Plantinga Ch 2

This chapter was very interesting. Many great points were brought up, some that I agreed with, others that I did not. One of the first paragraphs in the book states "Creation is neither a necessity or an accident." This statement jumped out at me because this creation was not an accident neither did God create everything because he was bored, but rather to bring glory to His name. This is our calling everyday of our lives, to bring glory to God's name. Any work must be done out of the glory of His name and to nothing else.

A few things that I liked in this chapter was how Plantinga pointed out just how marvelous this creation was. He pointed out how God marveled at His creation and how he looked at it and behold it was good. He points out that everything in creation is there bringing praises to His most holy name.

A quote in Plantinga's chapter that I disagreed with was when he stated that everything in creation is potentially redeemable and has some form of goodness that can be brought out within itself, and that it is just a matter of them reaching out and accepting. This is the doctrine of common grace. I believe that man is incapable of doing good and is therefore totally depraved by nature. The Reformed doctrine of total depravity is that men who are not born again are dead in sin, unable to do any good, and inclined to all evil. Thus they are spiritually dead. The cause of this spiritual death is the fall of our first parents in Paradise and their subsequent punishment by God with death: physical and spiritual. Natural man is unable to do any good.

There is biblical proof all over the bible for this. In Genesis 2:16-17 it states, "The day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Not only is man dead, he is actively evil. "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: For it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:6-8) Also more proof for total depravity is found in Romans 3 when it states "...there is none that doeth good, no not one."