God’s Flaming Glory – God’s Glory in Creation, According to Albert Mohler, Part 1 – Post 7

You can read Post 6 here!

Download the pdf below, or read the article on this page:

                        Preamble

            In the past few posts, we have seen Calvin’s view of glory: in creation, in life, in the cross, and in irradiation. Now we are going to explore Albert Mohler’s understanding of God’s glory. After this post, there will be a second post picking up where this one left off on his view of glory in creation. In the third post on Mohler, we will see his view of God’s glory in the cross. And in the fourth post we will see his view of God’s glory in life. After that we will start expounding Jonathan Edward’s view of God’s glory.

            I respect Albert Mohler a lot. He has been taught me a lot in the past, as he has many others. And as I begin to critique some of his views, I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not view him as a heretic. My goal is to show the deficiencies in his view of glory specifically. Much of what I quote from him contains truth, but that truth is marred by this theatrical view of God’s glory. And my desire is that his view of glory to be reformed and rekindled.

            I believe Mohler holds to a doctrine of glory which fundamentally misunderstands glory. My argument is that Albert Mohler believes that glory is theatrical in nature, rather than communicative. This theatrical doctrine of glory affects and/or distorts other doctrines that Mohler holds to, making his view of Christian doctrine as a whole theatrical rather than communicative.

            There were many other theologians I could have picked on who share the view of God’s glory which I think Mohler has. I chose Dr. Mohler because I have studied what he has had to say, and I desire to see his views of the glory of God changed, or rather, rekindled to the glory of God! I hope that if Dr. Mohler ever reads these blog posts, he will take it in the spirit that it has been written from this humble little theological blog.

                        Distinct from Allah

            Albert Mohler believes in the God of the Bible – the Christian God who is both the Creator and Trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In no uncertain terms, Mohler has made the distinction clear between Christians and Muslims in their belief in God. He believes that the one true God of the Bible is an entirely different Being than that of the false god Allah of the Qur’an. He wrote, “…there is no way to remain faithful to Scripture and the gospel and then claim that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.” Mohler’s reasoning is a trinitarian one: 

The Christian faith is essentially and irreducibly Trinitarian. The Bible reveals that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus is not merely a prophet; He is God in human flesh. This is precisely what Islam rejects. If Allah has no Son, he is not the Father … If Allah has no son, Allah is not the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. …This is where the Gospel stands or falls.^[1]

            Undeniably, according to Mohler’s own words, God is completely different from Allah in Essence. Since this is the case, one would expect Mohler’s exposition of God’s glory to be radically different to that of Allah’s (see Post 2 for a explanation of Allah’s glory). One would expect that he would likewise make clear, in no uncertain terms, the distinction between Allah’s glory and the Trinity’s glory. One would think that he would present the Triune God’s glory is more than theatrical, just like Calvin did. This, however, has not been the case.

                        God’s Glory in Creation

            In Mohler’s understanding, everything exists for God’s glory, both material and immaterial: 

“Every thought… every truth, every doctrine finds its fulfillment in the glory of God. That is that one greatest of all ends: God’s own glory. And thus it sets the frame for theology, for life, for worldview, for reality… [God’s glory] becomes that transformative framework that changes everything else we see. Every particle of existence, every atom, every molecule, every conscious and unconscious creature exists for the glory of God.”^[2] 

            Nothing that exists does not exist for this God. For God’s “ultimate purpose is to glorify Himself.”^[3]  

            For Mohler, this is a core doctrine which holds many other doctrines in place. In his own words, God’s “ultimate purpose is His own glory, and our ultimate purpose is to display His glory. And in between is everything about the Fall and God’s redemption and the purpose of the church.”^[4] While Calvin would seemingly be aligned with Mohler in this, there are differences that, while perceived as slight and subtle, actually cut to the core of their respective theologies. That will be shown in the next post.

---

[1] Albert Mohler. (2007, August 27). “What Does God Care What We Call Him?” Albertmohler.com. https://albertmohler.com/2007/08/22/what-does-god-care-what-we-call-him?_ga=2.182392943.951877291.1658001877-1945527470.1655746204.

[2] Albert Mohler. (2015, April 8). Albert Mohler: In the Beginning: The Glory of God from Eternity. Albertmohler.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Fy2vX2sRY, 2:09-2:54.

[3] Albert Mohler. (2015, April 8). Albert Mohler: In the Beginning: The Glory of God from Eternity. Albertmohler.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Fy2vX2sRY, 21:40-21:44.

[4] Albert Mohler. (2015, April 8). Albert Mohler: In the Beginning: The Glory of God from Eternity. Albertmohler.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6Fy2vX2sRY, 22:54-23:13.