A little about myself, my wife and I have moved half-way across the country so that I can attend seminary. We just had a beautiful baby boy who is 5 weeks old.
Anyway, I just had to let out a little frustration that I have been having. In one of my classes the teacher was talking about the problem of evil. Anyway the teacher made mention of what he called God's "original plan". So the student that was sitting next to me and I both raised our hands and the teacher called on me first. I asked how we can say that God had an original plan. Basically what I was saying was that if God had an original plan and the world as it exists is not part of this original plan, but part of "plan B" for lack of a better name, then God could not fully know the future or if the world as it exists is part of God's original plan, then that would mean that God knew sin, disease, death, and all the bad things that occur were going to happen and He created the world anyway, and some say that makes God the author of evil.
Anyway, after I asked my question, the teacher said that I could say that God was the author of evil if I want and that some people do answer the problem of evil that way. The teacher said this in a way that made me and others think that he was accusing me of making God out to be sinful or something. After the teacher answered the guy sitting next to me explained how the teachers view has a problem with evil as well.
Now here's what I think happened. I believe that the teacher thinks that I am a Calvinist, because the guy that sits in front of me is a Calvinist and the teacher sees us talking quite a bit. So I think he had that in mind when I asked my question. Either way, I believe the question could have been answered or the teacher could have attempted an answer without seemingly accussing me. Even if he had just said that it was a mystery or something like that, I could have taken it as he did not know and went on.
I'm just a little annoyed by this teacher's response. It's alright though, I have learned a lot in seminary that I would not have learned if I had not come, so for that I am grateful.