My first piece of advice to apologists concerned the idea of being an unwavering disciple of Jesus Christ. This article will focus on the conduit for attaining and maintaining this status. That conduit is a local church. Now, I do not mean that every local church does everything correctly, or that somehow merely being a member of one will make things easier. Rather, I am … [Read more...]
My Advice to Apologists, Part 1
My advice to apologists is not meant to be all-inclusive, and it is not meant to be authoritative (on the level of William Lane Craig or Alvin Plantinga). Rather, it will simply be a collection of my observations and beliefs about some issues facing young, Christian apologists. Too often, we rush headlong into the project of apologetics without thinking some things … [Read more...]
Kant's Critique of Anselm: Can Existence be a Predicate?
One of the most famous (and supposedly devastating) criticisms of Anselm’s ontological argument comes from Immanuel Kant. It is virtually undisputed by those who mention the argument. One hears this criticism even on the Internet. In nearly every instance in which I have encountered this objection, an explanation is never provided. What is this criticism, and what does it … [Read more...]
The Unlikely Story of the Women
Critics of the Gospel’s Resurrection accounts often allege the story of Mary Magdalene and the “other Mary” visiting the tomb of Jesus contains contradictory details. For instance, Matthew 28:8 states “And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.” Contrast this with Mark 16:8, which says, “And they went out … [Read more...]
If Atheists Exist, God Does Not?
The following is an interesting argument presented to me by a friend. The originator of the argument is unknown to me at this time, but seems to be an acquaintance or friend of a friend of a friend. In any case, it is interesting, and I evaluate it below. D1: God is defined as omniscient, omnipotent and omnibenevolent D2: Revelation is Gods disclosure of Himself to His … [Read more...]
11 Objections to the Kalam Cosmological Argument
The Kalam Cosmological Argument is one of the most popular cosmological arguments around today. The argument is fairly straightforward, and enjoys intuitive support. It goes like this: “Whatever begins to exist had a cause; the universe began to exist; therefore, the universe had a cause.” The argument has several common objections, and eleven of them are listed here, along … [Read more...]
The Evil God
Stephen Law’s argument concerning Evil God was very interesting. Within the Internet discussion that followed some suggested this argument lends itself to a parallel moral argument. It goes like this: 1. If Evil God does not exist, then objective moral values do not exist. 2. Objective moral values do exist. 3. Therefore, Evil God exists. … [Read more...]
Craig, Law, and Evil God: Oh My!
The debate between William Lane Craig and Stephen Law has sent what amounts to shockwaves through the Christian community. Law’s “Evil God” argument is certainly interesting. These are some thoughts and criticisms about Stephen Law’s Evil God argument. The argument is: 1. If gratuitous good exists, then Evil God does not exist. 2. Gratuitous good exists. 3. Therefore, Evil God … [Read more...]
The Gratuitous Objection
People often have a presumption of naturalism when it comes to debates over God and Christianity. That is to say, in a discussion over whether or not God exists, it is often assumed naturalism is true unless or until God is shown to exist. This assumption is faulty, and this article will show why. First, one must understand exactly why the presumption of naturalism is held … [Read more...]
Equivocation, Semantic Range, and Scripture
I happened to be perusing the Internet recently (a very poor idea, I know) and came across the following meant-to-be-ridiculed scenario. “We are to fear God. We are to love God. There is no fear in love.” The idea is that the Bible is demanding a contradictory state of affairs, or something impossible to fulfill. This article shall demonstrate this is not a problem. The Bible … [Read more...]