Video Description

Visit https://www.bartehrman.com/courses/ to shop from Bart Ehrman’s online courses and get a special discount by using code: MJPODCAST on all courses. For a religion that claims to view their god as the most powerful, supreme being in the universe, some Christians have an interesting habit of placing restrictions on what he can and can’t do. God can’t make a world without suffering, he has to inspire a collection of written texts (that have no mistakes in them), and he certainly can’t be sympathetic to anyone who practices other religion. But where do these limitations come from, and what purpose do they serve? In short: who says? Megan asks Bart: - Was the Christian god always considered to be a supreme, all-powerful being, or is this an idea that developed over time? - Do we see these kinds of restrictions in early Christianity? OR When do we see these kinds of restrictions being introduced into Christianity? - If we look at some specific restrictions, are they usually grounded in a Biblical passage, or are they more often apologetic arguments, that is, a defense of the Bible or Christianity against criticisms from outsiders? For example, does the Bible itself say that god requires an inerrant Bible in order for Christianity to be valid? - When you were an evangelical, how did you view these limitations, and how would you have responded if someone told you that you were telling God what he could or couldn’t do? - What's the most problematic restriction? - How are these restrictions related to the problems of evil and suffering?