They say: When God does good, it’s not because he’s conforming himself to some external morality; God’s actions are good because it is God doing them. Goodness is whatever God does and commands. This is the absolutist’s reply to Euthyphro’s dilemma. But maybe the absolutist is wrong. By way of illustration, what if we simply […]
Thoughts on Dystheism and the Sacrifice of Isaac Read More »
Tim Alberta’s The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory is a great book. The author’s intended purpose is to investigate the errors that have allowed MAGA extremism to permeate the evangelical church. The book’s overall sentiment can be summarized by this quote from a passage where the author was interviewing Cal Thomas: “When Trump mentioned
The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory – Book Review Read More »
The problem of evil, or, “Why does God allow bad things to happen?” There are two categories that are really pivotal in my thoughts and opinions on theism in the last decade. These are “theodicy” and “dystheism”. The definitions of these terms are very similar, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were people out there
Dystheism vs. Theodicy Read More »
I’ve migrated my blog from mustfollow.wordpress.com to mustfollow.blog, and then off of Automattic’s WordPress.com entirely to self-hosted, now at blog.lorddev.com. I’ve changed the theme as my previous one was quite outdated. But the Tolkien quote doesn’t really fit anymore, so I need to think of a new blog title. I set up an App Service
The Baptists had insisted that the way Jesus made disciples was by teaching and persuasion, not by coercion. They held that the government has no competence in religion, and when it seeks to enforce faith it creates wars of religion and hypocrites who claim a faith they do not actually hold… Following a thicker Jesus
Defending Democracy from Christian Nationalists Read More »
In my youth I exhibited an acumen for music and was told by my parents that I was to do it all “to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Though I studied classical music I was sort of sending energy to the Most High while I played it. My favorite composer was Bach, who
Music for fun vs. music for religion Read More »
Theodicy is the attempt to vindicate God when we see so much evil in the world. During the first phase of my deconstruction, my own theodocious issues weren’t quite the same as others. For me, the problem of evil was addressed with by Calvinism and the doctrine of Original Sin. I think the big issue
The Odyssey of Theodicy Read More »
“The joy of the Lord.” I’ve never felt it. In 2016 my grandma died. The year before that, my other grandma died. In 2018 our house burned to the ground in the Camp fire (along with the whole rest of the town). I am well-acquainted with grief. And when I stopped believing I also experienced
Faith and depression Read More »
I think I first noticed something was wrong with our religion when I saw an episode of 60 Minutes about the remnants of the Branch Davidians in Waco. Yes, they’re still there. In the video, the new leader’s daughter was playing a Taylor and singing a Tim Hughes song. After that I could never sing that song again.
All truth is God’s truth. —Augustine A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. —David Hume Bertrand Russell said, “Perhaps you may say that it would be rather a pity if Christian education were to cease, because you would then get no more Rationalists.” I concur (though I admit I can’t tell if he
How Reformed Theology taught me to be a Freethinker Read More »