I saw this image on Facebook the other day (states "God isn't an option, He's a necessity"). As a Christian I accept this because it is a part of the truth of Christianity (and consequently, reality). But the unbeliever doesn't tend to accept it or even appreciate the significance of this statement...especially if they claim to know anything (even as minimal as that they … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Making of An Atheist
The Making of an Atheist by James Spiegel is a short book on the non-rational reasons that people may have for rejecting the existence of God. It was of interest to me because it doesn't address intellectual reasons, but emotional reasons. The book talks about the psychology of atheists. The book is divided into five chapters and is a mere 128 pages, so it makes for a quick … [Read more...]
Are You Committed To Truth?
In so many of my interactions with people, I have found that they have already made a commitment one way or the other to certain worldviews and are looking for intellectual reasons to either maintain that commitment or escape another commitment. I know people who are ready to accept any worldview except for X and others who are committed to accepting any form of worldview Y. … [Read more...]
Irony In Rejecting Eyewitnesses
One of the objections that come up when discussing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, is that we cannot trust the Apostles. Even though the Apostles were eyewitnesses to the events of Jesus, they cannot be trusted because they are biased. It strikes me, and should you too, that someone would complain that an eyewitness believes what they saw. I mean, if I … [Read more...]
The Danger of Overstating Conclusions
Have you ever played the electronic game 20 Questions? If you haven't, this is what it is: You think of an object and the computer will ask you "yes/no" questions until it narrows down what you are thinking about. If you answer 20 questions, and it can't figure out what you're thinking about, you win. I've tried it a few times, and I've been able to stump it a couple. :) What … [Read more...]
Book Review: The Word of God and the Mind of Man
The Word of God and the Mind of Man by Ronald Nash is a book about Christian epistemology (how we know what we know). I was enjoying a philosophy lecture series by Dr. Nash, and while discussing epistemology, he mentioned this book. The book is divided into two parts consisting of a total of twelve chapters. In the first part, Nash provides a case against different religious … [Read more...]
Opinions vs. Truth-Claims
This post is more of an addendum to my post "Positive vs. Negative Arguments". Please check out that post for more context. Opinions reflect feelings and may or may not be true. If one claims that their thoughts are simply "opinions" (not claiming to actually be truth- even though it might be) then they have no responsibility to provide a reasoned defense of the … [Read more...]
Book Review: Chosen But Free
One of the major debates in Christianity is the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's free will. Many people interpret the two to be at odds. Each side believes that the other side will result in compromising some essential doctrine of the faith. I wish I were immune to such a debate, but I'm not. I have found myself in the middle of it; not debating for one side or … [Read more...]
Positive and Negative Arguments
I briefly touched this topic in my post "Is Consistency Important?". Today, I want to expand it a bit more. A Positive Argument is an argument for your particular position. A Negative Argument is an argument against an opposing position. It seems like everywhere I go, people want to point out what's wrong with the opposition's arguments. It does not matter if we are talking … [Read more...]
Book Review: Creating God In The Image of Man
Creating God In The Image of Man by Norman Geisler is a book focusing on the debate about Open Theism (called "neotheism" in this book). I've been going through some of the different views on the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's free will. Open theism is one of the options that falls on the extreme side of Arminianism. The book is a short read at 145 page … [Read more...]