How can God be unchanging and still reveal new truths? He speaks to each generation according to their understanding.
By Ella Johnson
July 16, 2025
The recent viral video “Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists” cameos an unbelieving Gen Z-er debating the inconsistencies in God’s ways. As the young man in the hot seat—Ian—supposes, God commands genocide in Deuteronomy 7 and 20, the death of children in Numbers 31, and condones slavery and abuse in Exodus 21 and Leviticus 25. “Is all of this in line with Christian ethics?” he asks Jordan Peterson. “Do you think that God is by his very essence perfect? … Does a flawless thing change? Does a flawless thing reveal more and better information over time? Or would a flawless thing say, ‘here is what’s good—here is the absolute good thing to do in all circumstances in time’?”
…These examples illustrate two separate questions. First, can God reveal new truths as generations progress? And second, to what extent does the new generation owe respect to their predecessors as God reveals new truths?