Category: Todd Miles
Honor to whom honor is due: Dr. Todd Miles
Todd Miles
Dr. Todd Miles is an Associate Professor of Theology here at Western Seminary. He was the second reader of my thesis providing valuable insight and feedback and I took his class on the Gospel and religious others (a subject that I continue to ponder). I appreciated his balanced approach of conviction and gracefulness. He affirms what he believes without reservation, but he is humble in the process.
Also, I had the opportunity to be his graduate assistant for a year. This allowed me to grade various assignments in the areas of hermeneutics, theology, and ethics. Eventually I would become a grader for our online classes and Todd’s guidance has proven valuable. Since I hope to be an educator someday myself this may have been as important as the classes that I took.
__________
See also:
Honor to whom honor is due: Dr. Marc Cortez
Honor to whom honor is due: Dr. James DeYoung
Can Someone Be Saved Without Hearing and Believing the Gospel?
One of the classes that I am taking this fall is on a ‘theology of religions’, or as Dr. Todd Miles puts it, “How do Christians relate to ‘religious others’”. Intrinsic to this question is whether or not people of other faiths, or no faith at all, can be saved without confessing and believing in Jesus as Savior. In the above video Reddit Andrews from The Gospel Coalition weighs in with his thoughts. I tend to agree when I examine the biblical evidence, but I do have some questions.
(1) What about aborted children, or infants that died, who never had the opportunity to make a decision for or against Christ?
(2) Likewise, what about younger children, or even teens, that don’t grasp these matters?
(3) As someone who has worked with the mentally handicapped, how does their challenges play into this discussion?
(4) Can we affirm that believing the Gospel is the only way to salvation and come to a position similar to Millard J. Erickson that refuses to shut the door on the possibility that God may save some based on His sovereign will? This is what Miles called “agnostic inclusivism”.
(5) If we open the door for God to save some based on sovereign election do we open the door to a uncontrollable inclusivism, pluralism, or even universalism? Does the gospel become relativistic?
