Understandably, atheist and writer, Susan Jacoby, is exasperated: "At the endless talk about faith in God as the only consolation for those devastated by the unfathomable murders in Newtown, Conn." (NYT Sunday, 1/6/2013, 6) Newtown seems to expose atheism’s irrelevance and inadequacy in the face of life’s tragedies – death and suffering. However, Jacoby feels that atheism … [Read more...]
The Existence of Evil and the Non-Existence of God
In a recent debate with the Christian apologist William Lane Craig, the atheist philosopher Alex Rosenberg put out a challenge: “If Dr. Craig could provide me with any kind of logical, coherent account that could reconcile the evident fact of the horrors of humanity…with the existence of a benevolent, omnipotent agent, then I will turn Christian.” … [Read more...]
Rabbis, Skeptics, and the Suffering Messiah
On the day of His resurrection, two disciples were dragging themselves, “faces downcast,” towards a village called Emmaus. They suddenly found that they were joined by another, but “they were kept from recognizing Him.” Not knowing that this was their Lord, they confessed their profound disappointment to Him: “We had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” … [Read more...]
Charity and Compassion: A Legacy of Christ
Charity and Christianity are married. Charity did not have its origin in the world of antiquity as sometimes alleged: "Plato (427-327 BC) said that a poor man (usually a slave) was who was no longer able to work because of sickness should be left to die. He even praised Aesculapius, the famous Greek physician, for not prescribing medicine to those he knew were preoccupied … [Read more...]
The Great Generation or the Deluded Generation
Are we wiser than other generations? Has our secular education equipped us to better deal with life and relationships? Well, as a recent article in the Daily Mail reported, it has helped us to become more self-infatuated: Young people's unprecedented level of self-infatuation was revealed in a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has been asking students to … [Read more...]
Intolerance and Piers Morgan's Recommendation to Amend the Bible
In the course of his interview with Pastor Rick Warren, Piers Morgan expressed an idea that is becoming increasingly common: “The Bible and the Constitution were well-intentioned, but they are basically inherently flawed,” Morgan said. “Hence the need to amend it.” “My point to you about gay rights, for example, it's time for an amendment to the Bible,” he said. … [Read more...]
The Need for Apologetics: The Defense of the Faith
Sometimes we expect that a few good arguments will unlock salvation’s door. When we find that they don’t and that we are met with a glaring sneer instead of a grateful embrace, we are hurt and conclude that “apologetics doesn’t work.” We then swing to the opposite – “I’m going to simply let my good works speak for the Gospel.” Admittedly, in our post-Christian society where … [Read more...]
Materialism, Atheism, and the Denial of Freewill
If we start with an impoverished worldview – one that fails to embrace all of reality’s nuances – it means that we have a faulty worldview and that our conclusions will be skewed. The atheist starts out with the presupposition or worldview that there is no spiritual reality, just matter and energy – what you see is what you get. Accordingly, thinking and choosing must also be … [Read more...]
Voodoo, the Spiritual Healer, and Confronting Cultural Bias
This past Sunday night, my wife and I went to a gay friend’s “Christmas” party. It’s always an opportunity to enter into the Midianite camp as Gideon had been directed to do to overhear what the Midianites were saying about Israel. It’s also been a wonderful opportunity to share our faith and to shake loose some stereotypes about Christians. One lovely woman – a spiritual … [Read more...]
Bethlehem Baby: Our Salvation and Peace; the Rabbis’ Headache
What do the Rabbis say about the birthplace of the Messiah? Do they acknowledge, along with the Gospel of Matthew, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David? After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the … [Read more...]