The ‘problem of evil’ in Christian apologetics is and has been one of the top apologetic issues throughout history. Many have pointed to the attacks on 9/11 (September 11, 2001) as a turning point in our generation concerning this issue. The ‘New Atheists’ (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, etc.) began writing their – soon to be popular – books not long after this event. For the … [Read more...]
Book Review: Has Christianity Failed You?
One of the major obstacles that I come against in defending the Christian worldview is simply a misunderstanding of the worldview. So many times people tell me that they reject Christianity based on one thing or another that Christianity teaches. In the vast majority of the cases people are rejecting something that is not Christian but they believe is Christian. In Has … [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...]
Why Doesn't God Do Something About Evil?
We watch the news and are appalled at the unspeakable evils committed. We do not understand why such things happen. We do not have the answers, so we are often left asking questions. Where is God? Why didn’t He stop this? Why doesn’t He do something about evil? These are questions we should be prepared to answer. We should rightfully expect them when tragedy strikes. We … [Read more...]
Is God Good? Are Humans Bad?
The following is the transcript of a talk given at Church of the Cross during the "Dealing with Doubts" series on August 19, 2012. Today we are going to look at perhaps the most difficult question that any human can face: the problem of evil and suffering. The problem of pain. This is a problem that everyone has to resolve. Christians agonize over how to think about the … [Read more...]
If God is good and all-powerful, why does he not prevent evil, suffering and hell?
The problem: If God is good and all-powerful, why would he allow evil and suffering, and send people to hell? Here are 3 things to consider. 1. Unconditional love is impossible if suffering and evil are impossible. God, like a good father, allows us to learn from our mistakes, rather than dysfunctionally protecting us from them by a) preventing us from making them, or b) … [Read more...]
Love Wins Critique (Conclusion)
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 (I conclude my critique of Bell's book and also provide further resources) What Are The Implications of the Doctrine of Hell? First, what are the implications of Bell’s view? One issue is a modified view of God as his love has been redefined so that he is no longer holy. The view seems concerned with rescuing the … [Read more...]
The Problem of Evil
The problem of evil is for many people a significant intellectual and emotional obstacle to faith. The logical problem of evil attempts to show that the existence of evil in the world is incompatible with the existence of God. It then concludes God does not exist. This is one way of formulating it. The Problem of Evil: Premise 1: People suffer. Premise 2: Suffering is … [Read more...]
Love Wins Critique (Part 6)
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 (in this part, I examine the importance the doctrine of hell and whether I've been "judgmental" of Rob Bell) Is Hell an Essential or Core Christian Doctrine? How are doctrines important? Additionally, where does the doctrine of hell fall when it comes to essential Christian doctrine? Paul warns us in Acts 20:27-31: For I have not … [Read more...]
Love Wins Critique (Part 5)
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 (In this part I examine Bell's motivations and supporters for this book/view) What are Bell’s Motivations? This is a difficult question to answer as no one really knows the inner thoughts, desires and motivations of another individual (except God). I’ve also asked myself if Bell is intentionally trying to deceive the reader. Some of his … [Read more...]