Ravi Zacharias told this story in a radio podcast to illustrate where western culture is with regard to belief and worldview: Two Australian sailors were on leave in England and decided to go out to the pubs. After a long night of drinking, they were both very drunk and had to get back to their ship. By this time it was early morning and a heavy fog had settled in. They got … [Read more...]
Hypothesis, research and faith
According to Science Buddies, the steps to conducting scientific experiment are as follows: Ask a Question Do Background Research Construct a Hypothesis Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion Communicate Your Results It seems to me that Christian thinkers follow much the same method. We ask questions about life and destiny, … [Read more...]
Churches for Apologetics – Please sign the petition
Imagine an army that never trained and was poorly equipped. Without training, the soldiers would not know how to use the weapons in their possession Such an army would be decimated by the enemy. Or, imagine a football team whose training table consisted entirely of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and other junk food. Instead of lifting weights they play video games. Instead of watching … [Read more...]
A lesson learned from angry atheists
I had a chance to interact with some atheists in response to a post I had written for Bravefaith.org. While I did not intend it this way, some of what I had written came off as "insulting and hate inducing" according to one of the commenters. I did not do a good job of understanding their point of view before writing the post. The comments helped me better understand why they … [Read more...]
On having a perfect brother
Following the birth of Jesus, Scripture indicates that Mary went on to have other children. I quote Mark 6:3 below: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him." (NASB) My question is, what would it have been like to grow up with a perfect older brother? Some of … [Read more...]
The accusation of lying – what politics reveals about our need for truth
In a social climate where a majority of people claim to believe that truth is relative, I find it curious that one of the most effective accusations leveled at a political opponent is that of lying. We have partisan "fact-checkers" who masquerade as neutral agents in an effort to bolster these claims. Both sides accuse the other of lying or of intentional deception. I am not … [Read more...]
The Light that can be found – reflections on a lyric by 3 Doors Down
The song "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down begins this way: There's another world inside of me That you may never see There're secrets in this life That I can't hide Somewhere in this darkness There's a light that I can't find Maybe it's too far away... Or maybe I'm just blind... What struck me about this lyric is the comparison with light and darkness. The Bible uses this same … [Read more...]
On hypocrisy in the church
One common criticism of the church is that it is full of hypocrites, people who say one thing and do another. The problem with countering this criticism is that it is true. If we are honest, we will have to admit that none of us lives up to our own standard of behavior, let alone the standard set before us in Scripture. We all practice some level of hypocrisy in that there is a … [Read more...]