Commentary on my recent appearance on Unbelievable? with Justin Brierley, in which I debated the nature of eternal punishment with traditionalist Steve Jeffery. Also, my responses to feedback Justin received in the wake of our discussion.
Music
- Treading Lemmings, The Unbelievable Truth from the album, Cliff Notes, 2010
Promoted Resources
- Ligonier Ministries, with Dr. R.C. Sproul
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- Unbelievable?, with Justin Brierley.
- Available on Premier Christian Radio in the United Kingdom, Saturdays 2:30-4:00pm.
- Also available in the Unbelievable? podcast (new episodes posted shortly after they air).
- My recent appearance on Unbelievable? via online streaming, or download the episode
Episode 80: The Unbelievable Truth [ 1:15:11 | 68.85 MB ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5513)
Chris,
Continuing our discussion from the other site …
Have you considered the possibility that Jesus had a single nature: that of the Son of God? This probably sounds strange to you, so let me try to explain. In logical and some mathematical theories there is a relation between objects known as subsumption, or sometimes called the “isa” relation. It basically categorizes individuals based on their properties. For example, we might see something running across our yards that has fur and a bushy tail and classify it as a squirrel.
The key notion is that what a thing is (as I understand it, its “nature” in theology) is defined by its properties. Nicean philosophy is based on the assumption that there are two categories of things: man and God (or as James White clumsily puts it “creature” and “creator”). When we look at the scripture and try to categorize Jesus as man or God we run into the problem that the intersection of those two categories is the empty set (as an example, God only has immortality, yet Jesus died). The dual nature proposal was an unsatisfactory (to me anyway) solution to this paradox. What I am suggesting is that we take John 1:18 and other “uniqueness” passages at face value and say that Jesus is uniquely the Son of God, neither categorized as God, man or God-Man, but something uniquely different. Thus, we have three categories: God, man, and the unique Son of God.
In my opinion this both affirms his humanity and the properties of deity that really matter.
-Tim
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