I tried to post a comment over at Pyromaniacs, but my google password is one I hardly ever use, and it is down at the office anyway, I think, Perhaps. Anyhow, I am driven to comment here.
Under the heading of “The Plain Sense Meaning ‘World’ in John 3:16,” my friend Phil Johnson said:
“I cannot tolerate endive or beetroot, but in general terms, I am an earnest veggie-lover. Likewise, though God despises the wicked, He loves humanity—so much that He gave His Son to die for those who would believe.”
But this, of course, should mean that the vast majority of the world will believe and be saved. Except for the reprobate vegetables just mentioned.
Think how odd it would be if the same claim were made, trying to make the same point, with the illustration actually in line with the assumptions of a pessimistic eschatology.
“I cannot tolerate peas, beans, carrots, corn, brocoli, asparagus, lettuce, lima beans, but in general terms, I am an earnest veggie-lover, particularly of the endive-elect. Likewise, though God despises the wicked, He loves humanity—so much that He gave His Son to die for those who would believe.”
It makes sense to say you’re a veggie-lover if there is one or two you detest. But it does not make sense to say you’re a veggie-lover if you despise them all but one.
