Author Archives: StriderMTB

About StriderMTB

Hi, I'm Matt. "Strider" from Lord of the Rings is my favorite literary character of all time and for various reasons I write under the pseudonym "StriderMTB. As my blog suggests I seek to live out both the excitement and tension of a Christian walk with Christ in the 3rd world context of Asia. I started my blog as an unmarried man who was blessed to oversee an orphanage of amazing children in South-East Asia. As of 2022, I am a happily married man to an amazing missionary wife serving together on the mission field. I hate lima beans and love to pour milk over my ice-cream. I try to stay active in both reading and writing and this blog is a smattering of my many thoughts. I see the Kingdom of God as Jesus preached it and lived to be the only hope for a broken world and an apathetic church.

Jesus is Word made flesh. Bible is Word made text.

Posted on February 20, 2013 by StriderMTB

In a recent debate about religion I heard a man declare something along the lines of: “Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Bible is the Word made text. At times there appears … Continue reading →

Jesus–the Perfect Cast of God’s Nature. Is Admiration Enough?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by StriderMTB

The following post highlights a section of dialogue I have had with a friend recently here in Cambodia. At the age of 45 he struggles with re-opening his heart to God because of a “Christian” father and past upbringing that … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics and Athiesm | Tagged importance of resurrection, resurrection demands our allegiance, struggling with Christianity, struggling with faith | Leave a comment

Does Free-Will or Divine Determination Extol God’s Greatness?

Posted on February 9, 2013 by StriderMTB

In discussions with brothers and sisters from the neo-Reformed, Calvinist camp one item of conversation that always seems to come up is their insistance that God must divinely determine every choice humans make because only in such a paradigm is … Continue reading →

Posted in Critiquing Calvinism | Tagged Calvinism free-will and robots, Calvinism makes human automatons, Defending Arminian indeterminate free will, Does free will or divine determination glorify God, indeterminate freedom vs. determinative freedom, What is wrong with neo-Reformed Calvinism, why Calvinism is wrong | Leave a comment

Deductive Argument Against Calvinism

Posted on February 9, 2013 by StriderMTB

A simple deductive argument against Calvinism’s doctrine of universal, divine determinism occurred to me today: (1) If Calvinism is true, then all human choices and beliefs are divinely determined and thus not free. (2) I can freely choose to believe … Continue reading →

Posted in Critiquing Calvinism | Tagged absurdity of Calvinism, argument against divine determinism, arguments against calvinism, deductive argument against Calvinism, defending arminianism, problems with reformed theology, rebuttal of Calvinism, why Calvinism is wrong, why divine determinism cannot be rationally affirmed | 2 Comments

Singleness: The Undisturbed Life. Marriage: The Great Disruption

Posted on January 24, 2013 by StriderMTB

This morning I read one of the most honest appraisals of marriage that I have ever come across. Even though I am not married I filed it away for future consideration because it is my hope to one day meet … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture | Tagged 3 things to know before you get married., Godly marriage perspective, Singleness pros and cons vs marriage, wisdom on marriage | Leave a comment

Greg Boyd: Church Response to Gays

Posted on January 22, 2013 by StriderMTB

The above link highlights a lot of my general feelings towards the current tension between the Church and her message to gay folks. Although not explicitly elaborated on, Boyd does believe that engaging in homosexual behavior (and thus gay marriage) … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Culture | Tagged Christian response to gay agenda, Christian response to gay marriage, Church and homosexuality, greg boyd on gay marriage, how should Christians respond to homosexuality | Leave a comment

Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy Explain N.T. Election and Predestination

Posted on January 17, 2013 by StriderMTB

http://youtu.be/-3DrCa_l3Iw N.T. election and predestination explained by Paul Eddy and Greg Boyd.

Posted in Critiquing Calvinism | Tagged arminian election and predestination, corporate election in the bible, N.T. election and predestination, New Testament election, video on corporate election and predestination | Leave a comment

Don’t Hide Your Light: Personal Shortcomings Can Showcase God’s Strength

Posted on January 15, 2013 by StriderMTB

Sometimes events occur which cause you to take a second look, a fresh look at a scripture verse you thought you knew and could learn nothing new about. One of our boys today at school was singled out because of … Continue reading →

Posted in Thought of the day | Leave a comment

10 Mistakes in Behavior Change

Posted on January 14, 2013 by StriderMTB

Came across this today and thought it was worth re-posting.

Posted in Thought of the day | Leave a comment

Calvinism’s Engineered “Freedom”

Posted on January 14, 2013 by StriderMTB

In dealing with free-will the Calvinist skillfully maneuvers the discussion into a framework where he can give lip-service to “free-will,” but in doing so he mars the common sense, standard understanding “freedom” beyond any semblance of recognition. Let’s take sin’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Critiquing Calvinism | Tagged Arminian free-will defended, Arminianism vs Calvinism, Calvinism Nonsense, Calvinism understanding of free-will, Calvinism understanding of freedom, debunking Calvinism free-will, defending free-will, Defending free-will against Calvinism, free-will, free-will understand defined, inconsistency of Calvinism | Leave a comment