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Showing posts from April, 2020

The Good, The Bad, and the Promises of God

by Hiram R. Diaz III Numbers 13 & 14 record the event of Moses' sending of the spies. This record is important for us to consider in our day. In what follows, I want to look at the story, and then explain why it is one we should reflect on as we hear apocalyptic prophecy after apocalyptic prophecy coming the secular news media. In Numbers 13, The Lord spoke to Moses, issuing him the following command: "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them." 1  And this is what Moses did. So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 2 The spies saw the promised land, and uniformly spoke about the beauty of the place and its great provisions. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.  And they came to Moses and Aaron and t

Refuting Pro-Quarantine Arguments

by Hiram R. Diaz III In my last post , I discussed the underlying worldview problem many Christians have. These believers, though perhaps well-intentioned, have believed in two falsehoods that are in contradiction to what the Scriptures clearly teach. Firstly, they believe that the future can be known apart from Divine revelation. Secondly, they believe that general conclusions can be soundly, inductively inferred. I began with these two assumptions because they are the most apparent, and they appear to be universal among those who are pro-quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.  I then went on to state that I'd be dealing with the bad argumentation that has led to the current quarantine/lockdown situation we are facing in the world. This is what this post will be about. But first, I want to make it known that I have not ever suggested, nor am I now suggesting, that COVID-19 isn't a real virus with serious health consequences, including death, for many. Having lost

You Do Not Know What Tomorrow Will Bring

by Hiram R. Diaz III According to the Bible, God alone knows the end from the beginning. This ability to know the future, in fact, is declared by God himself to be one of the ways in which he makes himself known to be the only true God. He declares this in  Isaiah 46:8-10, saying — "Remember this and stand firm,   recall it to mind,   you   transgressors,   remember the former things   of old;   for I am God, and there is no other ;     I am God, and there is none like me,   declaring   the end from the beginning   and from ancient   times things not yet   done ,   saying, ‘My counsel   shall stand,   and I will accomplish all my purpose...'"   Note that the Lord does not say some of us know the end from the beginning. No. He entirely rules out the idea that any other being besides himself knows the end from the beginning.  The 'gods' of the other nations are  not only  powerless to affect the future, they lack the ability to know it. That the

Beginning Again

by Hiram R. Diaz III Considering the current state of the world, I decided now would be as good a time as any to start blogging anew, although it's hard for me to leave my old blog behind. For over a decade, by the grace of God, I've grappled with a wide variety of ideas, and this has caused me to grow as a Christian. I've also assisted my brothers and sisters in Christ as they dealt with objections to the faith raised by unbelievers, their own doubts, and confusion. Knowing that I have helped out the body of Christ in any way brings me deep joy and satisfaction, and I want to continue to do that for all of my life. But the old blog, precisely because it represents years of my growth as a believer, needs to be superseded by a more theologically consistent blog. I feel as though I am more firmly rooted in the Scriptures today than I have been in the past, and that I'm better equipped now to assist the body of Christ in matters of Christian theology (systematic and