oddXian: Challenge the Consensus

Natural "evil" and sin "evil" are 2 different things - Natural is a result of sin, since no natural calamity could affect us, pre-Fall. Also - sin and evil is not good, therefore is not-God or not-of-God. It is the state of absence (willfully on the part of the created or Creator) of God's immediate sustaining loving influence and abiding loving presence. This state is only possible in the natural creation (temporally) and Hell (eternally). The introduction of this state to the natural Creation has a pervasive and corruptive influence, initiated by the creature and allowed by the Creator to serve the greater good, namely to glorify God through glorifying the Son as Judge, Savior and Redeemer. Evil, while not-of-God, is still bounded and directed by God to serve the purpose of God's plan for creation. Remove His constraining loving presence and the Creation would be as Hell. This, to me, explains how Christ was still God, even when the Father forsook Him. Chr...

It should be no surprise to folks that are familiar with National Geographic and their singleminded determination, truth nonwithstanding, to drive the atheistic naturalistic worldview. Do you remember the furor over the recent discovery of an ancient manuscript entitled The Gospel of Judas? The media reported that the document presented Judas as a good guy who turned Jesus over only because Jesus told him to. The reports implied that the church had gotten it wrong over all these centuries, that Judas was no sinister betrayer but a leading disciple to whom Jesus imparted special knowledge. The media coverage indicated that we would now have to re-evaluate our knowledge of Jesus. The translation became a best-seller and National Geographic, which was behind the publication of the text, made a TV documentary on the subject. But have you heard the rest of the story? The media that hyped The Gospel of Judas has not been as vigilant in reporting how scholars have been shooting down all of th...

Josh McDowell has a new book being released on the resurrection... The book, Evidence for the Resurrection: What It Means for Your Relationship with God, views the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ through relevant apologetics in a way that is designed to answer crucial life questions people face every day in today’s culture. "While the resurrection promises us a new and perfect life in the future, God loves us too much to leave us alone to contend with the pain, guilt and loneliness of our present life," says Josh McDowell. The direction mentioned in the last paragraph appears to be good methodology given the state of society, the conditions youth often experience, as well as the emphases of current generations.