I just wanted to put in a good word for John Barry’s new book, The Resurrected Servant in Isaiah. John is a colleague of mine at Logos. Having read through some sections of John’s book when it was a thesis, and having read the recommendations (Bruce Waltke...
Soteriology
Romans 5:12 and Universalism: Applying My Take on Romans 5:12 to the Problem
I’m actually surprised at how brief this one turned out to be! (I’m sure you all are as well). Here’s the passage: 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned...
A Side Note on “Corporate Solidarity”
Forgot to push the button on this last night. I recently had a good exchange with a Naked Bible reader via email and wanted to share my thoughts on the notion of how “corporate solidarity” (CS) fails to answer my objections to the traditional view of...
Paul, Original Sin, and Rabbinic Theology
I’ve had a request for the two articles on the idea of “original sin” and rabbinic material. Here they are: S. Porter, “The Pauline Concept of Original Sin in Light of the Rabbinic Background,” Tyndale Bulletin 41:1 (1990): 3-30 Kister,...
Romans 5:12 and the Fate of the Unborn, Infants, and Other Human Beings Who Cannot Believe From Birth
Thanks for your patience with this thread. I hope you see that what follows is another “theological payoff” to the view I’m articulating. Not only do I think this view of Romans 5:12 simultaneously upholds a real “original sin” in Eden,...
Some Brief Thoughts on the “Sin Nature” and Reader Follow-Up
I decided I’d post a few quick thoughts on these items before the post on what happens to babies and other innocents. I promise, this is the last post on this part of the topic, unless I get an answer to its final sentence. I’m still getting replies that...
Back to Romans 5:12 — Replies to Reader Comments
Here we go again – same format as before. COMM: Spiritual death is a Biblical truth that you have not considered in your rejection of original sin… MSH: First, I haven’t rejected original sin. There was an original sin. That’s plain from the...
Romans 5:12, Part 5: A Few More Replies to Replies
Still doesn’t seem like the time to go into what I really want to (the “where do babies go when they die?” thing). I promise that will be the next post. But for now, some mop of further replies and questions seems best. Same format as last post....
Romans 5:12, Part 4
I’ve decided to respond to replies first before plowing ahead with the next installment of Romans 5:12. What follows are comments drawn from replies (COMM) and my response (MSH) or clarification. I’m only sticking to the germane material. That is, a lot of...
More on Romans 5:12 (Part 3)
Well, time to get back to Romans 5:12 and the “imputation” or “transmission” of Adam’s guilt to the human race. If you missed the previous post, I deny that Romans 5:12 teaches that Adam’s guilt was what was transmitted to humanity...
Romans 5:12 – What It Says and What It Doesn’t Say, Part 2
Time to get back to Romans 5:12. My first complaint about the misuse of this passage concerned how creationists (of the literal, 24 hr. day variety) use this verse to argue against the possibility of ANY death before the Fall. This in turn is used to argue against the...
The Ends, Not Necessarily the Means (Sovereignty and Free Will Addendum)
I’ve been thinking about the last couple of exchanges on the predestination / free will topic. It’s occurred to me that there’s an element of my position that I haven’t specifically included in posts that would be helpful. It’s something...
Predestination and Free Will: A Summary of The Naked Bible Position
Well, I never figured that we’d be getting into this topic so early, but we did. I’m not going to post any more comments to the post that started all this; time to move on. However, I thought it would be advisable to post a summary of my thoughts on the...