That's Just Your Interpretation: Responding to Skeptics Who Challenge Your Faith by Paul Copan

Author:Paul Copan
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780801063831
Publisher: Baker Books
Published: 2001-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

• “If Jesus was God, who was running the universe when he was a baby?”

• “If Jesus was God, who was in control of the universe when he was on the cross?”

• “How could God die?”

• “If God ‘so loved the world,’ why did he send his Son rather than come himself?”

As already mentioned, Jesus operated in two spheres of awareness—a human one (which grew and developed while on earth) and a divine one (which remained constant and operative). There was certainly interaction between these two spheres of consciousness. However, for the sake of Jesus’ mission on earth, he (in his human consciousness) freely—though temporarily—gave up access to certain aspects of his divine knowledge.

Jesus, being divine and mutually indwelling the other members of the Trinity, was still governing the universe as a baby and while dying on the cross. And the death he died, he died as a mere (and not “full”) human being and not literally as God, who alone is necessarily immortal—that is, immune to death and decay (1 Tim. 6:16).50 Furthermore, because of the mutually indwelling relationship of Father, Son, and Spirit, each person of the Trinity experienced pain; each suffered deep pain in the crucifixion. Some might argue that God does not suffer, as he is impassible. But this is not a biblical notion.51 New Testament scholar D. A. Carson asks, if God does not suffer, “why does the Bible spend so much time depicting him as if he does?”52 Rather, the full sweep of the biblical evidence “pictures God as a being who can suffer.”53 That is, God can be emotionally touched by our experiences and actions but not crushed by them.54 Alvin Plantinga is right when he says:

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