[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: C.S. Lewis popularized the argument that people have desires for real things (desire for money, desire for power over something, etc.). People have, at least unconsciously, a desire for God and heaven. Therefore, God … [Read more...]
Transmission and Canonization of Scripture
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: John Wenham writes, about the subject herein, there is no “absolute certainty.” However, one can have “adequate evidence” in which their conviction can be “dynamic” (Wenham, 192). This soberness is … [Read more...]
Evaluating Naturalism
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Naturalism can be summed up with Carl Sagan’s well-known mantra, “The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be.”[1] This worldview holds that everything about reality can be reduced to and explained by … [Read more...]
Eyewitness Testimony
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: Eyewitness testimony has been a vital part of family and community life for thousands of years. Moses told Israel - "by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established" (Deuteronomy … [Read more...]
Science vs. God on the Stossel Show
On December 13, an episode of the Stossel show titled "Science vs. God" aired on the Fox Business Channel. John Stossel opens the show asking questions and making statements about the origin of the universe, the origin of life, evolution vs. intelligent design, and whether or not God is involved. Three segments of interest to Christian apologists would be the opening panel … [Read more...]
My Testimony
My name is Richard Playford. I am a new Christian Apologetics Alliance contributor. For my first post, the editing team and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to post my testimony! I was raised in a fairly agnostic English family. We might go to Church once or twice a year at Christmas and things like that, but as a family we were not in any way committed … [Read more...]
The Historian and Miracles
Received wisdom is that the historian can say nothing about miracles. This statement can take one of several different forms. For example, Bart Ehrman says of the Resurrection that "Historians can only establish what probably happened in the past, and by definition a miracle is the least probable occurrence. And so, by the very nature of the canons of historical research, we … [Read more...]
God and Santa Claus
Equating belief in God with belief in Santa seems to be popular among many atheists who have grown up in religious families but later abandoned their "childish" belief in God in the same way they gave up their belief in Santa Claus. It's so obvious that God is something you only believe in as a child but then later give up when you mature and become a rational, reasoning … [Read more...]
Witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses
As any Christian apologist knows, there are vast differences between orthodox Christian and Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses) beliefs. The biggest difference that marks the Jehovah’s Witnesses (hereafter JW, or plural JWs) is their teachings on the nature of God. According to Dr. William Lane Craig from his “Defenders” (Series 1) podcasts the historic … [Read more...]
Pre-Pauline and Post-Pauline Christology
The Apostle Paul often gets a bad rap in certain, non-Christian circles. Atheists, Muslims, and Pluralists all have it out for Paul. Everyone's got a bone to pick with Paul! He is (infamously) responsible for the idea that Jesus is God. Christianity started out as a nice, little group of hippies who shared their possessions and lived in close community while following the … [Read more...]