Technology, philosophy, and more| LarrySanger.org
In Part I, I discussed those questions that distinguished Catholicism and Orthodoxy, on the one hand, from all of Protestantism, on the other. In Part II, I began to discuss questions that distinguish "High Church" traditions (Catholicism and Orthodoxy again, but also including Lutheranism, much of| LarrySanger.org
A friend of mine has pressed me to respond to William Lane Craig's defense of Molinism, so here is a small contribution. Recently, I found an occasion to do so. Craig's X.com team posted this video, a snippet of a longer interview; click and watch it, it's only 94 seconds. Craig is being provocative| LarrySanger.org
This is the second set of questions and answers about the distinctive doctrines of the Christian denominations. My aim in this series is to help me to decide on my proper denominational home. […]| LarrySanger.org
Philosophy and theology posit two kinds of self-sustaining beings: God, who is eternally self-sustaining, depending on nothing outside himself for his being; and living beings or organisms, consisting of many interoperative systems that function to sustain the whole, and which give rise to rough copies of themselves. Advances in robotics and AI now make feasible a third kind of self-sustaining being, which is neither God nor organism.| LarrySanger.org
The Denominational Distinctives I: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant| larrysanger.org
In a previous post on LarrySanger.org, I listed some “questions that distinguish the denominations.” More precisely, I attempted to list, tentatively, questions that, taken together, are minimally adequate to distinguish the doctrinal commitments of the major denominations (and quite a few minor ones, as well). I got much useful feedback on that list. What follows reflects the first section of an edited list, i.e., not the original list. I will cover later sections in later posts.| LarrySanger.org
I. Some quick preliminaries I believe there is free will. I am a compatibilist. In this essay I will defend this view. I’ve taken this line ever since college, but have never taken the time to elaborate it since then. Especially with neuroscientists and other scientists asserting that free wil| LarrySanger.org
Free will and determinism have exercised me since my teen years, and I’ve thought of myself as a compatibilist since college. I have found no reason to change my mind. Since my conversion in 2020, questions about freedom and divine sovereignty have weighed on my mind, and Calvinists—crusaders for God’s sovereignty that they are—have sternly insisted that I join their side. Well, I do think God is sovereign, and I am inclined to compatibilism. So, I do have much in common with my Calvi...| LarrySanger.org
A student asked some advice, so I replied. The question and the answer are both very general, so in case this helps anyone: Why does the Christian conception of God impose divine standards […]| LarrySanger.org
The Gospel—the good news—was the inauguration of the Kingdom of God, and especially the arrival of the King. Many self-identified Christians will nod sagely at this but not actually understand what it means.| LarrySanger.org
While thinking about a certain book on the history of religious ideas, I considered how my own approach to theology might fit into that enormous history. This led me to the following summary […]| LarrySanger.org
Among those who have responded to my testimony, a few Unitarians have come out of the woodwork, warning me sternly that there is one God. With this, I agree, of course. But they add that Jesus is not God. With this, I disagree.| LarrySanger.org
I almost wrote: “a crazy idea for theological self-education” | LarrySanger.org
I want to ask my generous and well-informed Christian readership here for their feedback on a list of questions. The task is fairly straightforward to state, not maybe not easy to execute: Formulate a list of questions that is minimally sufficient to investigate where one "fits" within the broad| LarrySanger.org
It is finally time for me to confess and explain, fully and publicly, that I am a Christian. Followers of this blog have probably guessed this, but it is past time to share my testimony properly. I am called to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”1 One of the most effective ways to do so is to tell your conversion story. So, here is mine.| LarrySanger.org
She is qualifiedly Mother of God, and not the Queen of Heaven. And certainly not the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. | LarrySanger.org
Here is a fundamental question of (the methodology of) theology: According to what rule, or rules, should we determine our doctrines about the things of God? This question asks about our regula fidei, Latin for “rule of faith.”| LarrySanger.org
