Why Your Theology MUST be Primary

  Well, hello, everyone! It sure has been awhile. I will do a separate post on the reason for my enduring absence. Rest assured all is now fine; so, no need for any sympathies—I just feel a sense of obligation to the readers of this blog, to whom I greatly appreciate. I hope this blog has served you well.

Anyway, now that is out of the way, I'd like to write about a more meta-issue. That issue being why one's theology should come before their apologetic method and arguments. What, exactly, do I mean by this? By putting theology first, you are giving yourself a lamp post by which you can see your path forward. 

Take, for instance, (a type of) the problem of evil. A Calvinist - who rejects libertarian freedom (and no, despite my respect for Oliver Crisp, Calvinists have never, nor can they, hold to libertarian freedom) - can not use Plantinga's free will defense (FWD) against the logical problem of evil, given the fact that they are divine determinists! I am sure that the reader can come up with many more examples, but the one I just provided seems to be the most clear test case to me. 

Now, of course there are nuances involved here. A previous non-believer who has come to the faith by means of apologetics may read this and be puzzled as to what to do now. My answer to the qualm will depend on the individual. Before coming to the faith, had they read the arguments and counter arguments to come to accept the basics of Christianity? If so, I would recommend jumping into theology [1]. Or, perhaps, during the course of their discovery, they have began to develop their own views. Refer to the example in the previous paragraph: a new-comer may have come to the conclusion that libertarian freedom is not true, therefore the FWD can not work. He may well be on his way to divine determinism; or, perhaps, is on his way to find a different answer that doesn't lead to Calvinism.  

In my personal experience, the latter case is quite rare. But, I do not want to discount the fact that it can, and does, happen. 

Lastly, given the fact that I have not blogged in a long time, I may not be writing as clearly as I once did. If the reader would like further elucidation, they are more than welcome to leave a comment.

 Footnotes:

[1] To put my biases out there: yes, you should be a Calvinist 😀