Introduction. Despite the fact of my not posting since the beginning of the month, I have not lost sight of the mission. Working with the people I work with, some of them being some of the most profane people that I have ever come across, I have not lost sight with how I am "wired" and the ministry mission. Even though where I am (on my job) during a good chunk of the week, I … [Read more...]
Sufism – Origin and History (Part 2)
Prophet Mohammed seems to be the first Sufi, communing directly with Allah. The early followers who were with him received revelations from God directly through them and formed the early Sufi school. The Hadith talks about ‘Ihsan’ or worship as one of the aspects of Islam and the Quran also talks about the purpose of God creating humans and Jinns is so that they may worship … [Read more...]
Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel Comics is on a roll. Guardians of the Galaxy opened with a stunning $94 million dollar weekend, breaking the previous August record for a movie opening. In spite of bewilderment within the entertainment industry leading up to its release (there was in interesting discussion about this on Rotten Tomatoes' podcast), critics and audiences have been giving it well-deserved … [Read more...]
It’s Evidential
A review of Discovering Intelligent Design: A Journey into the Scientific Evidence by Gary Kemper, Hallie Kemper, and Casey Luskin When Hallie Kemper, a homeschool educator and science teacher, set out to locate a curriculum for intelligent design (ID), she couldn’t find one that met her needs. So she and her husband Gary, a former aerospace scientist and ID skeptic who had … [Read more...]
Youth, Popularity, and Apologetics
I was listening to J. Warner Wallace’s podcast recently, and it’s one I encourage all of you to listen to. He talked about presenting talks on apologetics and how youth get enthused about it. I started pondering then why that might be, and I’d like to share a suspicion I have on the matter. I have written much on how the ancient world was an honor/shame culture where we’re a … [Read more...]
Initial Thoughts: Copan & Litwak's "The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas"
The CAA is participating in Apologetics 315's weekly Read Along program. We are reading "The Gospel in the Marketplace of Ideas: Paul's Mars Hill Experience for Our Pluralistic World" by Paul Copan and Kenneth D. Litwak. See the first announcement on the CAA Facebook page. These are my initial thoughts: This "context" topic has come up recently in my own circle of apologetics … [Read more...]
Are Atheists Smarter Than Christians?
Well, there has certainly been a lot of controversy over an undergraduate psychology assignment given at The Ohio State University. A student anonymously submitted the following question to the people at Campus Reform which was actually on his homework assignment. Theo has an IQ of 100 and Aine has an IQ of 125. Which of the following statements would you expect to be … [Read more...]
Sufism – Mystical Islam (Part 1)
INTRODUCTION Sufism is the mystical or esoteric school of thought in Islam. The Arabic word for Sufism is 'tasawuff'. A practitioner of Sufism is called a Sufi or a Dervish. The following quotations reveal the various understandings of Sufism. … [Read more...]
HBO's True Detective: Touching the Darkness
"Matthew Coniglio's Georgia home held a trove of child pornography, more than 50,000 images and videos stored on laptops, external hard drives and thumb drives. Among the stash, hidden in a bedside table turned around to conceal the doors, authorities made an even more horrifying discovery: 56 8-millimeter cassette tapes they say show him raping and molesting girls. All were … [Read more...]
Why should I believe something?
People believe all sorts of things. Some believe in aliens, while others don’t. Some believe in global warming, while others don’t. Some believe in evolution, while other's don't. Some believe in a God or gods, while others do not. Why the disagreement, given there are certainly people of good intention and intellect on either side of many important issues? Why should we … [Read more...]