Adam Hamilton Half Truths Analysis

In the book “Half Truths”, Adam Hamilton, a senior pastor at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, questions whether common phrases used by people represent objective facts or are simply Christian-based axioms whose source is the Bible. Phrases such as “everything happens for a reason, God helps those who help themselves, and love the sinner, hate the sin.” Pastor Hamilton uses scriptural references from the New Revised Standard Version Bible to break down these phrases and clarify their meaning to his readers. He also emphasizes that, while most people have good intentions for quoting these phrases, they “…can sometimes hurt people and lead people to conclusions about God that not only are not true but that may push some people away from God” (10). Furthermore, Pastor Hamilton encourages people to do their own “midrashic work” to interpret writings from the Bible and develop a better understanding of scripture. Midrash is a Hebrew term “used to describe the process of debating various texts and expounding on their meaning…” (128). The term is also described in the “Living Religions” text as “seeking or searching, a reference to rabbinic biblical interpretation…” (300). In order to have a better

In opposition to Calvin’s position is Deism, which is the belief that God created the universe but leaves the sovereignty or dominion to the people. In other words, after creation there is no other involvement by God. This principle not only negates not only John Calvin’s theory of predestination, but Christianity as a whole. Christians believe that “God does seek to influence us” (39) which leads us to the interpretation of God’s sovereignty by theologian and Methodism’s founder, John Wesley, who taught prevenient