(Last updated/edited 9/17/16)
This blog should be read in conjunction with my other blog HERE.Truly, you are a God who hides himself,
O God of Israel, the Savior. – Isaiah 45:15
Many of the various objections to Christianity are directly or indirectly related to the topic of the Hiddenness of God (sometimes abbreviated in this blog as "HoG"). For example, the HoG has bearing on the Problem of Evil and Suffering ("PoE"). PoE is considered by most authorities (philosophical, theological, apologetical, atheological etc.) to be the number one objection to Christianity [both logically and emotionally]. In recent years many books and essays have been written addressing the HoG. But in comparison to the problem of evil, the HoG has barely been addressed or grappled with. Here are some of my thoughts concerning the HoG. In the following I'll be combining and highlighting the insights that other writers have made with my own comments. Obviously, I won't be able to cover all the worthy contributions made on this topic by better writers.
A basic objection to Christianity based on the HoG is often stated this way, "Why isn't God's existence more obvious and clear? Why hasn't God made His existence undeniable?" For example, why doesn't God use the stars in the sky to write in every major language "I, God, exist and Jesus Christ is my Son"?
In Christianity, God not only created humans, but He also created angels. When He did, He created them in such a way that it was impossible for the angels to not know He existed. That is, they couldn't escape knowing that God exists. The angels had that epistemological advantage of knowing with certainty that God existed. But the disadvantage of that scenario was that their belief, obedience, and devotion to God was, in a sense, "coerced." They didn't have the opportunity to demonstrate their obedience and devotion as being willing and freely committed. That's the exact opposite when it comes to the situation human beings find themselves in. Unlike Adam and Eve who were directly created by God or Moses and the Exodus generation, humans are generally born in situations where God's existence is not absolutely and rationally certain (or nearly so) or coerced due to strong evidence (e.g. the miracles in Moses' ministry). In that sense, human beings are that much freer (than angels) to willingly choose to believe, obey and be devoted to God despite all obstacles, difficulties and doubts. We humans have the opportunity to show by our daily living that we desire God to exist and are committed to believing and obeying Him, even when it gets difficult to believe or when faith is wavering. Humans get the opportunity to more freely choose for or against God and His ways and whether to willingly serve or disobey Him. Thus, with their lesser knowledge, it allowed for the greater potential praise and reward of humans; just as the angels, with their greater knowledge, resulted in the greater potential for blame and punishment.
Apparently, God chose to make (at least) two kinds of sentient species (angels and humans) under these different circumstances. Two additional differences between the creation of angelkind and humankind are 1. (apparently) each individual angel is created directly by God and is not the offspring of a parental angel or angels; unlike humans who are born from parents of the same species (with the exception of Adam & Eve). 2. (apparently) angels were not created with a Federal Head whose actions had ramifications for each individual. Unlike humans who had Adam as their Federal Head and whose Original Sin had ramifications on the rest of his species (i.e. his wife and descendants).
Above I explained the advantage and disadvantage of the angelic situation as well as the advantage of the human situation. What then is (or are) the human disadvantage(s)? They can be exemplified in the following questions. "How does one come to know or be convinced of the existence of God? If the evidence for God is not sufficiently strong enough, how can one come to justifiably believe in God, or justifiably be judged by God when His existence wasn't evidently clear?"
I agree with William Lane Craig's following statement regarding the hypothetical situation in which God repeatedly makes his existence rationally coercive (or nearly so) to each individual human. Imagine God speaking in a booming voice every 12 PM noontime in every time zone saying "I, God, exist and Jesus is my Son. Believe in Him." Or imagine a theophany of God following you around and intruding in your most private moments in the bathroom or bedroom. Or personally warning you every time you're tempted to commit some sin. A kind of divine "Big Brother." Craig says,
"Indeed, I could well imagine that in such a world, after a while, people would begin to chafe under such brazen advertisements of their Creator. And in time, eventually come to resent His effrontery for such brazen advertisements of His existence." (paraphrase of a statement he's made in various texts and in debates; e.g. HERE and HERE, similarly HERE)Apparently, that's what might have happened in the angelic realm. The existence of God was so commonplace that that familiarity bred contempt. It may be asked, "Could not the same thing happen with humans in heaven after countless eons of living in the presence of God?" This delves into a topic that's outside the purpose of this particular blog. But I'll give a brief truncated answer. I speculate that the knowledge of God angels had before any of them fell into sin was probably limited and therefore allowed for the possibility of some of them thinking they can join forces to successfully overthrow and replace God.
It seems to me that if they fully knew that God was truly omnipotent (i.e. ALL-powerful, not merely VERY-powerful), it would have made little sense for them to attempt to overthrow God. It would be totally irrational to attempt to rebel against an omnipotent Deity. Even 1 Peter 1:12 declares that the angels are learning things about theology and the plan of God as they watch the human drama unfold. The Redemptive History of mankind is not only for the instruction of humans, but also of angels. It may have been that before the angels fell they weren't fully informed, for example, of God's omnipotence or absolute sovereignty (and by extension predestination). That answer might explain how angels COULD fall. Another possibility is that they were told of God's attributes like omnipotence, but they gradually began to doubt that God had the powers He claimed to have because of their limited experience of God. God may have continually manifested Himself to the angels in a theophany whereby He could be seen sitting on a throne. Some of the angels may have wrongly inferred from that theophany that God was limited in the ways they themselves were and so eventually plotted to overthrow God once they started doubting His claimed attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence et cetera.
Now how do we go about explaining how redeemed humans in heaven WON'T fall again for a second or third or fourth time (ad infinitum)? While some theologians allowed for repeated falls and redemptions (like Origen), most modern Christian theologians reject the notion. The more Arminian-like theologians often argue that the soul-making property of humanity's earthly life forms and sets (as in the hardening of clay) the character of humans so that by the time they get to heaven it would be impossible for them to fall again. Especially since they are now exposed to the full glory, holiness and grace of God (unlike the angels, per my speculation). That coupled with their being able to appreciate the benefits of redemption after having experienced for a lifetime the misery of a fallen world.
These are things which may have been denied angels by the circumstances of their creation. Yet, they were nevertheless responsible because of the limited knowledge they did have which included the certain knowledge of their Creator and heavenly Father (Heb. 12:9) who was, in their clear observation, (at the very least) extremely powerful and extremely benevolent. Adult human offspring don't normally rebel or conspire against loving parents. Teenage children do, but that's partially due to their rational powers not having yet fully developed. Whereas angels were created extremely intelligent from the start. Stephen Charnock wrote, "Unbelief was the first sin, and pride was the first-born of it." Again, my speculation is that the angels were originally given sufficient knowledge of God that they knew for certain God exists and had certain attributes. But that knowledge of God wasn't complete, though it did render them morally culpable for rejecting God. According to my speculation (and Charnock's quote), "Lucifer" (conventionally named so) or some other angel, first started to doubt God's power and goodness. This doubt spread through angelkind, and in pride one (e.g. Lucifer) or all of them deluded themselves into thinking they could overthrow God and have one in their own ranks take God's place. From the Christian perspective, the attempted coup d'état failed. For all we know, demons still think it's possible to overthrow God and usurp His authority. That might explain why they still fight against God's Kingdom. Another possibility might be that they live in a different timeline since they also live in a different dimension (another speculation), though I'm disinclined to believe it. But that might explain why they continue to fight God even after the Cross and Resurrection of Christ.
Returning to the issue of explaining why the saints in heaven won't fall; the more Calvinistic-like theologians argue that God can so sanctify human beings and conform them to the image of Christ (and His character) such that they will willingly be unable to sin. This answer is similar to one of the Arminian-like answers but is more consistent with Calvinism because Calvinism denies libertarian free will (usually in favor of compatibilistic free will). Given libertarian free will, it is difficult to conceive of finite creatures being unable to sin. But I'll set that issue aside.
To those paying attention to the argument, it might be noted that I still haven't addressed the questions I posed on behalf of my hypothetical critics. As a reminder, here are the questions again,
"How does one come to know or be convinced of the existence of God? If the evidence for God is not sufficiently strong enough, how can one come to justifiably believe in God, or justifiably be judged by God when His existence wasn't evidently clear?"A beginning answer can be found in a few quotes by Blaise Pascal. He wrote in his Pensées:
Willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their heart, God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given indications [or "signs"] of himself which are visible to those who seek him and not to those who do not seek him. There is enough light for those to see who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition. [Quoted by William Lane Craig HERE and HERE]
Elsewhere in his Pensées he wrote:
The prophecies, the very miracles and proofs of our religion, are not of such a nature that they can be said to be absolutely convincing. But they are also of such a kind that it cannot be said that it is unreasonable to believe them. Thus there is both evidence and obscurity to enlighten some and confuse others. But the evidence is such that it surpasses, or at least equals, the evidence to the contrary; so that it is not reason which can determine men not to follow it, and thus it can only be lust or malice of heart. And by this means there is sufficient evidence to condemn, and insufficient to convince; so that it appears in those who follow it, that it is grace, and not reason, which makes them follow it; and in those who shun it, that it is lust, not reason, which makes them shun it.God's apparent absence can also be compounded and explained by the fact that God uses relational distance as a form of judgment. Isaiah 59 says,
1 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,
or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation
between you and your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood
and your fingers with iniquity;
your lips have spoken lies;
your tongue mutters wickedness.
[The remainder of the chapter continues in the same vein]
Another compounding factor in the apparent absence of God is the reality that we ourselves as sinners hide and run away from a holy God like Adam and Eve did because of their guilt and shame. We naturally try to suppress, repress and resist the presence and reality of God.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.– Gen. 3:8
Or as C.S. Lewis put it in Surprised by Joy, "Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about 'man's search for God'. To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse's search for the cat."19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.– John 3:19-20
The beauty of the two quotes I gave of Pascal is that they can be appealed to and used by both Arminian-like Christians and (most) Calvinistic-like Christians (if understood in a particular way by a Calvinist). Even by Van Tillian Calvinists who believe that all things in creation are (in some way) evidence for the existence of God. The evidence for God can be sufficient so that all humans are without excuse, without that evidence having to be rationally coercive. I interpret Van Til to teach that all men know existentially that God exists, rather than knowing in a rationally coercive way. More Pascal quotations can be found at this link HERE
Returning to William Lane Craig's insight, I can imagine that most humans (especially before their salvation) would NOT want God continuously watching them knowing He is also continuously "recording," weighing and judging their thoughts, words, and actions. Most people, because of their sinful nature, wouldn't want a God to exist who sees all the sins they commit (with their "heads," "hearts" and "hands") at work, in their bedrooms, against their families, friends and neighbors and against themselves (not to mention against God Himself).
If God's existence were clearly evident people would end up either begrudgingly feigning love and obedience out of fear. Or "obey" out of a sycophantic desire for rewards and not out of genuine respect, love and gratitude. Similar to how people tend to slow down and drive exactly at the speed limit when they know a police car is driving behind them. Often times, the longer the police car drives behind them, the more anxious and resentful they become (with feelings of possible guilt rising up) because they suspect the police officer is "just LOOKING" (i.e. eager) to catch them in a violation.
Richard Swinburne said concerning the Hiddenness of God, that it's like being in a nursery. You don't hit your brother when you think your mother is there and watching. Rather, you hit your brother when you think she isn't there and watching. By partially veiling His existence, it provides an opportunity to make all the more free choices for God and goodness, or against God and for evil. God's hiddenness provides opportunity to develop and/or prove one's character. To develop virtues like compassion, courage, love, perseverance, patience, self-sacrifice, faith and trust in God. It provides opportunities for activities like evangelism, apologetics, discipleship, acts of charity and mercy (all of which God will reward). It provides opportunity for a truly willing devotion and commitment to God which angels can't demonstrate, prove or participate in to the degree humans can.
So, in a sense the HoG (i.e. God's regulated epistemic distance) is a gift of God to man. A gift that has the potential for greater degrees of praise and (not to mention different kinds of) rewards for humans which angels cannot partake of. Angelic rewards will be different, but no less real. That's the paradoxical nature of both 1. the Hiddenness of God and 2. of the requirement of faith. On the one hand the HoG is an impoverishment, on the other hand it presents an opportunity for greater blessings. Similarly, in one sense faith is non-meritorous and is a means to magnify men's weakness and insufficiency to save themselves and conversely magnify God's sufficiency, grace and power to save. Yet, in another sense when Christians persevere in faith despite (and in opposition to) the presence of trials and obstacles, it affords a way for Christians to "graciously merit" greater rewards. Hence the paradoxical phrases used to describe this seemingly contradictory concept. John Piper used the phrase "conditional unmerited grace" in his book Future Grace. John Gerstner was willing to use the phrase "works of super-erogation" in a Protestant sense in that good works (which are rooted in faith) can add to a Christian's rewards, even if it in no way contributes to his justification. Yes "gracious merit" is an oxymoron, but the concept was what Augustine was alluding to when he said that God crowns His own gifts when He rewards believers, since their ability to believe and do good deeds flow from God's own grace.
Back to the topic of the HoG.
In contrast to the fault finding trigger happy Policeman who is looking for any excuse to write up a ticket, the loving, forgiving and merciful heavenly Father, is "looking" for reasons to bless and reward people for the good they do. All things being equal that is; and not in a Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian way since orthodox Christianity denies both and opts for either Prevenient divinely initiated Grace as in Catholicism and Arminianism or Sufficient effectual Grace as in Calvinism [see my explanation of the differences in THIS blog].
Again, in such a world (where the knowledge of God's existence were coercive on earth) there would be sycophants who would obey God *merely* for the benefits rather than out of genuine love. But in both the cases of the anxious driver AND the "brown noser" [forgive the mental image], the problem wouldn't technically be the rationally coercive evidence of God's existence (since the saints in heaven have that and so have the unfallen angels from the time of their creation). Rather the attitude of the people involved will be what makes the difference. So, this would especially be true post lapsis (i.e. after the Fall) due (in part) to the natural depravity of men.
Still others, in such a world would respond to such irrefutable evidence in the opposite manner. They would, like Lucifer and his minions, rebel against God. As the saying goes, "Familiarity breeds contempt." J.P. Moreland has argued that after death humans will not have an opportunity to believe and repent because they will be exposed to such an abundance of rationally coercive proofs for the existence of God that it will no longer be the free kind of decision that those same humans had the opportunity of exercising before death. This might partially explain why the angels, as a species, were never given an opportunity for salvation. God may not have provided redemption for fallen angels because angelic sin was against way too much light. This means, because of redemption, the saints in heaven (i.e. saved humans) will relate to God on the basis of grace in a way that angels won't be able to. The "elect [unfallen] angels" never have their sins forgiven because they never sinned and (presumably) never will sin. Whereas saved human beings, will have greater reason to love God in heaven (not to mention now here on Earth) because, as the Lord Jesus said in Luke 7:47, "...he who is forgiven little, loves little." (cf. Luke 7:41-43). By implication, those who are forgiven greatly, can love greatly. Christians who have experienced the grace and love of God that non-Christians haven't experienced sin against greater light and love and therefore ought to love God that much more greatly.
Again, I suspect part of the reason why God has providentially made His existence partly vague the way He has is so that there would be opportunity for people to willingly/freely (not necessarily libertarianly) seek, find, choose, and love God. God isn't merely interested in humans merely coming to believe THAT God exists. That's relatively unimportant to God. God wants humans to believe IN Him in the sense of of having a personal loving and trusting relationship with them that results in 1. the greater eventual manifestation of His glory and 2. greater remunerative (gracious) rewards partly in this life and ultimately in the afterlife. Constant rationally coercive evidences in this life would be a hindrance to that (to some extent as it was to the angels).
God has ordained the amount and limitation of knowledge for both angels and humans in the differing (and contrasting) ways He has in order to:
1. prove through His differing creatures that He Himself is truly worthy of such love and devotion from both those who do have such undeniable evidence (like the angels who didn't fall) and from those who don't have such evidence like fallen human beings on earth.
2. provide opportunity for greater reward for His human believers who persevere in faith, obedience and faithfulness even when there are times when God's existence is in doubt; or when while His existence is believed, yet His seeming indifference seems to be more the case. Since, as C.S. Lewis said, there is a kind of faith (or faithfulness) that believes and perseveres despite adversity (including challenges to belief in God's existence and/or trust in God's goodness).
In a time of doubt C.S. Lewis wrote in his A Grief Observed, "The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like. Deceive yourself no longer..' "
Catholic saint (or not-so-saint) Theresa of Avila accordingly said, after being bucked off a horse and into a muddy puddle or river, "[God,] If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few."
In times of trials, sufferings and deprivations there is the special opportunity to believe God's promises that to those who love, believe and trust in Him, and believe He also loves them, He will compensate and console them for it all in the next life (if not also to some degree in this life).
It takes a special (as a Calvinist, I would argue a God given) persevering faith to believe "behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face," as the hymn God Moves In A Mysterious Way states. Nevertheless, the experience of Christians down the centuries also shows that Charles G. Trumbull wasn't being too hyperbolic when he said, "Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love." That's not necessarily true in this world. But ultimately it will be true in the next for the Christian.
Martin Luther wrote, "But surely it is preferable to lose the world rather than God the Creator of the world, who is able to create innumerable worlds afresh, and who is [Himself] better than infinite worlds! For what comparison is there between things temporal and things eternal?" Not just anyone can believe what Luther wrote in a way that doesn't make God a means to an end, rather than an end in Himself.
All the above things mentioned gets to the issue of where such faith (and faithfulness) and love can come from with the amount of evidence 1. "for" 2. "against" and 3. "neutral on" God's existence. For the most part, most of what I have already said could be affirmed by both Arminian-like and Calvinistic-like Christians. I encourage my Arminian-like fellow Christians to avail themselves of the arguments I've so far mentioned. However, this is where we must part ways. As a Calvinist, I believe the human faith to savingly believe in, love and trust God are all ultimately the gifts of God that flow from His Sovereign Grace. That is to say, as a Calvinist I believe in predestination. That God elects some to salvation while passing over others through non-election.
In light of my Calvinism, these further quotes from Pascal's Pensées are also useful for the various high predestinarian point of views.
577 There is sufficient clearness to enlighten the elect, and sufficient obscurity to humble them. There is sufficient obscurity to blind the reprobate, and sufficient clearness to condemn them, and make them inexcusable.—Saint Augustine, Montaigne, Sébond.
574 All things work together for good to the elect, even the obscurities of Scripture; for they honour them because of what is divinely clear. And all things work together for evil to the rest of the world, even what is clear; for they revile such, because of the obscurities which they do not understand.
562 It will be one of the confusions of the damned to see that they are condemned by their own reason, by which they claimed to condemn the Christian religion.
576 God has made the blindness of this people subservient to the good of the elect.
Blaise Pascal, being Roman Catholic, wrote these things as someone who, while rejecting Jansenism as heresy, nevertheless held to a high view of predestinating sovereign grace. Evidently, he was influenced by the Jansenists whom he was exposed to in his youth and attempted to hold to an Augustinian view permissible under Catholicism.
Some will argue that these comments and answers regarding the HoG won't satisfy the requests for reasons, evidences and arguments that non-believers may have in order to believe in Christianity and trust in Christ. It wasn't a purpose of this particular blog to provide positive evidence for the truth of Christianity. My other blogs present such evidences and arguments as well as providing links to other resources. [Here's a LINK to my blog on the the issue of the sufficiency or insufficiency of the evidence for Christianity.]
But even if this particular blog did provide positive evidence, we Calvinists heartily agree that non-Christians, if they remain unregenerate, will never be satisfied with the sufficient evidence. Since they will be judging by the criteria of their unbelieving, arbitrary, inconsistent, and question begging standards. "Standards" which they use to examine and judge what are often strawmen representations of Christianity. We believe that apart from the grace of God, they will do this by suppressing the evidence for God's existence due to their sinful depraved nature (which we were all born with).
When Desiderius Erasmus fully realized the implications of Martin Luther's doctrine of predestination, Erasmus (essentially) asked, "If predestination is true, who can come to believe that God actually loves them personally? Or who can bring themselves to love such a God?" (paraphrase). Luther's answer was, "I reply, Nobody! Nobody can! But the elect shall believe it; and the rest shall perish without believing it, raging and blaspheming, as you [Erasmus] describe them. So there will be some who believe it."
That's because it takes God given faith to believe that God is truly good even when there seemingly appears to be evidence to the contrary both in the world and in the Word (i.e. in truly Biblical doctrines like that of God's sovereignty). Nevertheless, the persevering Christian's experience bears out the reality of God's goodness. As Psalm 73 declares.
1. Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I was envious of the arrogant
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked....
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their end....
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant;
I was like a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
In his book The Bondage of the Will Martin Luther wrote:
Keep in view three lights: the light of nature, the light of grace, and the light of glory (this is a common and a good distinction). By the light of nature, it is inexplicable that it should be just for the good to be afflicted and the bad to prosper; but the light of grace explains it. By the light of grace, it is inexplicable how God can damn him who by his own strength can do nothing but sin and become guilty. Both the light of nature and the light of grace here insist that the fault lies not in the wretchedness of man, but in the injustice of God; nor can they judge otherwise of a God who crowns the ungodly freely, without merit, and does not crown, but damns another, who is perhaps less, and certainly not more, ungodly. But the light of glory insists otherwise, and will one day reveal God, to whom alone belongs a judgment whose justice is incomprehensible, as a God Whose justice is most righteous and evident - provided only that in the meanwhile we believe it, as we are instructed and encouraged to do by the example of the light of grace explaining what was a puzzle of the same order to the light of nature.
Lastly, another response to the atheistic argument for the non-existence of God based on the hiddenness of God and/or the insufficiency of the evidence is the Calvinistic belief that God doesn't intend to save all human beings. The assumption of most standard arguments against God's existence based on the hiddenness of God and/or the vagueness of the evidence for God's existence is the false premise that God has the benevolent desire to save every human being equally. Based on that false premise atheists argue that therefore God would provide ample evidence of His existence. Since God hasn't provided such evidence (to their satisfaction and their definition of "ample" and "sufficient"), God therefore doesn't exist. While some Calvinists believe that God has no benevolent intentions and/or salvific desires for the non-elect, other Calvinists do believe that in some sense God is benevolent (not merely beneficent) toward the non-elect, and may even desire their salvation in some lesser sense. Regardless of which Calvinistic view one holds, it denies the false atheistic premise. And as I said above and elsewhere, the evidence can be sufficient without it being coercive.
Footnote:
It may seem to some that my solution is contradictory in that on the one hand, as a Calvinist, I deny libertarian free will; yet on the other hand argue that the reason why God has regulated the evidence for His existence in the proportions He has (pros and cons) is to preserve our willing choices so that they can be rewarded or punished. Even Christians who are not Calvinists have critiqued Calvinism on this point since it seems self-evident that both praiseworthiness and blameworthiness depend on libertarian free will. However, Calvinists do affirm and have philosophical arguments in defense of the possibility, reality and appropriateness of merit and demerit.
See for example, Paul Manata's book Free Will, Moral Responsibility, and Reformed Theology: A Contemporary Introduction
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In the future, I'll be adding relevant links below. Here are some preliminary links:
The Hiddenness of God article at the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries website
Why doesn’t God give us more evidence of his existence? by Wintery Knight
Divine Hiddenness of God by William Lane Craig
Related blogs of mine:
Detecting and Finding God
gospelcrumbs.blogspot.com/2013/07/detecting-and-finding-god.html
Christian Apologetics: Who Needs it? by William Lane Craig
Book Reviews of Recent Atheist Authors by Christian Apologists
Evidence and Arguments Against Materialism and Naturalism
Answering Moral Objections to the Bible
Could God Command a Christian to Kill?
Resources for Dealing with Alleged Bible Contradictions, Discrepancies and Errors
Dealing with Christian Doubts
A Rational, Pragmatic and Prudential Argument for Believing in God
At the present time I strongly lean toward supralapsarianism. Here's a link to a blog regarding whether reprobation is conditional, unconditional or both. It's touches on the justice or injustice of reprobation.
http://misclane.blogspot.com/2013/05/reprobation-conditional-or-unconditional.html
More relevant Pascal Quotes
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