Theology for Teens

Today we're looking at the question "is God unknowable". If he is we're dead in the water. If not we can swim! LOGICAL ARGUMENT FOR THE KNOWABILITY OF GOD 1. If a person rationally comes to the conclusion that God exists then they would have to have X level of grounding for that belief 2. If a person rationally comes to the conclusion that God does not exists then they would have to have Y level of grounding for that belief 3. Humans are incapable of having X level of grounding for belief in God and Humans are incapable of having Y level of grounding for non-belief in God 4. No person has rationally come to the conclusion that God exists or doesn't exist DIFFERENT RELIGIONS ON THE KNOWABILITY OF GOD 1. Judaism - God is knowable and personal with special people of past and us as a nation 2. Christianity - Same as judaism with the addition of a new covenant shown through a more 3. Islam - God is distant and impersonal but revealed himself through a prophet 4. Hinduism - God is the Braham or the infinite. He's beyond comprehension in a personal sense but explainable logically. The infinite sometimes reveals a part of it in a personal way. 5. Budism - You are God and that God is knowable with enough enlightenment. Other dieties also exist and have various degrees of knowability. 6. Taoism - The "god" may be the universe in perfect balance. Our goal is to align with that. That is knowable with enlightenment and the religious teachings of taoism. 7. Shintoism - Many gods that are known. All thoughts of God welcome. The most popular ones rise up. 8. Sikhism - God is within and found through piety and through generosity and the other "gurus" 9. Voodoo - New Orleans originated. God doesn't interfere but spirits do and so we interact with those spirits. You can get to know those spirits with various different rites.

Here we examine one of three truth claims that can completely undermine any pursuit of theology. "Does objective truth exist" is of paramount importance because Jesus claimed to be "the truth" in John 14:6. If objective truth doesn't exist we reduce Jesus to a mere subjective play buddy and sterilize his identity. Join today for the conversation and find out if it even makes sense to pursue theology!

In this episode we're going to look at 4 common fallacies that Christian youth use and how we can make sure we are using sound and valid arguments. What is an informal Fallacy? - A wrong way of thinking/arguing that is common. Every informal fallacy is in someway based on formal logic. What makes an explanation good? 1. Does it explain lots of things? 2. Does it explain things deeply? 3. Where does evidence point? 4. Less "Hail Marry"s 5. Does it agree with other truth? 6. Is it better than every other explanation on 1-5? Reducing to Absurdity 1. We must love our fellow humans as ourselves 2. If God does not exist then our fellow men are just animals 3. If our fellow men are just animals we have no moral duty to love them as ourselves 1. Go doesn't exist 2. Our fellow men are just animals 3. we have no moral duty to love our fellow 4. Therefore we have a moral duty and don't have a moral duty

The actual names of these laws are Addition, Disjunctive Syllogism and Constructive Dilemma. Here we introduce the concept "or" symbolized by "v". So the premise "A or B" would read "A v B". With the logical concept "or" we mean that one or the other OR BOTH are true. In essence it requires neither A nor B being true for the statement "A v B" to be false. This can be tricky because often in language "or" statements are exclusive (only one can be true). This we might symbolize by saying "(A & -B) v (B & -A)". See that in law 8 below we have an example that is exclusive. Although this example still works to show law 8 , we could go a step further and say "Either I'm a boy and not a girl OR I'm a girl and not a boy" rightfully making it nonsensical for both to be true. Don't think that this exclusivity is implied by the logical statement "A v B". In "A v B" it is possible that both are true! Example 1 *humanists believe that humans are the most important/valuable thing (usually rejecting the divine). If God exists, humanism is not true. If God does not exist, humanism is not true. God exists or he does not exist. Therefore, if God exists, humanism is not true; and if God does not exist, humanism is not true. Therefore, either humanism is not true or humanism is not true. Therefore, humanism is not true. Example 2 If Jesus claimed to be God then he was either a liar or a lunatic or the lord Jesus did claim to be God Jesus was either a liar or a lunatic or the Lord Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic Jesus is the Lord Example 3 If the butler was the murderer, then his fingerprints were on the weapon. Either the maid or the gardener was the murderer if the butler was not. If the gardener was the murderer, there will be blood on the garden fork. If the maid was the murderer, then the master was killed with a kitchen knife. The butlers fingerprints were not on the weapon. There was no blood on the garden fork. What can we now conclude?

Actual names of laws Law 4: Conjunction Law 5: Simplification Law 6: Absorption This week we introduce the concept of "&" in the realm of logic covering what we're calling Laws 4, 5 and 6 (formally called Conjunction, Simplification and Absorption). These one's are easier but none the less, there are some important pieces of information here to grasp. Enjoy. Here are the examples for you to notate this week: #### Example 1 1. God is all good and all powerful 2. If God can't make us follow him then he is not all powerful 3. If God doesn't prevent his children suffering then he is not all good 4. God can make us follow him (Laws __ and __ ) 5. God does prevent his children suffering (Laws __ and __ ) #### Example 2 1. If feet are gross then dirty socks are gross 2. If feet & dirty socks are gross then worn flipflops & worn tennis shoes are gross 3. If feet are gross then feet are gross & dirty socks are gross (Law __ ) 4. If feet are gross then worn tennis shoes are gross (Laws __ and __ ) #### Example 3 *this one is for highschool only unless middleschool is really grasping* 1. If your best friends asks you to prom & you don't currently have a date to prom then you will go with your best friend 2. If the cute boy asks you to prom and you do currently have a date to prom then you will be sad before/during prom 3. Prom comes and goes and you were never sad 1. Notate what we can know logically from this fact?

Actual names of laws Law 1: Modus Ponens Law 2: Modes Tollens Law 3: Hypothetical Syllogism Practice Examples: 1. If you like pineapples on pizza then you have an objectively wrong flavor palette 2. If you have an objectively wrong flavor palette then you can't be a taste tester 3. If you like pineapples on pizza then you can't be a taste tester 1. If God is all powerful then he can do anything he wants 2. If God can't sin then he can't do anything he wants 3. God can't sin [[1 jn 3.5]] 4. God can't do anything he wants 5. If God can't do anything he wants then he is not all powerful 1. If God is all-good then he wants to prevent evil 2. If God is all-powerful then he can prevent evil 3. God is all-good 4. God wants to prevent evil 5. God is all-powerful 6. God can prevent evil 7. If God wants to prevent evil and can prevent evil then evil does not exist 8. Evil does not exist

Logical Form: 1. If God did not exist, objective moral values would not exist 2. Objective moral values do exist 3. Therefore God exists Summary of Defensibility: This argument seems very defensible. In fact, defeating it seems almost impossible. This doesn't get you to the God of Christianity but it does get you to God. 1. Premise one I would give 0.95 but that's being generous. 2. Premise two I would give 0.78 but again being generous. With the above numbers the conclusion is far more likely then not and should be believed Key Terms: Correspondence Theory: "The basic idea of the correspondence theory is that what we believe or say is true if it corresponds to the way things actually are – to the facts." [[@glanzbergTruth2006]] Coherence Theory: "A belief is true if and only if it is part of a coherent system of beliefs." [[@glanzbergTruth2006]]

In this episode we dive into our series on logic! Below I've included the logical forms used in this episode. LOGICAL FORM FOR... "Women should remain completely silent in all church gatherings." 1. If the Bible asserts something then that thing is true 2. The Bible asserts that women should remain completely silent in all church gatherings ([[1 co 14.34]] - [[1 co 14.35]]) 3. It is true that women should remain completely silent in all church gatherings. LOGICAL FORM FOR... "We cannot trust the Bible and should shave off the edges." 1. If the Bible asserts something invalid then we cannot trust the Bible and we should shave off the edges of the Bible 2. If The Bible does assert that women should remain completely silent in all church gatherings [[1 co 14.34]] - [[1 co 14.35]] then the Bible is asserting something invalid 3. The Bible does assert that women should remain completely silent in all church gatherings [[1 co 14.34]] - [[1 co 14.35]] 4. We cannot trust the Bible and should shave off the edges

Theology does not happen in isolation. If you make one decision on one issue it likely takes other decisions for other issues off the table. Today we take a look at three examples of this! Show notes are below. ### Example 1 depending on your timeline of eschatology you likely will have differing views about method of evangelism, the role of the church, the nature of the great commission, government involvement. #### Premillennial *After a tribulation the [[+ παρουσία]] will happen and God will reign on earth for a period of 1,000 years* #### Postmillennial *The church will bring about a millennium of righteousness on earth before the [[+ παρουσία]]* #### Amillennial The 1000 year reign is symbolic and we are currently in it awaiting the [[+ παρουσία]] ### Example 2 Your view on the authority of the church effects your view of church leaders and church practices. #### Catholic Very high church. Views the physical church as being on par with scripture with regard to authority. - Doctrine of [[Papal infallibility]] - Jesus is the invisible head of the church and pope is the visible head of the church - Confession is something done to a priest - The lords super is administered by the priest and placed on the tongue of the believer - Timeline of baptism is controlled by the church #### Church of Christ Very low church. Views the physical church as having very little authority. - Ministers have to earn their respect - Jesus is the head of the church in every sense but he instituted elders to lead it - Confession is largely between you and God (confession to other believers is encouraged) - The lord's supper is a time where individuals across the world come together and remember Jesus' death for our sins - Timeline of baptism is controlled by the individual and is a personal choice - No central governance. Therefore no "official position" on any issue. Over time big variances in belief have formed. ### Example 3 The leading founders of Jehovah's Witness held several unorthodox beliefs causing other problematic beliefs/actions with regard to scripture and evangelism #### Timeline of Jehovah Witness - [[Charles Taze Russell]] goes to adventist meeting where he is told Jesus would be back soon *adventist preacher [[William Miller]] predicted the end of the world several times and when wrong each time chalked it up to a math error.* - 1879 - Russell begins the [[Watchtower]] - 1882 - Russell first publishes anti trinitarian teaching through the watchtower saying "As Brother Russell and his associates studied the Scriptures, it did not take them long to see that the God portrayed in the Bible is not the god of Christendom." - Russell predicts that Jesus would return in 1914 and when that was incorrect modified his claim - 1916 - Russell dies and is succeeded by [[Joseph R Rutherford]] - 1931 - Name changed to [[Jehovah's Witness]] Began a hard mission of evangelism calling members "witnesses" based out of [[isa 43.10]] - [[Nathan Homer Knorr]] succeeds - Knorr made an anonymous translation committee to create a translation that conforms to the doctrines of [[Jehovah's Witness]] called the [[New World Translation]] - The names on the translation committee comes to light and 4 of the five had no experience as bible translators and the other one had studied non biblical greek for 2 years [^1]: https://www.catholic.com/tract/history-of-the-jehovahs-witnesses?cmdf=how+did+jehovas+witness+start# #### A big issue with the [[New World Translation]] The [[New World Translation]] intentionally modifies scripture to support [[Arianism]]. > [[jn 1.1]] is translated with wild inaccuracy to support the view that Jesus was created by God. > [[jn 8.58]] is translated with inaccuracy to remove the clear statement of divinity > [[col 1.16]] [[col 1.17]] is distorted by adding a word that is not there four times ("other") ### Sometimes an arrived at belief can cause you to modify and distort what scripture says.

The problem is that youth today who profess a belief in Jesus as God don't actually let that belief play out in their lives. It stops somewhere when it should have continued and trickled into every crack. Because of this their Christianity is is in conflict with their worldview. James Sire talks about this in his book "The Universe Next Door". He says there's 8 key questions that when answered honestly display our worldview: What is prime reality? What is the nature of external reality? What is a human being? What happens to a person at death? Why is it possible to know anything at all? How do we know what is right and wrong? What is the meaning of human history? What personal, life orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview? There's a few questions you can ask yourself to see if your Christianity is in conflict with your worldview/beliefs: 1. Is the revelation of God the main factor in why you believe what you believe? Or did you decide from some other factor? 2. Did you without good reason come to a particular view about the Revelation of God because it is appealing? This show is going to be all about bringing theology to teens. We are going to build a theology from the ground up. You don't need to know anything to benefit from this series. There are no prerequisite. Check out the Youtube channel and make sure to subscribe! **Podcast on Unbelievable where John Loftus and David Marshall talk about the outsider test for faith.

Though God certainly does things that a mother most commonly does this does not make him a mother any more than it makes me a mother. God is portrayed with male language at a ridiculous level of consistency throughout scripture. Although the triune God is (mostly) immaterial and therefore (mostly) doesn't have a literal gender, he is best portrayed throughout every form of divine revelation with male language. ### Scriptures Cited By Proponents of "God the Mother" God described as doing something a mother would do [[hos 11.3]] [[deut 32.18]] [[isa 42.14]] [[isa 49.15]] [[isa 66.13]] God gathering his children under his wings [[ps 91.4]] And eagle hovering over it's young [[deut 32.11]] and [[deut 32.12]] ### Scripture For "God as Male" "God the Father" [[jn 6.27]] [[1 co 8.6]] [[1 co 15.24]] [[gal 1.1]] [[ep 5.20]] [[ep 6.23]] [[phil 2.11]] [[col 1.3]] [[col 3.17]] [[1 th 1.1]] [[1 tim 1.2]] [[2 tim 1.2]] [[tit 1.4]] [[1 p 1.2]] [[2 p 1.17]] [[2 jn 1.3]] [[jud 1.1]] and many MANY more "God the King of Kings and Lord of Lords" [[dn 2.37]] [[rv 19.16]] In addition the [[consistent biblical message of male headship and authority]] comes in prominently here --- ### Notes 1. All of the scriptural arguments for "God the mother" fall apart 1. When described as bird in in [[ps 91.4]] "masculine pronouns are clearly used" <mark style="background: #ADCCFFA6;">1</mark> 2. When described as an eagle in the nest with the birds, it's important to note that the term "mother eagle" isn't used. In fact, eagles are one species in which the father also sits in the nest. 3. God does certain things that a mother commonly does. Absolutely. But so should any good dad. If a dad changes diapers, comforts his kids, nurses his children on a bottle, etc does that mean that he IS a mother or does it mean that he is BEING LIKE a mother. The latter almost certainly is correct. 2. Of great importance is the [[consistent biblical message of male headship and authority]] found through scripture. If this is true, then though God is immaterial and doesn't have gender in the typical sense, he is best described as "male" in that he has the highest role of authority. 3. The Spirit is consistently described with male pronouns. 4. The Son was incarnated into a male body. 5. When Jesus refers to God he refers to him as father. 6. When Jesus instructs his followers on prayer he says "This is how you should pray: our father in heaven" [[mt 6.9]] 7. Satan also has feminine traits but no one pushes to say "resist the devil and she will flee from you" [[jm 4]]

This is simply a phenomenal episode. I hope you enjoy this one. Let me know what you think! You can get in touch at nathanlavalleyministry@gmail.com

Over the last 10 years I've grown in my faith. This has caused me to change my mind on a number of topics. In this video, I tell you ten things that I've changed my mind on regarding faith. 1. I used to view mindfulness meditation differently 2. Heaven and hell had much more to do with the here and now then the future 3. Cussing is ok 4. A Lower View of Scripture 5. Sympathy for Jesus as a Progressive Figure Head 6. Opinion of Bart Ehrman 7. Vast differences within the church as good and healthy 8. I used to think that watching a show like "Game of Thrones" was not in conflict with my Christianity. 9. I used to think that the primary person prayer impacts is me 10. I used to think that it was best to put a wall between certain things and my faith

#CarThoughts

We should be lovers of Truth 1. look at scriptures on truth God did not give arbitrary commands 1. example of a law against smoking (already realize it's important) 2. example of a law against vaping (don't yet realize it's important) 3. [[deut 5.32]] and [[deut 5.33]] Analogy of a person taking a college class and doing the absolute bare minimum 1. What happens if an accidental slip up is made? Discipling People to God 1. example of what I do when I disciple students 2. There is always some degree of mis-translation when discipling 3. me being accurate is REALLY important because of those that follow me [[1 co 11.1]] A case can be made for varying levels of reward in heaven 1. [[1 co 3.5]]-9 and then [[1 co 3.11]] | Apollo and testing a structure 2. [[rev 22.12]] | "give to each one according to what they've done" 3. [[jm 1.12]] | great inheritance for those who suffer and endure 4. [[lk 15.6]] | "more joy in heaven over 1 who returns" 5. [[2 jn 4]] - 10 | don't lose your "full reward" 6. [[lk 19.11-27]] | 5 cities and 10 cities

#CarThoughts

Shame is NOT inherently bad. In fact, shame is the proper feeling that follows sin for the non believer. But what about for the believer? That's where Christians in America get off the rails and miss an essential part of Salvation. Take a look.

#CarThoughts

#CarThoughts

It was almost like my church wasn't trinitarian but rather bi-arian. We never talked about the Holy Spirit. Let me tell you what I've learned since then. This might shock you. Outline Progressive revelation throughout scripture Hovering over the water Ex 31.3 Judges Othniel Gideon Jephthah David Jesus' bold words about the Holy Spirit John 14:15 The moment at Pentacost Some big roles of the holy spirit Conviction Conversion Sanctification/Indwelling Empowering Gifts of the Spirit The Pentecostal movement