The Word of God and the Mind of Man by Ronald Nash is a book about Christian epistemology (how we know what we know). I was enjoying a philosophy lecture series by Dr. Nash, and while discussing epistemology, he mentioned this book. The book is divided into two parts consisting of a total of twelve chapters. In the first part, Nash provides a case against different religious … [Read more...]
Comparision of the transformation in Buddhist Emperor Asoka with the transformation which Christ brings about
To help understand the transformation brought about by Buddhism, let us take the example of King Asoka. King Asoka, was the Emperor of the Maurya dynasty, who ruled over the kingdom of Magada. Asoka, was a very cruel young man and the title, “Chandashok” meaning, “Asoka, the terrible” was given to him. It is said that he assassinated most or all of his half brothers in order to … [Read more...]
When Language Goes on a Holiday (II)
In a recent post entitled When Language Goes on a Holiday [1] I gave a brief introduction to the matter of religious language and arguments from the side of the fence that finds our talk of God to be either “incoherent” or “meaningless.” I first gave an introduction to the problem of religious language and then provided some arguments for and against the issue. In this post … [Read more...]
Biblical Epic: Escapist Fantasy or Private Interpretation?
In addition to music, I am a huge movie buff. All types of movie genres are in my collection. One genre I despise, however, is the genre of the Biblical Epic. Why do you hate Biblical Epics when you love to study the Word? You might ask. The answer boils down to man’s basic spiritual problem, the integrity of the Word. Mankind simply doesn’t believe the Word to be true. This … [Read more...]
Warm Bodies: Exhuming Ourselves
“Once you’ve arrived at the end of the world, it hardly matters which route you took.” Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies has been a surprise hit. Though this zombie romance book (?) was originally written for an adult audience, the recent movie targets a YA crowd. If you are tempted to dismiss the story as yet another sign that we are staggering toward cultural annihilation, you … [Read more...]
Is intelligent design science?
Why is it that Christian apologists have to deal with this topic so often? It seems that whenever I'm in discussion over just about ANY apologetics related topic, I'll typically be challenged by someone over the topic of I.D. as a kind of 'gotcha' move. You see, (insert sarcasm) I must not be rational... after all, I (as a Christian) must believe the whole Intelligent Design … [Read more...]
Believing the New Testament
The next presentation in the Essentials of Apologetics series I described in an earlier post is now available. Why Scripture: A Defense of the New Testament focuses on the trustworthiness of the Bible and uses standard historical methods to affirm the reasonableness of its reliability. You can find the latest presentation either on the PowerPoint Apologist website or on … [Read more...]
Why the Debate over Christian Origins Matters
Introduction Over the years, I have studied a good deal concerning the birth of the Christian faith. When I say “birth,” I mean the rise of the Jesus movement pre 70 AD. I am well aware that many people view Christianity through the events of the Council of Nicaea or at a much later date than 70 AD. There is still an ongoing debate as to when we actually have an “official” … [Read more...]
5 Common Objections to the Moral Argument
The Moral Argument for the existence of God has been graced with a long tradition of defense from theistic (and atheistic!) philosophers and thinkers throughout the history of Western thought...and a long tradition of misunderstandings and objections by even some of the most brilliant minds. To be fair, the argument is not always as intuitive as theists like to think it is. … [Read more...]
Opinions vs. Truth-Claims
This post is more of an addendum to my post "Positive vs. Negative Arguments". Please check out that post for more context. Opinions reflect feelings and may or may not be true. If one claims that their thoughts are simply "opinions" (not claiming to actually be truth- even though it might be) then they have no responsibility to provide a reasoned defense of the … [Read more...]