Last time in episode 233 you gave us a brief summary of events during your three week trip

to Ethiopia and the UAE and knowing you, Pastor John, I presume you returned with some

fresh theological thoughts simmering in your mind as well.

So is there anything theologically you want to share with us from your trip?

One of the things that keeps simmering Tony since I got back and it probably is the

most significant theological, missyological insight that I got in the trip, which was

like an education for me, came out of a lecture I was giving on the sovereignty of God and

when I was done, I mean I really stressed God's absolute sovereignty over all things.

He controls all things for the goodness people and the glory of His name and a question

races hand and he said now that sounds a lot like the Muslim view of God's sovereignty

and you hear here in the UAE, if God wills, if God wills, if God wills all the time and

in the Muslim view God can do anything He wants and they actually use the name capricious

for God.

I was standing in the second biggest mosque in the world in front of the biggest wall

of the 100 names of God under the biggest chandelier of its kind, standing on the biggest

handwoven carpet, this is all the way they describe it when you're there and one of those

names at the top, my friend Mike was there explaining them to me, he's just pointing out

name after name written in Arabic and he said that one up there is usually translated capricious

which means God is free, he can do anything he wants, now here's what I realized as I tried

to think through what's the difference between my view of the biblical sovereignty of God

and the Muslim view of God is capricious, other names of God that they have on that wall

are wise and just and kind and compassionate and I thought to myself you know the name capricious

...