in my experience. It's the ones that are trying to find some way. Those those are the ones that I would think would be a little bit more open to maybe seeing what it is.
You're talking about. Yeah, because especially after listening to Your dividing lines about a month ago with the Michael Brown stuff. I know this Homosexual agenda is coming out pretty pretty strong that we're born this way.
We're not choosing it.
This is just how we are. Well, Lady Gaga has proven that for the current generation.
I mean, that's that's all they need is a Fancy beat and that'll proclaim the worldview. I just I know as Christians. We're gonna be attacked from this at different angles. That's one perspective of saying I'm not culpable for my choices.
Yet, I understand the inconsistencies where well, why would you incriminate a murderer? You know, wasn't he just born that way to want to eliminate life? Yeah, you know, it's funny that just this morning.
I I almost never do this by turn on the Today Show because I'd happen to look over at 7 o 'clock and I wonder what the response to all the debt ceiling stuff is so I happen to pop it on and I forget what it was.
There was some news report about somebody had done some horrific thing had Had had killed somebody or something and these news reporters that I know Would would just be as liberal as a day as long boy.
The comments they made on that made it very clear. They didn't have any problem with stiff and strong penalties in this situation, you know, the inconsistency was striking to me and so You know the the situation you have with both of them both of those groups.
What you need what you need to recognize. You're actually calling them to a higher view of man. Because while we believe in total depravity what makes total depravity what it is is the fact that we've been creating the image of God and That we know right from wrong and that we can communicate with him and we've been gifted by God with these tremendous capacities and abilities that that You know, the my cat does not have I assure you I have attempted to reason with my cat many times on a moral basis.
It does not work. And we have that capacity and ability we're actually calling people to something higher and I think a lot of people are looking for that their their their secular education has robbed them of Transcendental meaning and I think they're looking for that and the the cults know that and the cults will give them falsehood.
We just need to give them truth.
In regards to these particular matters now does in philosophical categories. Am I wrong in saying that you know the Mike Schermer type or you know Those that are advocating free will and trying to find meaning.
Is that just a reintroduction of existentialism? Or is there another word to describe the philosophical category that they try to jump into? I don't know.
I do not call myself a philosopher. I I I look at more from a biblical perspective. They recognize that that it is a Philosophy of despair and hopelessness. And they recognize that that's not going to fly and I say that's because we're creating image of God so what what terminology might be applied to it, I think depends on the form of meaning that they then seek to present whether it's Just phenomenological or whether it's something that's created the mind, you know, whatever I think that would determine the actual term that would be applied to it.
So hey, thanks for your phone call today. I got two more is to sneak in in the next couple of minutes. So thanks for your call. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Bye. Bye. All right, two more to sneak in.
I think we can get to both of them here. Let's talk with Brian. Hi Brian.
How you doing? Dr. White doing good. I will speaking of moral standards at a question on maybe your understanding a position of Bonson's Theonomic thesis on it and heard many of his lectures and I've read your book That you co-wrote on Micah, but I've heard you kind of allude to like theonomy.
And I don't I don't get completely against it, but I want to understand your position and possibly the new Positions that are being the kingdoms in natural law. Mr. West. Yeah.
Theonomy for those who are not familiar with it just simply means God's law the rule of God's law. It has been associated with a wide variety of perspectives Greg Bonson being one of the most sober going back to obviously, he was very familiar with and and dependent upon RJ Rush Dooney for certain of his understandings as well, but had his own nuances and then there have been others Gary North and others that have other forms of Theonomy.
Theonomy is normally I think misidentified as just this wild-eyed idea of the Christians need to take over and Kill off all the homosexuals and so on and so forth. That obviously is not what theonomy is and it very frequently is associated with a post-millennial perspective in the concept of the gospel growing in a particular culture until it becomes the majority and therefore what what the majority there for one is going to be.
That which was reflected in God's law. I liked the fact that Bonson recognized there was much work to be done in this and the identification of what is Ceremonial and what is moral how we derive what is moral from say the Holiness Code and things like that.
I think he was right when he concluded his book and saying there's much more work to be done here I think he recognized there. It wasn't a black-and-white issue and that there was much to be said there now as a Baptist.
Of course, I am extremely Concerned about any kind of governmental intrusion into the church. I do see that I Do not see the New Testament teaching the church to take over The realm of the magistrate.
I do think that there are two realms there I do think the magistrate will be judged on the basis of God's moral law. I think that you see that in Matthew 25. I think you see that in Revelation I think you see that in the minor prophets and the fact that other nations outside of Israel are condemned For the way they treated widows and orphans and and and all the things associated there with so I think that there is an Appropriate, you know, I'm you're not going to hear me ever speaking against God's law because God's law represents God's holy nature.
What you will hear me speaking against is anyone who thinks that God's law is intended to be the means by which we bring about our own salvation. The very clear teaching in the New Testament is that it functions to show us our sin and then point us to the Savior.
It is our schoolmaster to bring lead us unto Christ. And so unfortunately a lot of very shallow thinking evangelicals have just simply dismissed God's law. They don't read the Old Testament. Because they don't see that it has that that great value to us so I I I would be a reformed Baptist and hence would be very and as an amillennialist as well would would would be concerned about some of the concepts of.
Making.
Certain religious rules mandatory within a culture. Especially because that then opens the door for the culture then to make things mandatory within the church. I do see two different spheres at that point but I don't go nearly as far as the.
So I don't go to that extreme of theonomy. I would call myself a theonomist in the sense that I honor God's law and I believe that Every nation and every leader of every nation will be judged by God's law and that God's law is just and holy and it Demonstrates God's holy will and Jeremiah said that I will write my law upon their hearts and that I only know of one only one Law that reveals God's holy will and therefore that gives us that use of the law for the Christian.
That is how we honor God. But the same time I don't go so far as this this two kingdoms stuff where you have such a radical Distinction that I've actually heard people saying ah, you know this homosexual stuff.
So what you know, that's that's just the world, you know Don't have to worry about that. That's just the world be in the world and as if we somehow have already been taken out of the world and Are not to use the freedoms that God has given to us to be salt and light so I I try to you know, stay out of the the radical extremes and As as best I can and I I don't know that I'm always consistent on that line.
And I do think Boston would have agreed with the Separation of church shouldn't be one, you know ruling over the other. But he also does, you know. Looking at like maybe Romans 13 1 through 7 Seeing that the law should be the standard by which the civil magistrate should be Enforcing or avenging God's wrath.
And I don't know. It's interesting to me. I've kind of got myself in the trouble talking to people because it was kind of a new thing with me. Yeah, I find. I find this piece is very compelling. I can see how it could kind of have a broad.
Broad spectrum within itself, but. I don't I don't I hear you. I hear Brian unfortunate night. I hear you Brian. Unfortunately, I also hear the theme music. Yeah, I I'm pretty much there with you and I appreciate much to what Greg had to say and and thankfully Knew him before his death and I do appreciate that.
I appreciate your phone call. Hey Vincent. Sorry. I didn't get to you today. I honestly just didn't see it coming. I thought it was 21 after not 28 after. We'll see on Thursday. God bless. The dividing line has been brought to you by Alpha and Omega ministries.
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