Approximately thirty-five hundred years ago, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai and soon after, other commandments followed. These together formed what is called the Mosaic Law. It consisted of six hundred and thirteen laws (or commandments) that were both positive (“you should”) and negative (“you should not”) and are contained in the first five books of the … [Read more...]
Ask the Alliance: Did God murder his son?
:::Ask the Alliance #8::: Did God murder his son? Question submitted by Riovesil: Did God murder his son for us or did he give him up for us? Riovesil, thank you for your question. Here are some responses from The Christian Apologetics Alliance: Damoksta: This is such a great question - because any opportunity to discuss why Christ died on the cross is the bread and butter … [Read more...]
Ask the Alliance: How do we explain the OT wars?
:::Ask the Alliance Question #7::: Question submitted by Jacob: "I just read a post about wars and religion, and I agree that religion is often blamed for wars unjustly or misused by those in power to start conflicts. My question is, as a Christian, how do we explain the many wars in the Old Testament where God decimated many peoples and cities? Clearly, those were wars of … [Read more...]
Can You Step Into Your Opponent's Shoes?
I was recently reading a discussion on Facebook about the various passages in the Bible that are used by atheists to claim that the God of the Bible is immoral. All sorts of claims swirled around. Jesus commanded us to murder children. God was a premeditated murderer. For the most part, it was a group of atheists ganging up on one or two theists, and unfortunately the only … [Read more...]
Ask the Alliance: Would Moses have stoned the woman caught in adultery?
:::Ask the Alliance Question #2::: Liam Baker asks: If Moses was in the crowd in John 8v1-11, when the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, would he have stoned the woman? The law saying that a woman caught in adultery should be stoned to death, came through Moses. Below you will find first the officially submitted answers, followed by a more … [Read more...]
Genocide and the God of the Old Testament
Many people take issue with the idea that God commanded the Jewish nation to initiate war against the Canaanites, ordering them to wipe them out and take their land for their own. Not only have some people rejected Christianity over this, but it has even spurred some Christians to leave the faith. Are the critics of the Old Testament and Christianity in general correct when … [Read more...]
Is God a Moral Monster? by Dr. Paul Copan – A Book Review
About a year ago while I was at Harvard, talking with one of the students I regularly mentored, it happened that two of his friends walked by and stopped to say hello. We began to talk about their perspective on life and it quickly became clear that they were staunch atheists with a strong aversion to Christianity. Out of curiosity I asked them, “So, what’s your biggest … [Read more...]
JC Lamont's "Prophecy of the Heir" on the problem of judgment
Over the summer I read JC Lamont's Prophecy of the Heir, and not included in my review and author interview is mention that my absolute favorite thing about this book is how Lamont unapologetically, yet with the prowess of an apologist, answers the problem of the harshness of judgment. In the review, I do mention that Michael’s loyalty to the Prince is challenged mainly by his … [Read more...]
The Psalmist's Lamentation And The Demise of Babylon
(King James Version) Psalms 137:8-9 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. The above verse is one that was brought to my attention recently by a skeptic on Twitter. Though I have read this passage before, I hadn’t spend much time … [Read more...]
The Prophet Elisha And Two Bears Versus Forty Two Children
On The Attack One of the passages of scripture that I often see skeptics cite, in order to bring charge against the Bible, is the story of Elisha and the forty two children being mauled by two she bears. I do understand that any explanation of this account will not be suffice for some, and for others (who wish to remain skeptics) that see a credible answer, will likely just … [Read more...]