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For more than 1,000 years, the Roman Catholic Church existed as the sole Christian denomination. Martin Luther initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517, teaching that people can have a direct relationship with God without the intercession of the Virgin Mary. This was a return to the original doctrine of the early Church. But in 380 CE, Church leaders dispensed with the doctrinal tenet of salvation through Christ alone. They introduced such ideas as purgatory, the perpetual virginity of Mary, confession of sins to a priest, and the baptism of infants. Luther sought to debunk all these myths. Or did he create his own? Luther adhered to the teaching of St. Augustine, who maintained that God functions beyond time and space, is omniscient, and more often dispenses wrathful justice than mercy. Is this why so many Christians abandon the faith and why countless nonbelievers never embrace it in the first place?
Chipman, a college campus missionary, became a practicing Christian in 1958. Many people he encounters eschew belief in God altogether, wondering how a God who purports to be loving, gracious, and omniscient could allow evil to flourish as it does. They say that such a God would be controlling and sadistic. Chipman's study and interpretation of the Bible have led him to conclude that God is neither beyond the realm of time nor all-knowing since that would remove the element of free will from humanity's faith. This book is a series of nine essays that elucidate his conclusions. One essay explores the corruptive influences upon the Church of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies. A discussion of God's true nature comprises another piece. God's decision only to save certain people is also explored. This volume may prove useful as a textbook for a college course in hermeneutics or Christian apologetics.