*Spoiler Alert. Even if you've read the Bible, this post contains spoilers, discussing elements found in the TV series that are not found in the Bible. Over the past weeks I’ve turned on the History Channel with over 68 million viewers to watch The Bible, which culminates on Easter Sunday with the death, resurrection, and New Testament era. The mini-series produced by Mark … [Read more...]
Life of Pi: Believing in Everything
"Why not believe in whatever?" - Yann Martel Life of Pi recounts the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, mercifully known as Pi. As a boy, Pi’s mother raises him as a Hindu. When he is fourteen, he begins to follow the teachings of Christianity and then of Islam, believing them all capable of teaching him something important about God. So, Hindu/Christian/Muslim. His father, a … [Read more...]
Important Words for Postmodern Apologetics
We are living in a decidedly postmodern age. This does not mean the fundamentals of our faith must change to please culture, but it does mean that unless Christians change the way we communicate the unchanging Gospel, our mission to reach the lost will fail. D. Rodriguez makes this same point in his recent critique of Brian McLaren’s book, "A New Kind of Christian" To … [Read more...]
…But I Know Something You Don't Know
As an apologist, I often dialogue with non-believers on the evidence for the philosophical, historical, and scientific veracity of the Christian faith. While I have the utmost confidence in the various lines of evidence that beautifully converge to support the case, the most important and persuasive evidence is, by its very nature, inaccessible to the non-believer. It is … [Read more...]
The Euthyphro Dilemma
The Euthyphro Dilemma is designed to explore the relationship between God and morality. The dilemma is found in Plato’s Euthyphro dialogue. It consists of an exchange between Socrates and a young man called Euthyphro, from whom the dilemma gets its name. When applied to an Abrahamic conception of God it asks “Is something good because God commands it? Or does God command … [Read more...]
Step One of Using Pop Culture as a Community Apologist: The "Aha!" Moment
I am convinced that one of the easiest things to do as a Community Apologist is to use pop culture to demonstrate that everyone, everywhere (with the exception of the odd sociopath) has a moral intuition. And once people agree that this intuition exists, the conversation can then turn to why it exists and where it comes from. One of the commenters on my last post asked if I … [Read more...]
"A New Kind of Christian" Critique – Final
Part 1 - Part 2 Although the Bible is not a philosophy book, it does presuppose some ideas about truth which fit foundationalism better than postmodern epistemology. Passage after passage are clear that truth is what corresponds to reality, rather than making truth relative to a linguistic community. Here is a minor sampling: … [Read more...]
The Rise of the Alincolnists
The 16th President of the United States has grown in popularity in recent months with major Hollywood Blockbusters such as Lincoln and New York Times bestsellers such as Killing Lincoln. In fact, it’d be safe to say that Abraham Lincoln is regarded as one of the greatest and most respected American Presidents to date. Yet new evidence has come to light questioning the … [Read more...]
Postmodernism, Relativism, and Truth
[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: With the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the former Soviet Republics fragmenting from the former Soviet Union, and to some degree, science not being able to answer every question in life, in the late 1980’s and early … [Read more...]
Are We Born Evil?
In the book Isn't Religion Weird? Quotations for Atheists by Dave Lane, an anonymous quote reads: “Why does God punish us with suffering throughout life and an eternity in hell afterwards? Because we are born evil and depraved! But why are we born evil and depraved? Because God makes us that way. So God makes us a certain way and then punishes us for being that way!” … [Read more...]