tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221499500051138256.post1523644010204665351..comments2023-05-12T10:37:20.308-05:00Comments on Examining Calvinism: Congruent ElectionRichard Coordshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05600859155973820653noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221499500051138256.post-72292997384143654662008-12-31T07:26:00.000-05:002008-12-31T07:26:00.000-05:00Hey Chris, I really like the quote from SEA's Keit...Hey Chris, <BR/><BR/>I really like the quote from SEA's Keith Schooley in this regard:<BR/><BR/>"Mysterion, in the NT, is used for<BR/>something which God had previously kept hidden, until He chose to<BR/>reveal it (as in, for instance, His intention that Jews and Gentiles would be brought together as one people of God, Eph. 3:6). It is something like a plot twist in literature. It is not necessarily difficult to fathom; it is just unexpected, something God chose to keep hidden for a time. But "mystery" in theology is frequently used for something<BR/>unfathomable, beyond human comprehension, understandable only to God. <B>In practice</B>, it is used to deal with a logical contradiction within one's theology. How can God ordain sin and yet not be its author? It's<BR/>a mystery. How can He desire the salvation of all and yet ordain that most of humanity remain condemned? It's a mystery. How can He be utterly good and yet ordain actions that are utterly evil? It's a mystery. It's all too convenient. A true mysterion awaits an apokalypsis, a<BR/>revelation of God's purpose. It's not an all-purpose escape clause for when you've ground your theology into self-contradiction."<BR/><BR/>Thoughts?Richard Coordshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05600859155973820653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7221499500051138256.post-48890831698385475222008-12-31T04:34:00.000-05:002008-12-31T04:34:00.000-05:00I really don't understand the honesty of saying "t...I really don't understand the honesty of saying "there is no contradiction here". I used to take a similar view to Geisler and even tried to defend it. However regardless of the codewords one uses like "paradox", "mystery" etc, it is simply a contradiction. There are clearly some truths in Scripture which we cannot understand (like the fact that God has no beginning and the Trinity) but I do not believe this to be one of them. <BR/><BR/>Where do you end when it comes to accepting contradictions?Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05639874602120907683noreply@blogger.com