Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

problem of evil

Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

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Pain_SufferingI read this one slowly because it’s so rich:

Timothy Keller. Walking with God through Pain and Suffering. New York: Dutton, 2013. 12-page PDF sample.

It’s probably the best overall book on suffering because it shrewdly addresses the issue from three angles:

  1. cultural
  2. biblical-theological
  3. practical

As with Keller’s other books, this brims with wisdom from decades of fruitful pastoral ministry. [Read more…] about Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

Ben Witherington: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” is “not good theology”

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“The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21b).

The daughters of two well-known theologians recently died, and both theologians publicly reflected on the tragic events. One is an Arminian, and one is a Calvinist:

  1. Ben Witherington (an Arminian), “What Good Grief Looks Like When a Daughter Dies: Walking the Way of Grace in the Midst of My Grief” (April 11, 2012)
  2. Fred Zaspel (a Calvinist), “Reflections on the Loss of Our Daughter” (November 13, 2013)

(HT: Tony Reinke)

Losing a daughter in the prime of her life must be unimaginably painful! But my jaw dropped when I read what Ben Witherington asserts about Job 1:21 (bullet points added):

[Read more…] about Ben Witherington: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away” is “not good theology”

Spurgeon: A Living Theology of Suffering

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9781781911228v3Tom Nettles, “Sickness, Suffering, Depression,” ch. 17 in Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Fearn, Scotland: Mentor, 2013), 594:

Spurgeon never doubted that his exquisite pain, frequent sicknesses, and even despondency were given to him by God for his sanctification in a wise and holy purpose. [Read more…] about Spurgeon: A Living Theology of Suffering

Don Carson on the Providence of God

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tinkerD. A. Carson, “Foreword,” in Melvin Tinker, Intended for Good: The Providence of God (Nottingham, England: IVP, 2012), 9–10:

Fewer than two hundred years ago, a student writing an advanced paper in most history departments in British or American universities might well include some reflections on what his or her historical treatment implied about divine providence. Today it is unthinkable to include such reflection. At a more mundane level, reflections on divine providence continue to surface in trivial conversations. Not long ago I was flying home after speaking at a conference somewhere, and it appeared that our plane was going be delayed by an hour or two because of bad weather, or perhaps forced to land at another airport. Suddenly the pilot announced that there was a small break in the weather, and we were heading straight in with minimal delay. The passenger in the next seat smiled and muttered, ‘Someone up there loves me: I’ll make my connecting flight.’ I confess I smiled back and asked him, ‘If you missed your flight, would that constitute evidence that he doesn’t love you?’ [Read more…] about Don Carson on the Providence of God

Carson: The most painful things I’ve ever borne are betrayals by Christian friends

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Here’s how Don Carson recently replied to a question about suffering during a Q&A. (This is a lightly edited transcript from 13:37 to 14:40 in the audio file.)

  • We grew up in some of the suffering of French Canada.
  • I’ve had typhoid because I went to Africa and came within death’s door.
  • I’ve had two or three other diseases that have almost taken me out.
  • My wife’s had cancer that has almost taken her out. She didn’t expect to live to 50; she just turned 59.
  • But that’s part of the stuff of life, isn’t it? And if you’re a Christian leader, then sooner or later you go through situations in churches and relationships that are really tough. The most painful things I’ve ever borne are betrayals by Christian friends.

  • [Read more…] about Carson: The most painful things I’ve ever borne are betrayals by Christian friends

Carson: How Do We Know If God Is Disciplining Us?

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Don Carson answered that question recently for TGC’s blog.

He draws three inferences:

  1. We are likely to make exegetical and theological mistakes when we take any one of these passages and treat it as if it explains all suffering.
  2. In any suffering, or in any other event for that matter, God is doubtless doing many things, perhaps thousands of things, millions of things, even if we can only detect two or three or a handful. [Cf. Piper’s tweet.]
  3. It follows that when we face suffering of any kind, we should use the occasion for self-examination.

Conclusion: “We sometimes observe that hard cases make bad theology. But easy, formulaic answers to questions of suffering are invariably reductionistic — and they make bad theology, too.”

Read the whole thing.

Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy

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whomeverIn 2010, B&H published Whosoever Will: A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism (ed. David L. Allen and Steve W. Lemke). It arose from the 2008 “John 3:16 Conference.”

This book is much better:

Matthew Barrett and Thomas J. Nettles, eds. Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy.  Cape Coral, FL: Founders, 2012. 401 pp.

Here’s the lineup: [Read more…] about Whomever He Wills: A Surprising Display of Sovereign Mercy

Six Videos and Related Resources

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When Alex Crain asked me some questions about Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism back in April, he also asked six other questions:

1. What is the gospel? How can God save me?

Related:

  1. “The Definition of the Gospel” (a talk I gave at a conference on April 8, 2011). Outline (3-page PDF).
  2. D. A. Carson. “The Biblical Gospel.” Pages 75–85 in For Such a Time as This: Perspectives on Evangelicalism, Past, Present and Future. Edited by Steve Brady and Harold Rowdon. London: Evangelical Alliance, 1996.
  3. ———. “The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:1–19).” May 23, 2007. Text, audio, and video available. (A lightly edited manuscript of a sermon preached at The Gospel Coalition’s conference in Deerfield, IL.)
  4. ———.  “What Is the Gospel?—Revisited.” Pages 147–70 in For the Fame of God’s Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper. Edited by Sam Storms and Justin Taylor. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010.
  5. Greg Gilbert. What Is the Gospel? IX Marks. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010.  (Foreword by D. A. Carson. Small, short (127 pp.), clear.)
  6. Milton Vincent. A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love. Bemidji, MN: Focus, 2008.  (Cf. my review.)

2. Are Mormons Christian?

Related:

  1. Ron Rhodes, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism),” in The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2631–32.
  2. The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 9:2 (Summer 2005) [Read more…] about Six Videos and Related Resources