Do you get blank stares when you mention apologetics? Should we drop the term and find another, like case-maker? Having tried apologetics as well as other terms, I think the problem is deeper. What can we do, and what might we learn from others who share a similar identity problem? … [Read more...]
Why should I believe something?
People believe all sorts of things. Some believe in aliens, while others don’t. Some believe in global warming, while others don’t. Some believe in evolution, while other's don't. Some believe in a God or gods, while others do not. Why the disagreement, given there are certainly people of good intention and intellect on either side of many important issues? Why should we … [Read more...]
Church in crisis: a message every Christian needs to hear
It isn't much of a secret anymore that the church in the West is in crisis. If you haven't read one of the many church-produced or sociological studies, you've probably noticed it just by watching the news or looking around at society. But why is this the case? How did we get here and, more importantly, how do we fix it? … [Read more...]
The Resurrection of Jesus: A Look at the Evidence
I can’t lay claim to being great at planning, as I had intended to finish this series some time ago. But with it being Holy Week, and with Easter just around the corner, it seemed a perfect time to conclude by looking at the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus. … [Read more...]
Forest for the Trees? Keeping apologetics grounded and apologetic method
The idiom 'forest for the trees' in American English is a phrase that means that one might get so caught up in the details that they miss the larger concept or the goal; they are looking at the trees so closely, they don't recognize the forest. This can be a danger in Christian apologetics; especially for us apologists! … [Read more...]
Dissecting a camel tale – apologetics meets the media
While browsing the news the other day, I ran across this article on CNN’s ‘Belief Blog,’ “Will camel discovery break the Bible's back?” by Joel Baden, an associate professor of Old Testament at Yale Divinity School. I soon discovered it was one among many even more umm, ‘provocative,’ articles gaining popularity around the Internet. The conclusion of many of the articles was … [Read more...]
The New-er Atheists: Two movements battle for heart and mind
The term ‘New Atheist’ is beginning to get a bit old already. It is still relatively new, chronologically, at least in relation to centuries of classical atheists. The movement seems to have arisen, or at least gained popularity, after the events of 9/11 (2001) in the USA. It was characterized by a shift towards the use of rhetoric, emotion, fear, and embodied very ‘religious’ … [Read more...]
Free-will and choice confusion
I'm writing this article as a plea for Christians and skeptics alike, but especially theologians and apologists, to use the term 'free will' more carefully. I hear mistakes and mis-speaks so often that it has become one of my pet-peeves. I'm also hoping that providing a bit of detail on the distinction will positively impact our theological and apologetics discussion. This … [Read more...]
The Resurrection of Jesus: Investigation & Apologetic Approach
“... God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning … [Read more...]
Importance of Bible Reading
Most Christians realize that the Bible is very important to the Christian faith. So much so, in fact, that this often leads to handling the Bible in some strange ways. For example, we might take a particular sentence (verse) and memorize it, yet use it out of context. There are sometimes strange views of how the Bible was produced (ie: dictation). Christians might venerate a … [Read more...]