Episode 10: Duel of the Fates

March 30, 2011

Featuring Matt Anderson and Ben De Bono

In this episode of The Sci-Fi Christian, Ben and Matt take a look at the recent film, The Adjustment Bureau, and discuss predestination

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2 comments on “Episode 10: Duel of the Fates

  1. Hi Guys,

    I wanted to weigh in on the question Ben posed at the end of the “predestination” episode: “would we be better off if God controlled everything like the Adjustment Bureau?

    I think this is restatement of the problem of evil. How can a perfect God allow evil to exist? And the way I’ve come to understand the answer to this question is:

    1. The greatest good is the love of God and one can only experience love as a voluntary act. The concept of forcing somebody to freely love is nonsensical. Therefore without freewill, men cannot love God. They would obey, but not love.

    2. To share this greatest good with men, freewill must be provided. However, freewill also allows for disobedience and evil.

    3. So if God removed all evil, He’d also be taking away the greatest good.

    4. One may argue that this is a challenge to God’s omnipotence. Couldn’t God create a world where we all freely choose to love Him? Since this would result in a 0% chance of us not loving him, it would not be a free choice. So I think this breaks down into a nonsensical expression; can somebody be forced to freely choose something? I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the set of Omnipotent powers to include nonsense.

    The Bible does clearly illustrate God’s meticulous control as well as creaturely freedom. As Ben said, it’s possible that we are not meant to be able to reconcile these seemingly contradictory facts. However I have found Molinism to be a great philosophical explanation.

    Keep up the good work and God Bless.

    Jake

  2. Michael Sep 26, 2011

    Speaking of the Rapture: Have either or both of you seen the film The Rapture? It’s from the 90s, I think, and I think Minnie Driver and David Duchovny are in the cast. Very disturbing film. It’s rated R for sexuality, language, and mature themes, plus it’s just scary. And definitely not Christian in its worldview, but very much worth watching, and I recommend it in that sense. It could prompt a lot of discussion about why what we believe (or don’t believe) about the End Times matters.

    I think “Oz the Great and Terrible” sounds fantastic, and very much rooted in Baum’s backstory for the Wizard (to the degree that anyone’s backstory in Baum is consistent; they get dicey!). I’m just always excited, though, when people take note of the fact that Oz is bigger than the first book (and certainly much bigger than the 1939 MGM musical).

    I am with you guys on your bottom line: there is a big picture plan, but God does not micromanage us. You raised the question, Does God ever lie? Ultimately, I say no, as you do; but have you considered the story of Micaiah ben Imlah in 1 Kings 22? God sends “a lying spirit” so that most prophets give King Ahab the bad advice to go to battle; only Micaiah knows the truth. (I guess the fact that Micaiah reveals this knowledge to Ahab before the battle negates the other prophets’ mistakes and could be construed as God giving Ahab a way out—a choice to trust Micaiah or the other prophets; and this is “just” one story among many—but it’s canonical, and problematic.)

    “Even if I never figure it out, it doesn’t make God any less awesome.” Amen to that (and, literally, thank God for that!)

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