Comments on: God’s Masterpiece

By: Mikhail

Mikhail — Sun, 16 Mar 2025 06:13:35 +0000

On a global scale the question arises:
Did God, while He was creating the world, already knew that thousands (millions) years later in the 20th c. there will be two world wars…?
If I remember correctly, they call it “predestination”. The concept of predestination itself has been very controversial and caused a lot of debate over the past 1000 years.

By: Robert Killian-Dawson

Robert Killian-Dawson — Sat, 15 Feb 2025 13:52:54 +0000

Thank you Philip, for such a profound and thought provoking article. Wishing you all the very best for 2025, Robert

By: Rachel Clifton

Rachel Clifton — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 17:24:54 +0000

Philip, we have followed you for decades. This article was stunning to us, not only because of its moving and fantastical implications, but also because it gives all of us (particularly us old Evangelicals) the freedom and joy to continue to grow, explore, embrace new ways of seeing God through men of old who were never given any time or credibility on our faith journey in the past. This idea, this thought is overwhelming, almost unbelievable due to the emphasis on past theology, that Gods design for eternity was to fully enter into our humanity to show us what he is like and to bring his creation into the very Godhead itself. Wow. Thank you.

By: Gail W. Ward

Gail W. Ward — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:25:18 +0000

Thank you Philip for your wonderful insight into the bible.

I remember you and your brother from GHS. Also my pastor Jeff Cranston, Lowcountry Comminity Church quotes you often.

By: Peter Hiett

Peter Hiett — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:41:52 +0000

Beautiful!

By: Rev. Wallace Mayo

Rev. Wallace Mayo — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 16:02:46 +0000

Lots of good thoughts to digest in this article. I do not see as much of a question in all this. We are so bound temporally. That is, when we read the Bible and read truths about Gods action and nature, we sometimes forget He works in all time all at once. You see, God is wasn’t just there yesterday, He is still there; and won’t be there tomorrow until tomorrow, but is already there in tomorrow now. That sense short circuits some of our questions and wonderings as we question how God does things.
Three verses confirm this, in amazing fashion:
“The hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.” (Titus 1:2)
“He chose us in him before the creation of the world.” (Eph. 1:4) – (world can mean universe)
2 Timothy 1:9 – He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,…
Wow. So, the birth, cross, resurrection was never an afterthought or new response God had to come up with. He knew it all, and already planned it.

By: Linda Tripp

Linda Tripp — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 11:29:10 +0000

Dear Philip – you make profound truths approachable in a way that allows me to embrace and understand them. Thanks for introducing me to Duns Scotus. It was refreshing to learn of his thesis – not a dismissal of Aqinas but in addition to…
Wishing you God’s continued Blessing in 2025 and looking forward to more of “Yancey”.
Linda

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 04:18:36 +0000

Thank you Philip for your reminder. Jesus’ prayer for us in John 17:20-23 tells us that the glory given to Him by the Father, is now given to us His church. We are now His glory bearers – as unworthy as we are, so that we may be one just like Them, so that the world may know that the Father sent Jesus because He loves us.

By: Steve Rafferty

Steve Rafferty — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:59:33 +0000

As a Secular Franciscan formerly known as the Third Order I’ve been totally freed from the the atonement theory and found God’s love in Scoutus alternative orthodoxy approved by the Catholic Church.I was on the treadmill of trying to be perfect and always looking down on my attempts to please God! I’m free because I’m in Christ and when God sees Christ he see me a beloved son and an apple of his eye. Steve Rafferty ofs

By: Mel Glubrecht

Mel Glubrecht — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:21:41 +0000

If humanity, which i am assuming they meant Adam and Eve, had not disobeyed God nothing would have been the same since the time of Creation. God’s Word, Old and New Testament, would have been vastly different. Either much shorter: “Love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” The end. Or much longer, God giving us the instructions we need on how to do those two things.
So there would have been no need for God to choose His people, because everyone would be His people. So no taking of land, war, enslavement, sin. All humanity, if no one disobeyed God, would know God, know Him as Father, and know that He only wanted the best for His children.
Unless i’m just taking too simple of view of things, not digging deeper. I know God knew that we were going to need all the words we could get from Him, because we did/do disobey.