Selected Reading, April 4, 2020
Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 3:30AM 
Here are a few pieces I found interesting this week. I tried to find several links not directly related to the Covid-19 crisis (although one is, kind of) because I think we are in this for the long haul, and thinking about other things is good for the soul.
Theology
Only the Impassible God Can Help Us Now
I am so tired of reading things about how God suffers with us, as if that is supposed to help us get through hard times. It won’t. For one, it won’t help because it’s not true. God in himself cannot suffer.
And for two, a God (god?) who suffers is exactly what we don’t need. We need a God who cannot be overcome with emotion to be in charge of our universe. We need a God who is steady and unchanging to be our rock in a weary land.
Yes, God the Son took on human flesh, so Jesus, the incarnate Son, suffered. He suffered when he was tempted. He wept when Lazarus died. He was anguished in Gethsemene. He was in pain on the cross. He experienced death. So he sympathizes with our human weakness, and this is important. It means he is willing and able to help us. It makes him a perfect person to advocate for us.
But God in himself does not suffer, and this is a good thing. We need a God we can trust. We need an anchor to hold us fast.
Anyway, enough from me. Read the article by Wyatt Graham. It explains more.
Philosophy
Predestination and Human Actions
Why Calvinism isn’t fatalism, and why it matters (James Anderson).
Bible
Hermeneutics
What does it mean to “rightly handle the word of truth”? (Simply Put podcast)
Other Religions
Is It Possible Some Mormons Are Saved?
I appreciate Amy Hall’s clear thinking in this piece.
Christian History
John Donne - Poet of Grace and Comfort
Another biographical sketch by Simonetta Carr: “[John] Donne has often been described as a poet of death. To some people, especially in a culture where thoughts of death are often shunned, he seemed obsessed with it. In reality, death and pain were a constant reality in his life, but he didn’t stop there.”