the year in books [VIII]

This gauntlet of 2020 Books Read focuses on science fiction. Science fiction is one of those genres that is pretty hit or miss for me, as my recollections will indicate. James S.A. Corey's Nemesis Games was a resounding five stars (not surprising, given that his Expanse Series is top-notch, Grade-A sci-fi plutonium). Peter Watts' Echopraxia gathered another five stars; it's a sequel to an earlier book which has made it onto my 2021 Reading Queue. Stephen Baxter's Proxima doesn't rate very high; it was a drudge at times. Similarly, Ben Bova's Mars wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I loved Bova's New Earth, which is a latter book in his Solar System Series, and as I plan on reading the series in its breadth, I'm hoping later additions (his Moonrise is tabled for later this year) are better than Mars. Drew Williams' The Stars Now Unclaimed was decent, but John Dreese's Red Hope was a real struggle. Because of the quarantine I've been forced to take advantage of my Kindle Unlimited subscription, and books through it - mostly self-published e-books - are rather hit-and-miss. 

"Does God control my life?"

Psalm 139.16 reads, 'Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.' Does this mean that God has charted out each and every contour of our lives? Or does this mean that, because of His omniscience (the fact that He knows all things), that He knows the courses our lives will ultimately take? If you were a deterministic Calvinist, you would say that this means God controls every aspect of our lives. The Bible says that God does whatever He pleases (Psalm 115.3), so if He decided to do this, then that would be His prerogative. However, the Bible teaches that human beings have the ability to make choices and are held responsible for those choices; and as we saw last week, the Bible gives us examples of where God allows things to happen rather than causing them to happen Himself. It seems evident that God has pleased to give human beings a certain level of autonomy; He's gifted us with human liberty so that we can make our own choices - and because they are our own choices, we are held responsible for them. This doesn't mean that we have completely free reign; God remains sovereign and in control, and He can limit our choices anytime and in any way He wants. If we aim to accomplish something that God doesn't permit, He will thwart our efforts. Likewise, if God intends for us to accomplish something, He will ensure that we accomplish it while simultaneously not violating human liberty.

Because God doesn't control every aspect of our lives, some might wonder if God has a plan for our lives. Does God have a specific destination in mind for each and every person? There are instances in scripture where God does have purposes for people, and for some His purposes stretch to before they were even born. God purposed Abraham to be the father of the Jewish people; God purposed Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt; God chose David to be the great King of Israel; God chose the prophet Jeremiah to deliver an unwanted message to rebellious Jerusalem; God purposed Mary to be the mother of the Messiah; God purposed the Apostle Paul to be the 'Apostle to the Gentiles.' Sometimes God has a plan for people that aren't so great for them: God purposed King Saul to be Israel's first king and he turned out to be a failure; God purposed Jeremiah to have a miserable life (he couldn't have a family, party, or enjoy the fruit of the vine); and the Apostle Paul was destined for suffering. Sometimes God has purposes even for pagans in order to accomplish His plans: Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Cyrus II 'The Great' of Persia, Alexander the Great of Macedon, and Caesar Augustus of the beginning of the Roman Empire all come to mind. God used all of them to accomplish His purposes. 

What do these examples tell us? They tell us that sometimes - though not necessarily all the time, for we must be careful not to make universal principles of specific examples - God has specific plans for people. These examples also tell us that God's purposes for people aren't to grant them all their hopes and aspirations but to use them as tools for His own good purposes. Nowhere in scripture do we see God 'having a plan' for someone in order to give them an easy, luxurious life. If God has a specific, mission-oriented purpose for your life, it likely won't be to give you the life you want - and that's God's right as sovereign. 

For most of us, God's 'plan' for our life isn't as specific as the examples given above. This doesn't mean, of course, that God doesn't have plans for us. The Apostle Paul shoots point-blank: 'For we are [God's] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.' (Eph 2.10) In other words, God has plans for us to do good works, and He has put us where we're at to be His tools in accomplishing those good works. Even more shocking, God has prepared these good works for us 'beforehand' - it isn't as if we stumble upon the opportunity to do good; God has intentionally given us opportunities to do good. In a more general scope, it is God's plan for us - or His 'will' for us - to be 'conformed to the image of His Son'; we are to grow in righteousness in preparation for the new heavens and new earth and to reclaim our identity and mission as His image-bearers.

In 1 Thessalonians 4.3 Paul says (again, point-blank!) that God's will for us is our sanctification. God intends that we live a certain way. He created us to live a certain way. All sin is deviation from that way of living. To be a human created in the image of God is to embrace a God-centered life, and when we stray from that way of living we are, in a sense, becoming dehumanized. All sin is dehumanizing in that it pulls us further away from living as humans are created to live. All sin is harmful to us because it detracts from our purpose and meaning and flourishing as human beings. Holiness and righteousness means living as God intends us to live. God has told us how to live in His Word and has revealed to us the way we are to live through His Son. When we read the gospels and see Jesus at work, we're seeing how God intends us to be. This is why Paul tells us to 'imitate Christ' (Eph 5:1-2) and why God's intention is for us to 'become like Christ' (Rom 8:29). Jesus isn't some sort of 'super human'; he's a true human (who also happens to be God enfleshed), and as such he's a beacon and lighthouse for those who acknowledge their sin and who want to get back to their roots as God's image-bearers. This is one of the reasons Paul portrays Jesus as the 'Second Adam' in Romans 5.12-21: where Adam failed to be truly human, Jesus succeeded in being truly human! It is God's plan that, as redeemed human beings who have been dehumanized by sin and who have been set free from the power of sin, we grow in holiness. God, in His providence and wisdom, is intimately involved in our lives so that we become more like Jesus - and thus more human. Last week we saw how God uses hardships and suffering as powerful tools towards this end, so we won't belabor the point here. 

So, on the one hand, God's plan for us is that we grow in holiness, in genuine human living. Genuine human living, however, is intimately wrapped up in being an image-bearer of God. In Genesis 1 God decides to create mankind - both man and woman - in His image. It's the defining characteristic of what separates mankind from the animals. But what does this actually mean? Some believe it means that human beings reflect their Creator - God's 'image' - in that they possess emotions, feelings, intelligence, and creativity. Certainly these reflect that we have a creator, but are they unique to mankind? Many animals have emotions and feelings (note elephants who mourn their dead); many animals are intelligent and communicate with one another (such as dolphins); and even gorillas and elephants have shown creativity. None of this should be surprising, since animals - unlike trees or rocks - have 'spirits' (Ecclesiastes 3:21); but mankind has body, spirit, and soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23). When animals die, they don't face judgment; they have no moral compass. A moral compass certainly differentiates us from the animals, but even this isn't what it means to be an imager of God (and, interestingly, it seems mankind was created without a moral compass; this is something we gained after the Fall in Genesis 3). 

To understand what it means to be an image-bearer of God, we need to step back in time to the ancient Near East. An 'image-bearer' is a title related to eastern kingship. Ancient kings or emperors had their 'image-bearers' who were tasked with carrying out their rule and authority throughout their kingdoms; in the same way, mankind has been created as God's ambassadors. God created mankind in the Garden of Eden but tasked them with leaving that garden and carrying the garden throughout the untamed world. From the beginning human beings were created special in that we were created with a purpose, to advance God's orderly rule throughout the cosmos. Yes, we are created to serve and worship God, but as His image-bearers, we are created specifically to advance God's kingdom. Being an image-bearer is at the core of what it means to be human, and as redeemed human beings, God's plan is for us to be His image-bearers in the here and now.

As Christians, we are tasked with spreading God's kingdom. This is one of God's primary 'plans' for us. We do this by living holy lives and telling people about Jesus. God could certainly just write the gospel in the sky, but He has chosen to use mankind as His instrument. Why is this? It's because He hasn't rejected His plan for us to be His image-bearers. It is God's intention for us, in the here and now in the midst of the present evil age, to advance His kingdom. We start by submitting ourselves to Him in our own spaces: our own bodies, our own relationships, in our household. It's my task, as the husband and father, to build a household that is rooted in God's kingdom. When this is done, the household becomes holy ground reclaimed from the powers of evil and dedicated to God. I fail - and do so miserably at times! - but that is God's intention. Our calling as image-bearers won't be jettisoned in the new heavens and new earth; when that day comes, we will still be image-bearers, but we will be playing on a much larger - a cosmic! - playing field.

So does God have a plan for your life? Absolutely! His plan is that you do good works, grow in holiness (genuine human living), and advance God's kingdom by preaching the gospel. This life is both a mission and a training ground. We're not here to have God cater to our dreams and ambitions. We're here to be His image-bearers. A lot of people anguish over God's will for their lives - I certainly used to! - but this knowledge is freeing. The Bible tells us that God's will for our life is simple, and so long as we are living a life characterized by those things God desires of us, we are in the will of God.

"If God is in control, why do bad things happen?"

"If God is in control, why do bad things happen?" This is the question of theodicy, and it's wrestled with in nearly every book of the Bible. Some books - such as Job, Lamentations, Habakkuk, and plenty of the psalms - explicitly wrestle with the tension between God's sovereignty and the obvious presence and even flourishing of evil. 

Ecclesiastes 7.14 tells us, 'In the day of prosperity be happy, but in the day of adversity consider - God has made the one as well as the other.' This doesn't mean that God directly causes evil to happen, but it acknowledges that what God permits is, in a sense, 'made by him,' in that he could stop it if he wanted. The fact that evil exists, and bad things happen, informs us that God - who is wise and loving and just, among other things - has a purpose in it. We must also bear in mind that we only see the evil that God does permit; we don't see the evil he doesn't permit. Given human nature and our propensity for evil, I'm confident that God prohibits far more evil than he allows. If God's constraining hand were lifted - and, curiously, we have an indication in Revelation 20.7-9 that he will 'lift the restraints' sometime in the future - then our world would be a place of far greater pain and suffering than we could imagine.

Some people teach that because God is sovereign, he personally dictates every little thing that happens. This would include sin and evil. However, such a deterministic manipulation of history ought to be rejected by the simple fact that in scripture we are given instances where God allows (rather than directly causes) stuff to happen. In Job 1 and 2, God permits Satan to make a mess out of Job's life, and in Luke 22 God permits Satan to sift the twelve disciples like wheat. The Bible plainly teaches that God allows things to happen without directly causing them, and of course this would include both good and bad things. But what kinds of bad things does God generally permit? There are at least three big ones:

(1) God permits human liberty (to a point). As we saw last week, the Bible teaches that God can direct our hearts and establish our paths. It has pleased God to grant human beings a measure of autonomy (and the responsibility that comes along with it), but he can permit or prohibit our choices. 

(2) God permits natural processes. God has established a planet with an ecosystem that can run on its own. While the Bible teaches that Jesus sustains all of creation, that doesn't mean he is necessarily holding every molecule together. God has been pleased to design a sufficient ecosystem. Sometimes the byproducts or functions of that ecosystem - hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, monsoons - have detrimental affects on humans. These natural processes are not evil, but they are scary and can hurt us. 

(3) God permits the presence of sin and evil. Evil defined here isn't simply that which is unpalatable (snakes, after all, are not evil; nor are spiders). We are speaking here of moral evil (the evil that is evil because it is not morally good) and of powers of evil (such as the devil and the 'powers and principalities' of which Paul speaks in Ephesians 6). We see in Job 1-2 and Luke 22 that the devil's power is permitted him by God, and by God's permission he works his wickedness in the world. 

Why would God allow such things to take place? We can trust the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8.28: 'We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called, according to his purpose.' A scriptural example of this is found in the latter stages of the Book of Genesis. Joseph, one of the sons of the patriarch Jacob, was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery (a truly evil act). But it was their act - motivated by sinful hearts - that put Joseph where he needed to be so that God could elevate him in Egyptian society to accomplish his purposes. This is why Joseph tells his brothers in Genesis 50.20, 'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.' Thus we know that (a) all evil that exists is permitted by God and that (b) God permits evil for his own holy purposes. His use of evil to accomplish his purposes doesn't bloody his hands, for he isn't directly causing the evil (the blame lies elsewhere), and he will be the one who one day judges evil fully. 

There are three biblical realities we must bear in mind when it comes to the reality of bad things happening in our world and, more pressingly, in our own lives. We'll tackle them one-by-one.

Biblical Reality #1: We live in 'the present evil age' (Gal 1.4). We live in the time between Easter and the Consummation, in which evil has been defeated and broken of its power for those who turn to Jesus - but evil forces remain active. An analogy of the paradox is the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 during World War Two. Just as the Germans knew they were beaten after Normandy, they kept up the fight; nevertheless, their end drew inexorably near and they were eventually annihilated. They were defeated at D-Day, but they weren't able to accept it. They swore to go down fighting. In our own day and age, Satan has a lot of power in this world. Jesus calls him the 'prince' or 'ruler of this world' (John 16.11), and Paul calls him the 'god of this age' (2 Cor 4.4) and the 'ruler of the authority of the air' (Eph 2.2). Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4.4) and holds them in his snare until God releases them through the gospel (2 Tim 2.25-26). He can take life, as with Job's children; ruin health, as he did with Job's body (cf. Luke 13.16); he can torment with demons (Luke 11.18) and provoke evil deeds (Luke 22.3). He can cause natural disasters (Job 1.19). He's opposed to God and God's people, aiming to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10.10), and he can manipulate others to throw Christians in prison (Rev 2.10-11). Satan's power is allowed him by God, but his power is also constrained by the limitations God puts on him. In the present evil age, Satan is no longer allowed to 'deceive the nations,' though he will be allowed to do so again at some point in the future (Rev 20.1-3). We don't know why God permits Satan to be active, but we do know that God will execute justice against him in the future.

Biblical Reality #2: God uses hardship and suffering to forge us into the people he wants us to be. God's desire for us in the present evil age isn't our happiness or comfort; rather, he aims to 'train us up in righteousness.' God's will for our lives is that we become the sort of people he wants us to be. This isn't just for our benefit in the here and now (which it certainly is!) but also for our benefit in the future. In a very real sense, God is teaching us so that we will flourish in the new heavens and new earth. In this vein, God will cause or permit suffering in our lives for at least two key reasons: testing and discipline (both of which are geared towards training us up in righteousness). The Apostle Peter speaks of testing in 1 Peter 1.6-7, though we must bear in mind that the 'testing' of which he writes isn't like our standardized school tests. God isn't testing us to see if we have the right answers. Peter's analogy revolves around how ancient people 'tested' gold by putting it through the fire. Rough gold was put under pressure in fire to remove the impurities; the fire purified the gold. When God tests us through suffering, he isn't giving us an exam. He's purifying us. This is another way of looking at 'training in righteousness.' Hebrews 12.5-11 tells us that God disciplines those who belong to him. This means that he will not allow us to blatantly continue in sin. He will discipline us with unpleasantness, and he can do it in a myriad of ways. He can thwart our plans; he can take stuff or people away from us; he can plague us with sickness and melancholy; and sometimes, if our sin is very great, he may even take our lives. Such discipline calls us to repent of cherished sin, after which God promises healing. Discipline doesn't feel good, but it - like testing - is for our own good and geared towards training us in righteousness. Thus God allows (or even causes) suffering and hardship in our lives to 'train us up in righteousness.'

Biblical Reality #3: There is a future in which all things will be made right. The Bible tells us that after the 'present evil age,' there will come a 'consummation' in which justice will be served, evil will be dealt with, and all things will be made right. Christians will be rewarded for their faithfulness and recompensed for that which they lost in the present evil age. The Bible talks a lot about the 'rewards' awaiting God's people in the new heavens and new earth:

2 Corinthians 5.10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 

Matthew 16.25-27 Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done

Luke 6.35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 

Luke 12.33-34 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Luke 18.22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

1 Timothy 6.17-19 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 

2 John 1.8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

1 Corinthians 9.24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 

1 Corinthians 3.12-15 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 

1 Peter 1.4 To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you...

Colossians 3.23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

What do these heavenly rewards look like? The main reward is our 'inheritance' (which speaks to our presence and activity in the new heavens and new earth), but God will dish out rewards on top of that. We don't know what these will be, but we can make guesses by the Bible does tell us. We know that we will have homes in the new world. We will have jobs in the new world. We will even have authority in the new world. Authority is a good thing; God designed it into his universe before the fall. Though authority has been warped by sin, it will be reshaped in the new heavens and new earth. Some people will have authority over others. The ultimate reward, of course, will be unhindered fellowship with God. Even now our fellowship with him is hindered by sin and our non-glorified state. In the new world, our intimacy and communion with God will be unbroken and full. It will overwhelm the high of any drug - natural or artificial - known to man. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13.12, 'For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.' When hard times come, we are to endure and be trained in righteousness; and when God's new world finally breaks in, we will be rewarded for our diligence. More poignantly in regards to enduring hardship and suffering, the Bible also teaches we will be recompensed - or repaid - for that which we lost or suffered for our devotion to God. A few verses will suffice to highlight this reality: 

Isaiah 40.10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 

Revelation 22.12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done." 

Matthew 19.29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[e] or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

When hard times come, we need to bear in mind that (a) we live in an evil world where suffering and evil is promised, (b) God intends suffering for our good (and thus we should intelligently and prayerfully consider how God wishes to train us in our suffering), and (c) we need to practice hope, for we know a day is coming when the sorrows of the world will pale compared to the goodness and beauty of what awaits us. This should always be before us. The Apostle Peter tells Christians suffering persecution in Asia Minor, 'Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have.' (1 Pet 3.15) The early Christians' hope in God's promised future was so vibrant and evident that non-Christians recognized it and inquired about it. How many of us have been asked, 'Why are you so damned hopeful all the time?!' But as Christians, that is precisely how we should be. And Peter, remember, is writing this to Christians undergoing (or about to undergo) persecution. Even then they were optimistically hopeful!

We are like kids going on a cross-country vacation. En route we stop at gas stations for microwave churros. Along the way someone steals the churro we bought and paid for, and we're livid! How dare that man steal my churro when I wasn't looking! Our dad tells us, "Don't worry about it, we'll eat when we get to the seaside resort." The rest of the way we're fuming about the lost churro. When we roll up to the seaside resort to a fresh buffet of steamed crab, buttery boiled lobster, fried fresh clams and steaming hush-puppies, do we sit at the table and fume about the churro? Absolutely not! We're enthralled with what lies before us, a feast to which the gas station churro cannot compare. And when we're nice and full and go out to sit on the beach at dusk with sea turtles in the sands, thankful to no longer be confined in the beat-up hoopdie, we receive word that the man who stole the churro was caught and arrested. Our bellies are full and justice has been served. Who cares about a damned churro? That is what our first day in God's new world will be like. We'll be shocked we gave so much weight to such a small loss compared to what was awaiting us. We will no doubt be reminded of Paul's words in Romans 8.18: 'For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.'

But how many of us actively hope in the future God has promised us? Very few of us do, and this is often because (a) we are short-sighted, living as atheists who believe this world is all there is, and because (b) we don't comprehend the hope God has for us. Our images of God's future of the world have more to do with children's stories than what the Bible actually says. We need to be reminded of what awaits us - and when that happens, hope can't help but blossom.

"Does God control everything?"

I love this picture - found in a Google Images search for 'Family Devotions' - because it's hysterical. What's funny about it, you ask? It's funny because it's the quintessential 'image' of family devotions that has no basis in reality. They're all smiling, no one's throwing fits, everyone's cooperating. It looks wonderful! And they're doing it outside and, we can assume, not getting torn up by mosquitoes and chiggers. I'm sure the dad doesn't notice it, but I can only imagine how unfocused the mom is, given that both she and her daughter are wearing dresses while sitting in the grass. I don't see a blanket they're sitting on, do you? And somehow that baby isn't ripping the pages out of dad's bible. Well trained, that one is!

What are our family devotions like? Picture it starting as Chloe and Zoey fight over who gets to sit in their favorite spot on the 'children's couch.' Chloe wins out, only because Zoey's had it most of the day. Chloe's forgotten her bible again, as if we haven't been doing this once a week for nearly three and a half years. Chloe asks mom if she can use her bible highlighters and promises to make sure they get back in the drawer (newsflash: they don't). Chloe scowls when she's told to read Bible verses and spends more time trying to make sure the bible highlighter color she uses is the right one for the artsy look she wants to give the page than she spends thinking about the passage. I'm teaching the lesson from the notes on my phone while Naomi runs around helter-skelter, tearing stuff from drawers, yelling that she wants to watch cartoons, and throwing herself down in a fit when she doesn't get her way. She climbs atop the ottoman by the window to distract herself, tries to sit down, but puts her butt in open air and falls on her head. She lies there dazed for a moment before screaming bloody murder. Ash swoops her up to calm her down, and Zoey's scooting around on the floor making goat noises and insisting she is being quiet and she is paying attention (newsflash: she's not, and she's not). And this was just last week's family devotion.

So, yes. I find the picture above absolutely hilarious.

Now on to what's below. As Chloe's getting older and reading her bible more and more, she's coming up with all sorts of great questions. We've been steadily working our way through the Book of James (with intermittent 'topical' lessons here-and-there to break things up), but per her request we're starting a new series on the Sovereignty of God. I have around 5-6 lessons planned that tackle the subject. The first - "Is God in Control?" - is posted below. Granted, it's a little intense for a thirteen-year-old, but what I give below is my own research and thoughts on the subject. The lesson I taught this past week was significantly 'dumbed-down' and it was still a lot to take in. So, without further ado:

*  *  *

"Does God control everything?"

The Question: "Does God control everything?"
The Answer: "That depends on what you mean by 'control'!"

This question ultimately goes back to a question about God's sovereignty. The Sovereignty of God is a biblical teaching that means God is the ultimate authority and everything is under His control. At the same time, humans have the ability and responsibility to choose between good and evil, and because the choice is ours, we are responsible for the consequences. The ability to choose has been called 'free will,' but that turn-of-phrase isn't as apt as one would think (but we'll get to that in a later lesson). The question posited above - "Does God control everything?" - can be answered Yes or No depending on what you mean. If you mean "Does God meticulously cause everything that happens to happen?" then the answer is No; if you mean, "Is God in control of everything that happens?" then the answer is Yes. The distinction between the questions is important, as will be apparent as we break it down.

The Bible teaches that everything that happens is either directly CAUSED by God or PERMITTED by God. Whether something happens by God's direct control or His permission, it remains 'the will of God' because if it is not God's will it cannot come to pass (though we ought to clarify the term, 'will of God,' as the phrase can mean different things in the Bible; in the sense we use it here, the 'will of God' is that which God intends to take place, whether by direct causation or indirect permission). God is in complete control in that everything that happens, good or bad, falls under His purview. Unless He gives it the 'stamp of approval,' it cannot take place. The Bible has a lot to say about God's control of His universe, so let's look at a handful of verses:

Proverbs 16.9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. 

Jeremiah 10.23 "I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." 

Psalm 115.3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. 

Psalm 135.6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. 

Isaiah 14.24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, 'As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.' 

Lamentations 3.37 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? 

Proverbs 19.21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. 

Proverbs 16.33 The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. 

Job 42.2 "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted." 

Isaiah 45.6-7 "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things." 

Amos 3.6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? 

Proverbs 21.1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. 

Psalm 22.28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. 

Daniel 2.21 [The Lord] changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings. 

Acts 17.26 From one man God created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 

Proverbs 16.4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. 

Job 12.10 In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. 

Daniel 4.35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and [the Lord] does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'

The verses given above, if extrapolated for all their precious gems and jewels, could (and have!) filled entire books. Suffice to say for our purposes that the Bible is clear that God is in control. Nothing happens that is not part of His will. With that said, that doesn't necessarily mean that God meticulously controls everything in the sense that we are puppets and the cosmos a stage. Though some have equated God's sovereignty with such meticulous control, to say that God is sovereign doesn't necessarily mean He must act in this way. That God is sovereign does mean that He has complete freedom and authority to act any way He wants. Yes, God has the freedom and authority to meticulously control everything that like a long, drawn-out play (though this would also require His intimate, purposeful creation and orchestration of sin); but He also has the freedom and authority to not exercise such dramatic, hands-on puppeteer control. If God chose not to control everything in the literal sense of the word, He would be no less sovereign than if He chose otherwise. The very fact that scripture teaches that God permits or allows evil without directly causing it indicates that God has not chosen, by His own will and plan, to exercise meticulous control over everything that happens. Biblical scholars Jerry Walls and Joseph Dongell capture this reality well: 

'Note that God is no less sovereign in a world where he chooses to grant his creatures libertarian freedom than he is in a world where he determines everything. Sovereignty cannot simply be equated with meticulous control. Rather, sovereignty is the freedom to choose as one will and to accomplish one's purposes. If God chooses to create people who are free and to accomplish his purposes through their undetermined choices, it is his sovereign right to do so. Less control is not the same as less sovereignty if God chooses to [exercise] less [meticulous] control. A perfectly good and wise God will exercise just the amount of control appropriate for the sort of world he chooses to create.'

Another biblical scholar, Roger Olson, builds upon the passage above:

'Does God govern by meticulously determining the entire course of every life, including moral choices and actions? Or does God allow humans a realm of freedom of choices and then responds by drawing them into his perfect plan for history's consummation? Calvinists (and some other Christians) believe God's control over human history is always already de facto - fully accomplished in a detailed and deterministic sense; that is, nothing can ever thwart the will of God. Arminians (and some other Christians) believe God's control over human history is always already de jure - by right and power if not already completely exercised - but at present only partially de facto. God can and does exercise control, but not to the exclusion of human liberty and not in such a way as to make him the author of sin and evil. After all, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, 'Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven' (Mt 6:10 RSV). If God's sovereignty were already completely exercised de facto, why would anyone need to pray for God's will to be done on earth? In that case, it would always already be done on earth. The distinction between God's sovereignty de facto and de jure is required by the Lord's Prayer.'

Olson's distinction between de facto and de jure sovereignty is important. To say that God is de facto sovereign means that God is already in complete meticulous control in that His desires and wishes are fully carried out. There is no contest to His kingship. To say that God is de jure sovereign is to say that while God's kingship is a factual reality, it is currently being contested (though that won't always be the case in the future). Who, then, is contesting God's kingship? Is it human liberty? Though human beings have the liberty to choose sin (for if we did not have such liberty, and our choices were determined by God, why, then, would we be held responsible?), it is not our liberty that contests God's sovereignty, since He has created us to be libertarian creatures. Our ability to choose is not a result of sin's entrance into the world, though that ability has certainly been warped by sin. The power that is at odds with God in the moment, opposing His sovereignty, is the forces of evil that oppose God and twist the best things - including human liberty! - to its own ends. The Bible teaches that evil 'powers and principalities' are at work in our world, and sin personified is a very real power. Jesus called Satan the 'prince' or 'ruler of the world' (John 16.11), and Paul called him the 'god of this age' (2 Corinthians 4.4) and the 'ruler of the authority of the air' (Ephesians 2.2). The Bible teaches us that Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4.4) and holds them in his snare until God releases them through the gospel (2 Timothy 2.25-26). Satan can take life, as with Job's children; ruin health, as with Job's body (cf. Luke 13.16); toriment with demons (Luke 11.18), provoke evil deeds (Luke 22.3); and cause natural disasters (Job 1.19). The Bible plainly teaches God's de jure rule, if we are to take it seriously and at face-value. Calvinists teach that Satan is but another puppet in God's scheme for the world, though the Bible portrays him as an active player who is at odds with God. Olson acknowledges the presence of a 'heavenly contest' between God and evil:

'Evangelical theologian Stanley Grenz... offered a helpful distinction in God's providence... It is the distinction between 'sovereignty de facto' and 'sovereignty de jure. According to Grenz... due to God's voluntary self-limitation he is now sovereign de jure (by right) but not yet sovereign de facto (in actuality). His sovereignty de facto is future. This reflects the biblical narrative in which Satan is the 'god of this age' (2 Cor. 4:4) (where 'world' clearly means 'this present evil age'), and God will defeat him in the coming age to become 'all in all' (1 Cor. 15:28). The entirety of 1 Corinthians 15 can be interpreted in no other way; it assumes the distinction between God's sovereign rule de jure now and de facto in the future. This is not to say, of course, that God is not actually sovereign now at all; it only says that God is allowing his sovereignty to be challenged and his will to be partially thwarted till then.'

Does God, as Reformed Calvinistic theologian argue, meticulously control everything, including evil? Or is it, as Arminians such as the scholars above postulate, that God has created a world in which human creatures are free to make decisions? I tend towards the latter, but with a caveat: as the truth is often somewhere in the middle between opposing viewpoints, it's likely that the truth about God's exercise of His sovereignty is likewise a shade between the Reformed and Arminian positions ('Deterministic Control' versus 'Free Will'). A prominent caricature of Arminian beliefs is that the presence of 'free will' would leave God at the mercy of the decisions of human creatures and evil powers. That is not at all the case, as we will explore in the coming weeks. Arminian theology relegate God to the position appropriated Him by the deists, in that He is no longer involved in our world and is letting things run according to our whims and fancies and trying to keep up. Arminians don't believe that God never causes anything; we simply believe that God doesn't cause everything. Olson clarifies this point:

'Classical Arminianism goes far beyond belief in general providence to include affirmation of God's intimate and direct involvement in every event of nature and history. The only thing the Arminian view of God's sovereignty necessarily excludes is God's authorship of sin and evil. Faithful followers of Arminius have always believed that God governs the entire universe and all of history. Nothing at all can happen without God's permission, and many things are specifically and directly controlled and caused by God. Even sin and evil do not escape God's providential governance in classical Arminian theology. God permits and limits them without willing or causing them.'

The Bible teaches that God orchestrated the destruction of Jerusalem in both 586 BC and AD 70. Does this mean that He orchestrates every city's downfall? Absolutely not. The Bible teaches that God had a wife (or two!) for Jacob; does that mean God has already decided whom everyone will marry? Absolutely not! Sometimes God causes things to happen; other times He permits them. But everything He permits does not thwart His ultimate aims and goals; He will bring history - and ourselves - to where He intends, no matter the route. Is God, then, in control? Absolutely! And in this we can celebrate. 

the reformation: post-bulk

Naomi is great at a lot of things, but making my workouts
easier is not one of them.

I haven't lost any weight since my last 'reformation update' last year, but that's not surprising, given that I've been doing a 'bulk.' I've actually gained three pounds - back up to 160 pounds! - but I've been setting a slew of new records in every weight lifting category. I've been aiming for 130-160g of protein a day and keeping carbs around 130g with a daily caloric goal of 1800 a day. For the next three months, I'm going to be 'cutting': aiming for around 1400 calories a day and keeping my protein high and my carbs low. 

The gyms have shut down because of the covid-19 pandemic, but since I've been confined by time and money to home workouts, that doesn't affect me. I'm in a couple Facebook groups for dads who're into fitness and bettering themselves, and they're really struggling to adapt. Stores have been sold out of weight-lifting equipment for weeks, and orders placed today could take up to a month to be delivered. I'm thankful that I can keep up my routine with dumbbells and a pull-up bar. Lots of men are reporting that they've started regressing due to the loss of gym access, but I'm one of the lucky few who will (God willing!) continue making progress. Below is an 'update' collage of where I stand at 160 pounds: