Introduction I am about to read Peter Boghossian’s new book A Manuel for Creating Atheists which is just one more attempt to turn atheists into an army of evangelists. I recently went to the facebook page called “street epistemology” which happens to be an open group. By the way, my friend Tom Gilson has recently written a response to the book which is available on … [Read more...]
Creation Ex Materia? – Conclusion
Part 1 - Part 2 (I conclude my critique of creation ex materia) Fourth, we will address one inductive argument using scientific evidence for the beginning of the universe. In the middle of the nineteenth century, several physicists discovered the Second Law of Thermodynamics by noticing that all processes within a closed system tend toward a state of equilibrium.[i] This … [Read more...]
7 Tips on Engaging Skeptics Like Paul Did in Athens [Part 1]
Cultural Engagement Tips My studies at Dallas Theological Seminary have challenged me to think about practical lessons we can learn from Paul’s engagement in Acts 17. I recently had a conversation about this passage with my mentor, Dr. Darrell Bock, and I’ve discovered some cultural engagement tips that every defender of the faith should know. … [Read more...]
Answering the Atheists' "Extraordinary Claims" Gauntlet
Not too long ago, I was reading Michael Shermer’s preface to Peter Boghossian’s book, A Manual for Creating Atheists. In the preface, he criticizes belief in eternal life, Jesus, and God’s work of salvation as being extraordinary claims made by Bible believing Christians. He reminisced about how he used to be an evangelical Christian, but he found these claims unreasonable. … [Read more...]
Why a Christian Response Needs to Be Different Than a Mormon Response
Last week I had the opportunity to train a group of high school students in preparation for an upcoming Berkeley Missions trip. These students will spend the next eight weeks learning about the evidence supporting the Christian worldview and examining many of the most popular objections to Christianity. Since we were very early in the process, I began by asking the students to … [Read more...]
The Modern Missionaries of Evangelical Atheism
According to its website, The Unbelievers movie “follows renowned scientists Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss across the globe as they speak publicly about the importance of science and reason in the modern world - encouraging others to cast off antiquated religious and politically motivated approaches toward important current issues.” Okay, so let's unpack that a bit and … [Read more...]
Rumors of my endorsement have been greatly exaggerated
It has been drawn to my attention that Peter Boghossian has posted a quotation from me regarding his book, A Manual for Creating Atheists, on the book’s page at Amazon.com. Unfortunately, the quotation has been taken out of context in a way that could give a misimpression regarding my opinion of the book. Seizing a stray clause from someone’s writings and packaging it as an … [Read more...]
Introduction to Islam – 1 (Origin and Spread)
Islam is the second largest religion followed by 1.6 billion people, which constitutes about 23.4 % of the world population. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims believe Islam is the revelation of God which came through the Prophet Mohammed. Their holy book, the Quran, contains the revelations given to their Prophet by the angel Gabriel. The words and actions of … [Read more...]
Nietzsche and Two Unpleasant Implications of Darwinism
“There was a type of enjoyment in overpowering and interpreting the world in the manner of Plato,” contended Friedrich Nietzsche, “different from the enjoyment offered by today’s physicists, or by the Darwinians and anti-teleologists who work in physiology, with their principle of the ‘smallest possible force’ and greatest possible stupidity”(Nietzsche 2002, 15-16) Nietzsche’s … [Read more...]
How do you believe that? – Agnostics should be skeptical all the way down
Everyone thinks they know something. Many also strive to be reasonable, logical, or rational. But is that even possible? Why trust one’s mind when it comes to reason, logic, and rationality? As a Christian, I believe that “God is a knower, and indeed the supreme knower… We human beings, therefore, being created in his image, can also know much about our world, ourselves, … [Read more...]