Those Frightening Questions

by Gene Frost

June 18, 2000

     In the January issue of the electronic magazine, The Seeker, Ron Milliner made a false, unwarranted and malicious charge against this writer; namely, that I believe that God the Word did not come to earth as the man Jesus, but only appeared to be a man. This is what a fourth-century theologian, by the name of Apollinarius, supposedly believed. I am falsely accused of believing what he believed and of having learned it from him. Utterly ridiculous. I was first, to my knowledge, falsely accused of believing that Jesus only appeared to be a man in 1991, at which time, and since, I have denied the charge and have challenged my distracters to either prove the charge or apologize. They have done neither. Therefore, I have repeatedly stated that anyone who charges me with believing that Jesus only appeared to be a man on earth is a liar, such being deliberate and willful.

     In what appears to be a diversion from confronting the issue of the misrepresentation he repeats, Ron Milliner asked a number of questions in a subsequent article, "Tell Us Plainly." I answered the questions addressed to me, and sought in return some clear answers to questions I have concerning what Milliner believes. On March 31, 2000, I posted seven question on the electronic Gospel Anchor. Since then, Milliner has posted two additional articles, with quibbles but NO ANSWERS. In answering his quibbles, I have asked an additional 3 questions.

     I repeat here the questions, in answer to which we ask Ron Milliner to plainly tell us what he believes:

     1. Was the Spirit of Jesus on earth no different from other men?

     2. With what attribute is the spirit of man created that is unlike God? What innate quality (not degree or extent) does the spirit of man have that the Word did not and has not, so that for God to be manifest as a man He has to be made in a spirit likeness of man?

     3. Is there a nature (phusis) which belongs to God, without which a spirit cannot be God?

     4. Was the nature of the Word the same after He was manifest in the flesh as it was before?

     5. Did Jesus die spiritually on the cross in addition to His physical death (when the Spirit left the body)?

     6. Did Jesus suffer rejection by the Father on the cross in order to make atonement?

     7. Do you believe that Jesus was at risk on earth, that He could have sinned and frustrated the eternal plan of God and made God a liar relative to His prophecies?

     8. Why will you not apologize for falsely accusing me of believing that Jesus just appeared to be man?

     9. Did Jesus possess (have access to as resident in His body) all of the divine attributes and not use them, or did He not use them because He did not possess them?

     10. Did the apostle Paul in Philippians 2 say that Jesus was in fashion a man or in fashion as a man?

     It has been nearly three months since we submitted the first 7 questions and over a month for the entire list. When Milliner submitted his questions, which we answered without delay, he made this telling comment:

"There is a time when things need to be stated plainly. When one knows what he believes on a particular subject, he should be willing to let others know what he believes. He should not try to deceive people in getting them to think he believes something which he does not. Such is characteristic of false teachers." - Ron Milliner.

     "There is a time when things need to be stated plainly." Yes, it is now past time. Why does Milliner hold back? Why will he not plainly tell us?

     "When one knows what he believes on a particular subject, he should be willing to let others know what he believes." Is it that Milliner doesn't know what he believes about the matters we have written him? If he knows what he believes, why is he not willing to let us know? Why would he hide it from us?

     "He should not try to deceive people in getting them to think he believes something which he does not." Is his silence a way of withholding what he really believes, so as to deceive everyone into thinking that he does not hold the fallacious views the questions address?

     "Such is characteristic of false teachers." Are we to take this as his admission of guilt since he does as he says is characteristic of false teachers? Is this a tacit confession?

     A personal note to Ron Milliner: To go into your "silent mode" will not cause these questions to die. We plan to keep them fresh before the readers. You started this exchange with your false charge, and you have prolonged it with quibbles and time-delaying questions. Now, we demand that you apologize for the lies you have told about what I supposedly believe, and to show everyone what you really believe by answering the questions.

     Where is Ron Milliner?

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