More False Dilemmas

Yesterday, on James White's blog, he described the content of his radio program in light of the recent Chan video controversy:

"I contrasted exhorting men and women, boys and girls, to plead for mercy from God with presenting God as if He is pleading for mercy from men!"

We have two views "contrasted":

A) exhorting men and women, boys and girls, to plead for mercy from God

and

B) presenting God as if He is pleading for mercy from men!

Is this a fair either/or dilemma? Is Chan describing God as if his view is that "God is pleading for mercy from men?" Or is Chan just claiming that God pleads with men to come to him for mercy? I would say that those who differ with White are just claiming the later view and not the former. Disagree with it if you will, but at least represent the perspective of others accurately.

Chan would agree with this proposition:

1) We need to exhort men and women, boys and girls, to plead for mercy from God

It's just the case that he's also affirming this:

2) God also pleads with men to come to him for mercy/forgiveness.

Chan well knows that God is not pleading mercy from man. However, if one only wants to affirm proposition #1 to the exclusion of proposition #2, then it looks much better to set proposition #1 in contrast with the manifestly absurd view that "God is pleading for mercy from man". It's an example of a false either/or dilemma. We do not have to choose between #1 and #2. Affirming them both is faithful to the scriptural picture of God.

Let no one misconstrue my responses to the Chan video situation as a complete endorsement of everything in it. It's just the case that many of the responses to it are significantly imbalanced. Whoever complains that our culture is filled with Arminians needs to take another look at the following words:

"Neither is there hope that the Arminians will be drawn to acknowledge the error of their position, as long as they are persuaded the contrary opinion cannot be maintained without admitting that an untruth must be believed, even by the commandment of him that is God of truth, and by the direction of that word, which is the word of truth." James Ussher

In this case, the untruth would be to think that proposition #2 is false:

2) God also pleads with men to come to him for mercy/forgiveness.

NKJ 2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

NKJ Romans 10:21 But to Israel he says: "All day long I have stretched out My hands To a disobedient and contrary people."