Thank you Sean for answering some hard questions here…it’s good to ask questions and to pray Holy Spirit will help us understand what we need to understand. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor his ways our ways. Even if we could have an answer to everything, we probably wouldn’t be able to know what to do with that information, anyway. For me, I go with what I have read and understand…I pray Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and teaches me to go with that. It’s not how much I know but what I do with what I know…read, hear and go/do. Don’t let the enemy take your peace, your joy, your gifting. Love everyone but don’t compromise God’s Word.
I didn't know he married his high school sweetheart. So cool. I admire Sean's way with people the most, and his preaching close behind, oddly enough with a guy so talented and accomplished. Brilliant guy. Now when I pray for him and his family, I can pray, "Sean, Stephanie, and the kids." Thanks so much, much love. Oh, great talk/podcast.
The speaker was asked why so much bad exists if an all-good, all-powerful entity is in control. Their response was, 'I don't know,' which was refreshingly honest.
Thank you, Sean, for being a great example to me, to all of us, in being so well informed and therefore so able to speak & communicate your beliefs so clearly and effectively. It takes a lot of work for me to be able to do that... but it is so important for us all to be "prepared to give an answer" And to share the Gospel message, and our testimony to lots of different people each day. I appreciate your podcasts and the many guests you have had on. Excellent, and I am sharing these with many friends. Blessings!!!❤🕊🙏👏
God is selfish? Are you kidding me? He never had to make us at all. He chose to share existence with us. Then, all the things that He made for us to enjoy. What an awesome God we have, that He thought of a little worm like me.
A parent never had to make their child. They chose to share existence with that child. They buy their child toys to play with and treat them so well most of the time. But this parent is also a just parent, so at any sign of disobedience, they lock up the child and beat them endlessly. God’s sovereignty doesn’t excuse Hell. You could be born into this world, never learn about Christ, steal a cookie to keep yourself alive, die to starvation, and then get sent to endless torment for the rest of eternity. That’s hardly a reasonable response on God’s part. But it keeps people in the faith if there’s a consequence for leaving.
@@seanpierce9386you should know that’s not a universally accepted aspect of Christian soteriology. A good number of evangelical theologians reject “Namism.” There’s a lot in the Bible that goes against the concept that one must learn the Name of Jesus to be saved. So if this is the only reason you’re clinging to the impossible idea that everything in the entire universe, both visible and invisible, appears intricately designed but happens, against astronomical odds, to be a near-infinite series of fortunate accidents that coalesced perfectly, working against the second law of thermodynamics, to produce life… let it go. It’s a nuanced theological detail. You’re trying to plug a gargantuan dam that’s bursting with a tiny congealed glob of Elmer’s glue. Ever wonder why, in every field of science, the phrase “appearance of design” is ubiquitous? Every field. Everything scientists study “appears designed.” Ockham’s Razor comes in handy here :)
Thank you Sean, as a father of 3 young adults who struggle on their walk with God and ask me these kind of questions...I really appreciate your channel and specially this video, I wish I could answer them as eloquently as you do...lol. God bless you and your ministry/work.
Atheist here. Good content. I wish we'd discussed these things more in church/homecell when I was still in the faith. A small qualm with one of the points raised by the host at around 19:10-19:20): Objections to Christianity can most certainly can be logical. I think it's unfair to say that it's always because of some hurt, or out of immorality. This notion comes from a place of believing that Christianity is true, so much so that any objections HAVE to be illogical. Granted, many atheists are so because of hurt, selfishness, poor reasoning, but many Christians also believe in Christianity for poor reasons. It's a human phenomenon, and epistemology is HARD. An individual's reasoning for a certain worldview has little bearing on the truth of a worldview. In my case, I opened the can of worms on Biblical inerrancy, and the Bible became a weak foundation. That, coupled with my own underwhelming personal experiences (never seeing miracles, people overreporting mundane things as miraculous, God being silent, prayer being ineffective) lead me to seriously question the truth of it all. As soon as I stopped ASSUMING Christianity was true, it allowed me to question it deeply. The whole thing unraveled like a big woolly sweater. I desperately wanted Christianity to be true. I was so afraid of becoming wicked and depraved if I stopped believing. My motivations were not to be immoral. I wasn't hurt by my church. I'm still friends with many of them. I bothered writing this because it sucks to have my motivations decided for me. Imagine if I assumed that the only reason you're a Christian is because you fear death, or you feel like you need a father figure. You'd immediately recognize that you don't fall into that category, and it was unfair of me to assume that.
God is God though. If he chooses to be silent, that doesn't mean he's not there. He doesn't owe us an answer in this life. I would like to get a miracle for my health but I have seen enough other evidence to know if I don't get it, God is still real.
@@georgewagner7787 but you do see how some of us don't believe that he exists then, right? If he is real and chooses to be silent/invisible/indiscernable, then that's functionaly the same as him not existing.
The truth of God supersedes our assessments…. Sin brought death, Jesus conquered death at the cross. Takes faith upon God, His Word and your personal assessment, that you are due judgment by God upon you, upon me also, then at point of knowing you deserve Hell… and are going there, you in Humility call upon the truth of the death burial & Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR PLACE, UTTERLY AMAZING GRACE!!!
Thank you for sharing that. I appreciated reading your story and am glad you are not feeling hurt. Wish you well I agree it is irritating to have motivations explained away by others when they find it difficult to accept. I think people need to be convinced that they are doing things right and so they'll never have some sort of crisis of faith.
Reread Genesis 2-3. God tells Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat the fruit. The serpent says that they won’t die, but will become like God. They eat the fruit and don’t die, but attain the knowledge of good and evil. Who is the liar here? If God created the world, He bears the consequences of the decisions He allowed us to make. If you want your kid to stay safe, you put the medicine on the top shelf away from where they will grab it. You don’t place it on the table amidst the food and tell them not to eat it. They’re going to do it out of sheer curiosity, and that would be entirely your fault.
"If I'm talking with somebody and they refuse to believe in God, I just want to know what's the root. Is it really intellectual for you? Is it emotional? Is it moral? What's the heart of the issue?" Well maybe... just maybe it is intellectual. That doesn't mean it isn't also emotional, but maybe it is intellectual as well. As someone who was a believing Christian, I know that this may be difficult for some to accept.
He's just being sensitive to the person asking. You're going to answer differently if someone asks, "Why does God let babies get cancer and die?", depending on whether it's a general, intellectual question or it happened to their own baby.
@@keyman6689 Sean was very careful with his words. So I don't disagree with him. It's good to ask people and not assume. What I am frustrated with is that within some Christian circles, there is a stereotype of people who deconvert, that they merely deconverted for emotional reasons. It's almost a way to invalidate their arguments. I do disagree with Chad when he brought up "The Making of an Atheist." "He said exactly what you're saying: I've talked to these brilliant atheists and agnostics and we've done studies. He said usually it's not logical, it's either they had a horrendous experience growing up and they are projecting that on God, or that there's some immorality in their life and the idea of a god is too taxing for them to say, 'I want to continue to live this life like this if there's a god.' Fundamentally though, exactly what you said. It's a worldview it's not really logical." I will give him the point about it being a worldview, but that doesn't mean that it's illogical. I haven't read the book, but it's still frustrating because I know a lot of atheists UA-camrs whom I don't think are being unreasonably emotional. They often have well thought out arguments even if you disagree with those arguments. Sure there are times where they are emotional, but it can be both emotional and intellectual.
@@georgewagner7787The exact opposite. We’ve had to swallow our pride and admit that we were wrong, that we never had objective truth. When we have to break the news to our families, it’s a shameful thing that we are afraid to admit. Some people put themselves at risk of getting fired from their job or kicked out of their home. So no, it’s not a pride thing.
That was an interesting Q&A. The evidence for god seemed to come down to morality, history, and the watch maker arguments. These really don't hold water. I was really hoping for something novel, but no. I wonder if Paulogia will take a swing at this.
The arguments haven't changed for decades or hundreds of years. And nobody is convinced except the people who already believe. Everyone else can see the logical fallacies. But apologists are not here for atheists, are they? They're here to keep people in church, or they would adapt to the new times where people are educated and can fact check.
Some don't like the fact that God commands people to worship Him. They say that it's egocentric and narcissistic. We can look at this in different ways. I'd like to choose just one with these 4 points: 1. God can't create anything greater than Himself. 2. God can't create anything equal to Himself. 3. Therefore- if God is going to create something, by definition it must be less than God. This is inevitable. 4. As such- if what is created has the ability to worship God, then he or she should do so.
“God is big enough for your questions,” Dr. McDowell says. If there is a God, I think that MUST be true. If God is NOT big enough for your questions, then I would say He is not God. So, it seems like questions serve a function, i.e. to demonstrate (or test) the enormity of God. Yet, I have not experienced an openness to questions in the congregations or among the Christians I know. My experience is that questions make believers uncomfortable, nervous, or annoyed. (Read some of the responses below for examples.) Assuming my observations are accurate and representative of Christians as a group, I wonder why there is such a resistance to questions. Here are some theories: 1. Lack of imagination. Christians are so thoroughly convinced of their beliefs that they cannot imagine another viewpoint. 2. Small God complex. Christians don't really believe in a big God. Their God is one that needs to be protected from the irreverent audacity of questions. 3. The Decency Club. Christians think that a decent person would not have questions, and having questions is proof that the questioner is not a decent person and shouldn't be in the Decency Club. I'm sure that there are lots of other ideas as to why Christians don't suffer questions easily. Or maybe some will disagree with the observation that Christians as a rule don't like questions. I'd love to hear what people think.
Here is my problem with the free will argument. Question: Why does God allow people to go to hell? The standard answer is that God gives us free will. He didn’t make robots. He wants us to choose him willingly. I don’t think that is a fair answer to the question because it doesn’t consider the other variables. I think a better representation of the situation would be the following. You are in a house with God. God lights the house on fire or allows the house to be lit on fire. God then proceeds to stand in the doorway, the only exit for the house. God then looks at you and says. “If you choose to love and follow me, then you can leave the house with me. But because I want you to have free will, you can also choose to stay in the house. Your choice. O, and by the way, at some point, the door will close, and I will never open it back up again, even if you change your mind.” In that situation, do you really have a choice?
Do Christians seek the Holy Spirit’s advice PRIOR to making a decision? If we do not like the Holy Spirit’s incoming answers, do we meditate on it and thus push back with our objections? When GOD wants you to really execute His will, you will be chased down like Jonah and all your objections will be overcome with amendments to your orders, or additional gifts to succeed, or you will be given a song or a movie exampling how YOU can fulfill GOD’s will in your voice.
Here’s a challenge: How can we determine whether it is God speaking to us or Satan? If we use experiences as our justification, can we be sure those experiences are from God? If we use the Bible as our guide, how can we be sure we aren’t misinterpreting it or cherry-picking our answers? Here’s a concrete example. The Bible has a lot to say about slavery, but never specifically condemns it. If a friend came to you claiming that slavery is Biblical and morally justified, what would you say? To help steelman this friend’s argument, let’s say they had a personal experience that spoke the truth to them.
@@seanpierce9386 GOD voice through the Holy Spirit is usually calm and rarely time dependent. Satan on the other hand hates push back and wants quick decisions. The word slave means different things today than at Jesus time. Slave should never be a translated Bible word. There were no slaves until Swedish Kyiv Rus started capturing Slavic people in what is now Moscow, Belarus, and Ukraine. The Swedes (Vikings) sold so many slaves to Muslim Arab traders in Crimea, that the Arab slang for bond servants became Slavs around 900CE. During the Crusades around 1100CE, the word Slavs became slaves. This is how the word came to Europe, a corruption of a slang word!!! Jesus made no direct reference to bond servants. However, Jesus did give us His 2 Commandments, the 2ND of which is to love yourself and others as you love yourself. When challenged, Jesus gave a parable to explain loving others, and the challenger reply, mercy is how you demonstrate love. This answer was repeated directly by Jesus when He said, “I want your mercy, not your sacrifice.” PS: Neighbor is another word which should not be used in Bible translations. It is a Dutch or German word for the people around you. So loving others around you as you love yourself is a better translation. How can a person be a Master of a slave and be a Christian? Is this what you would want for yourself? And if slaves were only prisoners sold off to pay off crimes, the Master would still have to treat them with a certain amount of human respect for the period of their captivity. Few Masters would merit being called Christians if they had to live up to Jesus’ standards. I have had 2 times where my tests were life changing to others upon which I prayed and got answers. One was very dramatic. I knew it was real when it finally ended. The other was difficult for me to this day to comprehend if I made the right decision. Often this the difference between a leap of faith and putting GOD to the test is the small crack the Evil One exploits.
Wiki: The concept of an immaterial and immortal soul - distinct from the body - did not appear in Judaism before the Babylonian exile, but developed as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies.[2] Accordingly, the Hebrew word נֶ֫פֶשׁ, nephesh, although translated as "soul" in some older English-language Bibles, actually has a meaning closer to "living being". Nephesh was translated into Greek in the Septuagint as ψυχή (psūchê), using the Greek word for "soul". The New Testament also uses the word ψυχή.
Vicarious redemption makes no sense to me. Tom commits a crime but Jerry serves the prison time. What justice is that? & what about the victims? If someone punches me in the face what good does Jesus forgiving them do for me and my broken nose?
@@SeanMcDowell I haven't read anything of WLC. From what I've heard him speak on I'd be surprised if he could provide a rational answer to my questions.
Vicarious redemption sounds like the opposite of justice to me. Isn't it weird that Yahweh looks unjust, yet he is not (according to Christians). He looks petty in how he acts in the OT, but he's really not. All the killing sounds evil, but really, it's an expression of love. Why are we, as non-Christians expected to take the Christians word for it that the god in question is like, even when the examples speak against our very core of morality? Makes no sense how any Christian can expect that to work.
Since Jesus actually took on our sin and shame and bore our punishment, God can view us as having redemption by being covered in His blood. It's not like we aren't still guilty and should be ashamed for what we do that offends God, but our sins have been paid for. It is justice because the sin was dealt with, not because it was deserved but because sin has been crucified with Christ and God can view us as being covered in righteousness because He bore our sin and died with it, covering us in His blood. That is why we 'die with Christ' and turn from our sin, because of His great love for us, bearing our horrible sin in a way we could never repay. It is vicarious in the sense that He takes our punishment on Himself, it is redemption as He makes us new and holy, and it is justice because it was paid for completely as the full wrath of God came upon Jesus. Not because we deserved it. Not one bit. This doesn't mean that sin doesn't hurt us, or that consequences don't come from sin. If someone punches you in the face, it's going to hurt. It's going to damage relationships. It was a horrible thing they did. But if they are made clean by accepting the atonement of Christ's blood, they are completely forgiven for their sin before God and His judgment, because the punishment was dealt with at Calvary.
@@Rachel_D03 Having someone else take the punishment to deal with the “sin” isn’t any kind of justice. Change the scenario to having someone else pay your speeding ticket fine and hopefully you will then understand. If your god wants to forgive people, “view us as covered in righteousness” or however you want to spin, it he can just do so. There is no need for the gory theatrics. It’s outrageous how you Christians think any of this makes sense and is a good thing. The answer to the last question I asked is, Jesus forgiving wrong doers doesn’t do victims one bit of good so it’s a flawed theology in my view.
@@deshon3523 Because the evidence for Christianity is basically this: "I trust what some guys I wouldn't recognize in the super market said about Jesus and god, even though I don't even have original texts" Sure, you can go cosmological arguments and the like, but those don't get you Christianity. It's hard to buy that from an apologist as a non-Christian. And for a Christian it's just reinforcement of an already held belief. This is why when you go for more (non-Christian) education, it's likely that you become an atheist. If you're away from the constant reinforcement from church (in say, college) that also makes you more likely to examine your beliefs honestly. That is why.
Will the new Earth be larger than it is now? I'm trying to think about how all the people will fit on it. Since there's been 109 billion people that have lived, even if 25% are/were saved, that's over 27 billion inhabitants. 🤔
Honestly, trying to conceptualise the new Earth is fairly pointless. The entire world, and all life within it is based upon cycles of matter and energy. How that works in an eternal system with no death or decay is impossible to comprehend.
I think you might overestimate how much space humans need. We actually occupy very little of the earth's surface. It's things like farms and pastures that take up space.
yes. the new jerusalem is massive so the new heavens and new earth will have to be bigger than it is now to fit everyone. in my estimation of preaching far less than 25% believe in jesus but no one really knows
He suggested at a few questions he’d ask, but didn’t give me a list of specifics questions. Some were surprises. We had a second Q&A and he asked some different ones then too.
@@SeanMcDowell I'm not doubting you, that the host did not present you a list of questions ahead of time. What I am asking is if you already know the answer to _any_ question is that question really "hard". As part of the apologetics paradigm you are in the business of providing answers to encourage people in their belief system. So, are there any questions (about the central tenets of your belief system) to which you do _not_ have an answer?
K@horridhenry9920 you can't be that ignorant?? Being Omniscience and then a baby that had to be educated:, grow up and be stuck in time and place in a human body na, : Jesus didn't give up anything !!! LOL 😂
@@davidjanbaz7728 So he lost his omniscience? Did he know he would get it back? I don’t think you’ve thought this through. Once you have ascribed omniscience and omnipotence to a person they know and have the power to control everything. Did he stop being all powerful and omniscient. If you cannot see how incoherent your response is, you’re not intellectually equipped for this conversation. How ironic that you call me “ignorant “.
Hey Henry, just some thoughts. Jesus, dying on the cross, willingly, and God being killed, can always be two different things. Because the truth claim Is that Jesus is the Son of God, who chose to come to this world , in space and time, The sacrifice was and is beyond comprehension. He chose to, being sinless, innocent, Holy, the judge serving criminals’ sentence to offer eternal pardon and relationship with our creator. A gift we can’t earn, given by grace , but also Commanding repentance , received by faith (relational trust). As limited beings, we should ask ourselves if we can trust our assessment of the true meaning and depth of it all. So when thinking , that by being God is doesn’t matter, in fact it’s the only thing that matters, if true. Which I believe it is. Take care man, God bless you
Millions? How many have died with normal lifespans, depending on the era, 4:20 that has occurred since the beginning of homosapiens??? Billions!! Where are their remains and fossils???
@@SeanMcDowellCertainly there was plenty of time for a few million to be alive at the time, especially considering the long lives of antediluvian people.
Sean MacDowell is SUCH A BLESSING!
Thanks for that answer at the beginning. Appreciate the sober but encouraging reminder to love each other, as you never know how someone is hurting.
Amen
Thank you Sean for answering some hard questions here…it’s good to ask questions and to pray Holy Spirit will help us understand what we need to understand. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts nor his ways our ways. Even if we could have an answer to everything, we probably wouldn’t be able to know what to do with that information, anyway. For me, I go with what I have read and understand…I pray Holy Spirit speaks to my heart and teaches me to go with that. It’s not how much I know but what I do with what I know…read, hear and go/do. Don’t let the enemy take your peace, your joy, your gifting. Love everyone but don’t compromise God’s Word.
I didn't know he married his high school sweetheart. So cool. I admire Sean's way with people the most, and his preaching close behind, oddly enough with a guy so talented and accomplished. Brilliant guy. Now when I pray for him and his family, I can pray, "Sean, Stephanie, and the kids." Thanks so much, much love. Oh, great talk/podcast.
Thank you. We should keep him and his family in prayers.
The speaker was asked why so much bad exists if an all-good, all-powerful entity is in control. Their response was, 'I don't know,' which was refreshingly honest.
Thank you, Sean, for being a great example to me, to all of us, in being so well informed and therefore so able to speak & communicate your beliefs so clearly and effectively. It takes a lot of work for me to be able to do that... but it is so important for us all to be "prepared to give an answer" And to share the Gospel message, and our testimony to lots of different people each day. I appreciate your podcasts and the many guests you have had on. Excellent, and I am sharing these with many friends. Blessings!!!❤🕊🙏👏
God is selfish? Are you kidding me? He never had to make us at all. He chose to share existence with us. Then, all the things that He made for us to enjoy. What an awesome God we have, that He thought of a little worm like me.
A parent never had to make their child. They chose to share existence with that child. They buy their child toys to play with and treat them so well most of the time. But this parent is also a just parent, so at any sign of disobedience, they lock up the child and beat them endlessly.
God’s sovereignty doesn’t excuse Hell. You could be born into this world, never learn about Christ, steal a cookie to keep yourself alive, die to starvation, and then get sent to endless torment for the rest of eternity. That’s hardly a reasonable response on God’s part. But it keeps people in the faith if there’s a consequence for leaving.
@@seanpierce9386you should know that’s not a universally accepted aspect of Christian soteriology. A good number of evangelical theologians reject “Namism.” There’s a lot in the Bible that goes against the concept that one must learn the Name of Jesus to be saved. So if this is the only reason you’re clinging to the impossible idea that everything in the entire universe, both visible and invisible, appears intricately designed but happens, against astronomical odds, to be a near-infinite series of fortunate accidents that coalesced perfectly, working against the second law of thermodynamics, to produce life… let it go. It’s a nuanced theological detail. You’re trying to plug a gargantuan dam that’s bursting with a tiny congealed glob of Elmer’s glue.
Ever wonder why, in every field of science, the phrase “appearance of design” is ubiquitous? Every field. Everything scientists study “appears designed.”
Ockham’s Razor comes in handy here :)
You never said why you think he made us. So why are you so confident it was not for selfish reasons?
@@seanpierce9386sounds like someone needs God
This was very informative! Thank you sir!
Sure!
Thank you Sean, as a father of 3 young adults who struggle on their walk with God and ask me these kind of questions...I really appreciate your channel and specially this video, I wish I could answer them as eloquently as you do...lol. God bless you and your ministry/work.
Sean is amazing. Thanks for sharing this video with us 🕊️🕊️🕊️☝️☝️☝️
Atheist here. Good content. I wish we'd discussed these things more in church/homecell when I was still in the faith. A small qualm with one of the points raised by the host at around 19:10-19:20):
Objections to Christianity can most certainly can be logical. I think it's unfair to say that it's always because of some hurt, or out of immorality. This notion comes from a place of believing that Christianity is true, so much so that any objections HAVE to be illogical. Granted, many atheists are so because of hurt, selfishness, poor reasoning, but many Christians also believe in Christianity for poor reasons. It's a human phenomenon, and epistemology is HARD. An individual's reasoning for a certain worldview has little bearing on the truth of a worldview.
In my case, I opened the can of worms on Biblical inerrancy, and the Bible became a weak foundation. That, coupled with my own underwhelming personal experiences (never seeing miracles, people overreporting mundane things as miraculous, God being silent, prayer being ineffective) lead me to seriously question the truth of it all. As soon as I stopped ASSUMING Christianity was true, it allowed me to question it deeply. The whole thing unraveled like a big woolly sweater. I desperately wanted Christianity to be true. I was so afraid of becoming wicked and depraved if I stopped believing. My motivations were not to be immoral. I wasn't hurt by my church. I'm still friends with many of them.
I bothered writing this because it sucks to have my motivations decided for me. Imagine if I assumed that the only reason you're a Christian is because you fear death, or you feel like you need a father figure. You'd immediately recognize that you don't fall into that category, and it was unfair of me to assume that.
Miracles never happened to me. God has never spoken to me. The Holy Spirit has never entered me. Therefore, no God.
God is God though. If he chooses to be silent, that doesn't mean he's not there. He doesn't owe us an answer in this life. I would like to get a miracle for my health but I have seen enough other evidence to know if I don't get it, God is still real.
@@georgewagner7787 but you do see how some of us don't believe that he exists then, right? If he is real and chooses to be silent/invisible/indiscernable, then that's functionaly the same as him not existing.
The truth of God supersedes our assessments…. Sin brought death, Jesus conquered death at the cross.
Takes faith upon God, His Word and your personal assessment, that you are due judgment by God upon you, upon me also, then at point of knowing you deserve Hell… and are going there, you in Humility call upon the truth of the death burial & Resurrection of JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR PLACE, UTTERLY AMAZING GRACE!!!
Thank you for sharing that. I appreciated reading your story and am glad you are not feeling hurt. Wish you well
I agree it is irritating to have motivations explained away by others when they find it difficult to accept. I think people need to be convinced that they are doing things right and so they'll never have some sort of crisis of faith.
My condolences for the loss of your family member, Pastor McDowell.
What is lost? To remind and comes with comfort concerning beyond thy eyes can see!
Beloved many deep questions! Specially what happened unto all our LOVE ones? Have died!
True Rest come here in front and remind! Rest from thy own Labor! True rest follows them! Shared "i" AM come forth!
Unseen beyond the eyes can see!
Voice come here in front and remind! Knows thy Voice lord. And all thy shared "i" AM Shepherds.
This was not long enough! I wanted to hear you pray for our country!
Glory to My Lord Jesus Christ the living God!!!
Sean McDowell is awesome..
God IS NOT A LIAR. We turned our back on Him. We said we are God. So God let us have our way.
That is why there is suffering in the world.
Reread Genesis 2-3. God tells Adam and Eve that they will die if they eat the fruit. The serpent says that they won’t die, but will become like God. They eat the fruit and don’t die, but attain the knowledge of good and evil. Who is the liar here?
If God created the world, He bears the consequences of the decisions He allowed us to make. If you want your kid to stay safe, you put the medicine on the top shelf away from where they will grab it. You don’t place it on the table amidst the food and tell them not to eat it. They’re going to do it out of sheer curiosity, and that would be entirely your fault.
We are going to be doing a Q&A service at our church in a couple weeks, as the last in our Defending the Faith Summer series.
truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish."
God is good!
"If I'm talking with somebody and they refuse to believe in God, I just want to know what's the root. Is it really intellectual for you? Is it emotional? Is it moral? What's the heart of the issue?"
Well maybe... just maybe it is intellectual. That doesn't mean it isn't also emotional, but maybe it is intellectual as well.
As someone who was a believing Christian, I know that this may be difficult for some to accept.
Sean didn't specifically say that no one rejects God for intellectual reasons, but the interviewer thought that Sean did and Sean didn't correct him.
He's just being sensitive to the person asking. You're going to answer differently if someone asks, "Why does God let babies get cancer and die?", depending on whether it's a general, intellectual question or it happened to their own baby.
@@keyman6689
Sean was very careful with his words. So I don't disagree with him. It's good to ask people and not assume.
What I am frustrated with is that within some Christian circles, there is a stereotype of people who deconvert, that they merely deconverted for emotional reasons. It's almost a way to invalidate their arguments.
I do disagree with Chad when he brought up "The Making of an Atheist."
"He said exactly what you're saying: I've talked to these brilliant atheists and agnostics and we've done studies. He said usually it's not logical, it's either they had a horrendous experience growing up and they are projecting that on God, or that there's some immorality in their life and the idea of a god is too taxing for them to say, 'I want to continue to live this life like this if there's a god.' Fundamentally though, exactly what you said. It's a worldview it's not really logical."
I will give him the point about it being a worldview, but that doesn't mean that it's illogical. I haven't read the book, but it's still frustrating because I know a lot of atheists UA-camrs whom I don't think are being unreasonably emotional. They often have well thought out arguments even if you disagree with those arguments. Sure there are times where they are emotional, but it can be both emotional and intellectual.
Or pride
@@georgewagner7787The exact opposite. We’ve had to swallow our pride and admit that we were wrong, that we never had objective truth. When we have to break the news to our families, it’s a shameful thing that we are afraid to admit. Some people put themselves at risk of getting fired from their job or kicked out of their home. So no, it’s not a pride thing.
Hey, this is my church!
That was an interesting Q&A. The evidence for god seemed to come down to morality, history, and the watch maker arguments. These really don't hold water. I was really hoping for something novel, but no. I wonder if Paulogia will take a swing at this.
The arguments haven't changed for decades or hundreds of years.
And nobody is convinced except the people who already believe. Everyone else can see the logical fallacies.
But apologists are not here for atheists, are they? They're here to keep people in church, or they would adapt to the new times where people are educated and can fact check.
Voice come here in front and remind! LORD knows thy Voice. Thy voice through thy Shepherds!
I could have listened for hours.
Some don't like the fact that God commands people to worship Him. They say that it's egocentric and narcissistic.
We can look at this in different ways. I'd like to choose just one with these 4 points:
1. God can't create anything greater than Himself.
2. God can't create anything equal to Himself.
3. Therefore- if God is going to create something, by definition it must be less than God. This is inevitable.
4. As such- if what is created has the ability to worship God, then he or she should do so.
When someone makes a living by selling something, it’s like this.
A note on gender treatment ( not care) a pediatrician gave me premarin for nosebleeds as a teenager and I got cancer at 42.
Which is actually really young in case you're 25
“God is big enough for your questions,” Dr. McDowell says. If there is a God, I think that MUST be true. If God is NOT big enough for your questions, then I would say He is not God. So, it seems like questions serve a function, i.e. to demonstrate (or test) the enormity of God. Yet, I have not experienced an openness to questions in the congregations or among the Christians I know. My experience is that questions make believers uncomfortable, nervous, or annoyed. (Read some of the responses below for examples.) Assuming my observations are accurate and representative of Christians as a group, I wonder why there is such a resistance to questions. Here are some theories:
1. Lack of imagination. Christians are so thoroughly convinced of their beliefs that they cannot imagine another viewpoint.
2. Small God complex. Christians don't really believe in a big God. Their God is one that needs to be protected from the irreverent audacity of questions.
3. The Decency Club. Christians think that a decent person would not have questions, and having questions is proof that the questioner is not a decent person and shouldn't be in the Decency Club.
I'm sure that there are lots of other ideas as to why Christians don't suffer questions easily. Or maybe some will disagree with the observation that Christians as a rule don't like questions. I'd love to hear what people think.
Here is my problem with the free will argument.
Question: Why does God allow people to go to hell?
The standard answer is that God gives us free will. He didn’t make robots. He wants us to choose him willingly.
I don’t think that is a fair answer to the question because it doesn’t consider the other variables. I think a better representation of the situation would be the following.
You are in a house with God. God lights the house on fire or allows the house to be lit on fire. God then proceeds to stand in the doorway, the only exit for the house. God then looks at you and says. “If you choose to love and follow me, then you can leave the house with me. But because I want you to have free will, you can also choose to stay in the house. Your choice. O, and by the way, at some point, the door will close, and I will never open it back up again, even if you change your mind.”
In that situation, do you really have a choice?
Sean, I dont think that the Cass Review says what you seem to think it says...
5:47 🎯💯
Do Christians seek the Holy Spirit’s advice PRIOR to making a decision?
If we do not like the Holy Spirit’s incoming answers, do we meditate on it and thus push back with our objections?
When GOD wants you to really execute His will, you will be chased down like Jonah and all your objections will be overcome with amendments to your orders, or additional gifts to succeed, or you will be given a song or a movie exampling how YOU can fulfill GOD’s will in your voice.
Here’s a challenge: How can we determine whether it is God speaking to us or Satan? If we use experiences as our justification, can we be sure those experiences are from God? If we use the Bible as our guide, how can we be sure we aren’t misinterpreting it or cherry-picking our answers?
Here’s a concrete example. The Bible has a lot to say about slavery, but never specifically condemns it. If a friend came to you claiming that slavery is Biblical and morally justified, what would you say? To help steelman this friend’s argument, let’s say they had a personal experience that spoke the truth to them.
@@seanpierce9386 GOD voice through the Holy Spirit is usually calm and rarely time dependent. Satan on the other hand hates push back and wants quick decisions.
The word slave means different things today than at Jesus time. Slave should never be a translated Bible word. There were no slaves until Swedish Kyiv Rus started capturing Slavic people in what is now Moscow, Belarus, and Ukraine. The Swedes (Vikings) sold so many slaves to Muslim Arab traders in Crimea, that the Arab slang for bond servants became Slavs around 900CE. During the Crusades around 1100CE, the word Slavs became slaves. This is how the word came to Europe, a corruption of a slang word!!!
Jesus made no direct reference to bond servants. However, Jesus did give us His 2 Commandments, the 2ND of which is to love yourself and others as you love yourself. When challenged, Jesus gave a parable to explain loving others, and the challenger reply, mercy is how you demonstrate love. This answer was repeated directly by Jesus when He said, “I want your mercy, not your sacrifice.”
PS: Neighbor is another word which should not be used in Bible translations. It is a Dutch or German word for the people around you. So loving others around you as you love yourself is a better translation. How can a person be a Master of a slave and be a Christian? Is this what you would want for yourself? And if slaves were only prisoners sold off to pay off crimes, the Master would still have to treat them with a certain amount of human respect for the period of their captivity. Few Masters would merit being called Christians if they had to live up to Jesus’ standards.
I have had 2 times where my tests were life changing to others upon which I prayed and got answers. One was very dramatic. I knew it was real when it finally ended. The other was difficult for me to this day to comprehend if I made the right decision. Often this the difference between a leap of faith and putting GOD to the test is the small crack the Evil One exploits.
“We are embodied souls”, what’s a soul and why does it need a body?
Your soul is the internal you. Your will, thought, emotions.
And you are eternal.
You have a body bc God created you that way
@@georgewagner7787 Are you talking about consciousness? Isn’t that just an emerging property of the brain?
Wiki:
The concept of an immaterial and immortal soul - distinct from the body - did not appear in Judaism before the Babylonian exile, but developed as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies.[2] Accordingly, the Hebrew word נֶ֫פֶשׁ, nephesh, although translated as "soul" in some older English-language Bibles, actually has a meaning closer to "living being". Nephesh was translated into Greek in the Septuagint as ψυχή (psūchê), using the Greek word for "soul". The New Testament also uses the word ψυχή.
What is Trust students? STUDENTS will say what is Trust with confidence?
Where was this filmed at
Vicarious redemption makes no sense to me. Tom commits a crime but Jerry serves the prison time. What justice is that? & what about the victims? If someone punches me in the face what good does Jesus forgiving them do for me and my broken nose?
Have you read William Kane Craig’s book on this (atonement)? It’s amazing and worth wrestling with.
@@SeanMcDowell I haven't read anything of WLC. From what I've heard him speak on I'd be surprised if he could provide a rational answer to my questions.
Vicarious redemption sounds like the opposite of justice to me.
Isn't it weird that Yahweh looks unjust, yet he is not (according to Christians).
He looks petty in how he acts in the OT, but he's really not.
All the killing sounds evil, but really, it's an expression of love.
Why are we, as non-Christians expected to take the Christians word for it that the god in question is like, even when the examples speak against our very core of morality?
Makes no sense how any Christian can expect that to work.
Since Jesus actually took on our sin and shame and bore our punishment, God can view us as having redemption by being covered in His blood. It's not like we aren't still guilty and should be ashamed for what we do that offends God, but our sins have been paid for. It is justice because the sin was dealt with, not because it was deserved but because sin has been crucified with Christ and God can view us as being covered in righteousness because He bore our sin and died with it, covering us in His blood. That is why we 'die with Christ' and turn from our sin, because of His great love for us, bearing our horrible sin in a way we could never repay. It is vicarious in the sense that He takes our punishment on Himself, it is redemption as He makes us new and holy, and it is justice because it was paid for completely as the full wrath of God came upon Jesus. Not because we deserved it. Not one bit.
This doesn't mean that sin doesn't hurt us, or that consequences don't come from sin. If someone punches you in the face, it's going to hurt. It's going to damage relationships. It was a horrible thing they did. But if they are made clean by accepting the atonement of Christ's blood, they are completely forgiven for their sin before God and His judgment, because the punishment was dealt with at Calvary.
@@Rachel_D03 Having someone else take the punishment to deal with the “sin” isn’t any kind of justice. Change the scenario to having someone else pay your speeding ticket fine and hopefully you will then understand. If your god wants to forgive people, “view us as covered in righteousness” or however you want to spin, it he can just do so. There is no need for the gory theatrics. It’s outrageous how you Christians think any of this makes sense and is a good thing. The answer to the last question I asked is, Jesus forgiving wrong doers doesn’t do victims one bit of good so it’s a flawed theology in my view.
Jesus is God in human flesh. He knows what its like being someone else trapped in a different body.
16:18 bro
The common question asked by nonbelievers is, where is the evidence and can you demonstrate it.
It's the part Christians want to skip past.
@@adamruuth5562 why though?
Warner Wallace
@@deshon3523 Because the evidence for Christianity is basically this:
"I trust what some guys I wouldn't recognize in the super market said about Jesus and god, even though I don't even have original texts"
Sure, you can go cosmological arguments and the like, but those don't get you Christianity.
It's hard to buy that from an apologist as a non-Christian. And for a Christian it's just reinforcement of an already held belief.
This is why when you go for more (non-Christian) education, it's likely that you become an atheist.
If you're away from the constant reinforcement from church (in say, college) that also makes you more likely to examine your beliefs honestly.
That is why.
“It would be wrong not to worship God”, which God and why should we worship? Does God want or need worship?
No but he deserves worship bc of who he is.
@@georgewagner7787 which God? And why does he deserve worship?
I guess you did not listen to his answer?
@@JekDrummerTime I guess you did not listen to my questions. Had you done so you would not have made the comment you made,
Sean I treat the Bible exactly the same as any other book that makes supernatural claims or does not comport with reality. I question their validity.
Will the new Earth be larger than it is now? I'm trying to think about how all the people will fit on it. Since there's been 109 billion people that have lived, even if 25% are/were saved, that's over 27 billion inhabitants. 🤔
Honestly, trying to conceptualise the new Earth is fairly pointless. The entire world, and all life within it is based upon cycles of matter and energy. How that works in an eternal system with no death or decay is impossible to comprehend.
I think you might overestimate how much space humans need.
We actually occupy very little of the earth's surface. It's things like farms and pastures that take up space.
God is all powerful
yes. the new jerusalem is massive so the new heavens and new earth will have to be bigger than it is now to fit everyone. in my estimation of preaching far less than 25% believe in jesus but no one really knows
One evidence to prove God's existence. Why not use the one God uses in scripture. No one has any excuse, creation itself points to God.
Is like...Host come blind folded the eyes! Now, remember my shared "i" AM Shepherds voice! Knows HIS VOICE?
Does Sean believe what he telling a Christian audience who pays to hear him say exactly what they want to hear.
Are they really "hard questions" if you (think you) already have the answers ahead of time?
He suggested at a few questions he’d ask, but didn’t give me a list of specifics questions. Some were surprises. We had a second Q&A and he asked some different ones then too.
@@SeanMcDowell I'm not doubting you, that the host did not present you a list of questions ahead of time. What I am asking is if you already know the answer to _any_ question is that question really "hard". As part of the apologetics paradigm you are in the business of providing answers to encourage people in their belief system. So, are there any questions (about the central tenets of your belief system) to which you do _not_ have an answer?
But Sean, what did Jesus actually sacrifice? He was God. How do you kill God?
He didn't cease to exist. He left our planet for 3 days
@@georgewagner7787 so he sacrificed nothing?
K@horridhenry9920 you can't be that ignorant??
Being Omniscience and then a baby that had to be educated:, grow up and be stuck in time and place in a human body na, : Jesus didn't give up
anything !!! LOL 😂
@@davidjanbaz7728 So he lost his omniscience? Did he know he would get it back? I don’t think you’ve thought this through. Once you have ascribed omniscience and omnipotence to a person they know and have the power to control everything. Did he stop being all powerful and omniscient. If you cannot see how incoherent your response is, you’re not intellectually equipped for this conversation. How ironic that you call me “ignorant “.
Hey Henry, just some thoughts. Jesus, dying on the cross, willingly, and God being killed, can always be two different things.
Because the truth claim
Is that Jesus is the Son of God, who chose to come to this world , in space and time, The sacrifice was and is beyond comprehension. He chose to, being sinless, innocent, Holy, the judge serving criminals’ sentence to offer eternal pardon and relationship with our creator. A gift we can’t earn, given by grace , but also
Commanding repentance , received by faith (relational trust). As limited beings, we should ask ourselves if we can trust our assessment of the true meaning and depth of it all.
So when thinking , that by being God is doesn’t matter, in fact it’s the only thing that matters, if true. Which I believe it is.
Take care man, God bless you
Shared "i" AM Shepherd come here in front and remind!
I see your God didn't turn up to *actually* answer the questions as usual. Sean simply has a figment.
He showed up and answered a lot of questions 2000 years ago
Where are the fossils of all the millions of people that died in Noah’s flood?
Millions? How many have died with normal lifespans, depending on the era, 4:20 that has occurred since the beginning of homosapiens??? Billions!! Where are their remains and fossils???
Gone along with your brain
Why assume there were millions?
@@SeanMcDowellCertainly there was plenty of time for a few million to be alive at the time, especially considering the long lives of antediluvian people.
@@mR-dc4oqFocelization requires sudden burial as occurred in the flood.
As an adolescent god, did hormones cause humanity to be drowned like kittens in a sack?