Dan Chapa

I grew up in the DC area and I’ve been following the Redskins for as long as I can remember.   As a Cowboys fan, they are our main rival. I’m Mexican-American and brown skinned, but if I get a bit of sun, I don’t really burn, but turn a nice reddish/gold. As a kid, our family vacations were often to Laredo to see family and I remember fondly visiting my Tio Pete in Nuevo-Laredo.   To me, Laredo was one big city divided by the river.   What’s the difference between the Aztec and the Navajo?   The Aztec’s were said to have come down from the north and there are linguistic similarities.   Sure, they were different nations, but were they different races?   I don’t think so, any more than I think the Germans and Swiss are different races.   Am I Native American or am I Hispanic?   Even census and school questions still seem to have confusion on this.   If you say you are Native American, you are supposed to provide a tribe.   Is...

Actions presuppose an actor.   A person thinks, walks, talks.   A person’s actions are not independent of them.   Time measures change, relative to at least two entities, like my motion down the sidewalk relative to the earth’s motion around the sun.                You cannot climb the tower of babel because it no longer exists. That matter that used to be part of the tower still exists, but it has changed in shape and location.   Choices are actions and they presuppose the existence of the actor.   Relative to the motion of the sun, our minds may have changed and the state of the remains of the tower of babel may have changed. Our mental state of choosing X is not some new existent any more than the remains of the tower of babel is some new existent.   Human free will is no threat to God’s aseity or His unique ex nihilo creation.   Only God can create or annihilate entities.   God alone do...

Tout Estin (“that is” or “this means”) is commonly used to introduce an interpretation, especially an interpretation of scripture, both in the Old and New Testament. [1]   Here are a few examples in Romans by Paul: Deuteronomy 30:12-14 For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it. Romans 10:6-9 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ( that is , to bring Christ down) or, ‘Who will descend into the Abyss?’ ( that is , to bring Christ up from the dead).”  But what does it say? “The word is near you; i...

John D. Wagner assembled inputs from a wide ranges of authors to put together Grace for All: The Arminian Dynamics of Salvation .   The book starts off with Roger Olson defending Arminianism from the charge of being “man-centered”.   Olson notes that Richard Watson affirmed God could have prevented the fall and that James Arminius only affirmed free will to defend God's righteousness. Olson says that the doctrine of divine concurrence with secondary causes is the primary way of defending God's sovereignty in Arminianism. The book moves on to Vernon Grounds, whose mystical style is not my cup of tea.   He focuses on the personal nature of grace.  Next comes Glen Shellrude.   He makes Calvinists pay full price for determinism by surveying a variety of biblical texts through the lens of determinism. Shellrude doesn't take on compatibilism directly; he just focuses on the awkward results of determinism.  He ends by saying atheism makes more se...

I'm going to make two contentions in this post.  First, there's a necessary connection between true faith and salvation.1  This is Paul's point.  Second, there is a necessary connection between true faith and works.  This is James' point.  The council of Trent denies both of these claims by saying people can have true faith through which they are put into a state of grace and lose their state of grace through mortal sin, while remaining true believers.  This is because Trent denied "sola fide" - charity must be added to faith.     The Necessary Connection between True Faith and Salvation Christ promised that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  In John 6:35, Christ says “he that believes on me shall never thirst at any time.” Christ uses what Dan Wallace calls an Empathic negation”, which denies not only the occurrence but the possibility of any uncertainty about the occurrence.2   But Trent s...

Christ promised that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.  In John 10:28, He puts it in such strong terms, it's as if Christ is jumping up and down and shouting "THEY WILL NEVER EVER EVER PERISH".1 The biggest problem I have with Catholicism is their doctrine that true believers sometimes perish and do not have eternal life. I don't know why this problem doesn't receive that much attention from Protestants.  Perhaps it's because many Protestants teach salvation cannot be lost.  Calvin 's response to the Catholic teaching on unformed faith was to insist that faith cannot be separated from love.2   True enough, but Luther's reaction was stronger: "In this manner they completely transfer justification from faith and attribute it solely to love". 3  Could the difference in these responses be due to Calvin's saying temporary faith is false faith whereas Luther said temporary faith is true faith? Catholics teach b...