Theological Treatises

  Where Is David Hume When you Need him? David Hume, the Scots sceptic, lived from 1711-1776 AD.  I remember reading his "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" while in seminary.  In it, Hume pretends to defend somewhat conventional orthodox religious viewpoints through characters he named "Cleanthes" and "Demea."  But one "conversationalist" named "Philo" certainly represented Hume's own inclinations--though, I would argue that Hume was  more  of an atheist than Philo is represented to edge toward.   . . . But the point I would like to focus on is Hume's detestation of "causality."  He seemed (to me) to constantly harp on the idea that we can never tie "causes" to "effects"; and that these things were simply random happenings, with no real reference to one another.  Of course, in doing this, Hume was hoping to chisel away at the Christian concept of the Creator, the providence of God; and cosmolog...

  The Visible Church Is the Answer To the Internet Frenzy First of all, the internet cannot be blamed for anything I will touch on in this little paper.  The internet, social media, AI, Google answers to our questions, etc.--are not responsible for  any  of our sins, our over-indulgences, our addictions, our insanity, our stupidity, or our frenzy.  Every "tool" that God has ever allowed the world to develop is, in itself, innocuous; it is not "ethics-bearing" in its existence.   One of the problems we sinners face today, is that we simply have too much time on our hands.  Because we do not use our time well, we find ourselves frittering it away--and today, this is most easily done via facile access to the internet.  I myself--now that I am retired from the strenuous duties of pastoring a church congregation--have "time" to write articles like this one.  In so doing, am I being a hypocrite, especially with regard to wh...

  Knowing Oneself/Finding Oneself To "know" oneself, or to seek to "find" oneself, is  not  necessarily inherently or intrinsically  evil  in itself.  Sometimes I think that we Christian people are tempted to instantly come to conclusions that are not always entirely sustainable--and this is probably a good example of one of those things.   . . . I would argue, that as beings created in the very image of God, we of  necessity  seek to "know" ourselves, and need to "find" ourselves.  Even Adam and Eve, before their Fall, "knew" themselves as God's special creation; and they "found" themselves in their relation to the Triune God. . . . But, upon the Fall of man into sin everything got completely messed-up, (to say the least/and to say it in polite terms).   Now, we  still  must, of necessity, "know" ourselves, and "find" ourselves--but, since we are cut off from the Source of Life (God) because of sin, we...

  "Why Me?" Usually, when we hear (or think of) the question, "Why me?", we are  expecting  someone to be  bemoaning  their situation or condition in life.  This expression does not  always  evidence a case of self-pity, but oftentimes it does. . . . For  all  fallen human persons (sinners), but  especially  for those who are born again to a living hope in Jesus Christ through and via God's gospel of grace, the query, "Why me?", should be directed to the further inquiry, "Why has God  been so good to me?"   The reason I even include  all  fallen human sinners, is because  none  of us deserve  anything  good from God.  In fact, with regard to our "deserts," we  all --even simply because of our Fall in Adam--"deserve" condemnation, hell, misery, wrath, and suffering.  But this is  not  the universally-experienced estate of even  unregenerate ...

  How One Man Formed the Minds of Millions of Elect Churchmen I remember being in a Humanities-type class in college in the 1970's, when the atheist Jewish philosophy professor made a statement like this: "Besides Jesus Christ Himself, no one has made a greater impact on the world than the Apostle Paul."  I myself was a newly regenerated Christian; and the instructor's words made quite an impression on me; and I still reflect on what he said (even today).   I think the professor was absolutely right on.  Think about this with me: is it not true, that the minds of  all  genuinely born again Christians have been formed by the doctrine, the words, the priorities, the passions, and the teachings of the Apostle Paul--as they are related to us in his 13 Epistles (or 14, if we include Hebrews); plus the Book of Acts; (and Peter's statement found in 2 Pet. 3:16)?  The entire regenerated world of the universal church of Jesus Christ has been...

  How To Handle Trouble There is probably not a more basic, day-in-and-day-out question for all of us fallen sinners, than, "How do I handle trouble?"  This little paper will seek to address this very practical concern. . . . But first, a little history.  When God created the world, there was *no* trouble whatsoever.  Even after He created Adam and Eve, there was still no trouble.  It was only after their (our) Fall in the Garden of Eden, that trouble became an inevitable part of their (and our) existence on this side of eternity.   Let us first "categorize" these "troubles."  Here is a thumbnail list: tribulation, distress, affliction, persecution, trial, and testing.  How do you like that catalog?  If you say, "I am OK with it," you are probably prevaricating.  The fact is, we should be honest; and admit that we *hate* those things.  If we did not hate them, they would not be problems f...