In college I attended a town hall meeting with the president of New York University awhile back and I remember him saying, “God is ineffable! We can’t possibly hope to know anything about God!” He said this to try to poke holes in the arguments for knowing God personally and wanted to provide a basis for Religious Pluralism. He argued that, essentially, we’re all in the dark, … [Read more...]
Mentoring a mathethes
Nothing beats the feeling of fulfillment in seeing a mathethes (disciple in greek) performing beyond his own expectations. I have the rare privilege of mentoring a college sophomore son of a very good friend. Part of his subject requirement for his engineering degree are subjects in Religious Education, or Re Ed. Nothing to be alarmed about, except that the setting is a … [Read more...]
Your Challenge Does Not Apply- The Strawman
Lately I've been having a lot of discussions with fellow Christians about different ideas. Typically we're are on different sides of the debate and are trying to come to either an agreement, compromise, or understanding. One of the things that I have noticed all too often (I wouldn't worry about a couple times) from too many people and from the same people after I've pointed it … [Read more...]
When Were The Gospels Written?
When were the gospel biographical accounts of Jesus written? One popular claim by skeptics is that the gospels were written so long after the events which they narrate that their historical and biographical value is suspect. While virtually all scholars maintain that all of the gospels were written in the first century, within liberal scholarship it is conventionally thought … [Read more...]
The Gentle Art of Faith Defense
The Art of Faith Defense is called Apologetics. It may sound like someone is making an “apology,” but that’s not the meaning. It comes from the Greek word apologia and means “a speech made in defense, a verbal defense, to give an answer in defense.” In ancient Greece, the prosecution in a trial would deliver their kategoria (accusation, charge). The defendant would respond with … [Read more...]
Lost Scriptures of the New Testament?
In a previous blog, I discussed the textual integrity of the documents which comprise the new testament, and addressed the often-raised claim that the new testament has been substantially edited over the intervening centuries with doctrines being added and removed at the church’s will. As I argued in my previous blog, such ill-informed assertion is pure fantasy. Another … [Read more...]
Genuine Faith Is Never Blind
I grew up believing that reason can only take you so far--after that, faith takes over. In one sense this belief is true: Intellectual faith/belief, if it isn’t blind, comes ‘after’ good evidence. However, in the sense that faith persists independent of reason or even in spite of evidence to the contrary (the sense preferred by New Atheists) this belief is false. One cannot … [Read more...]
Do Christians Commit the Fallacy of Composition?
When I debate atheists, from time to time I point out when they commit some of the standard logical fallacies. The genetic fallacy probably comes up as often as any other. This occurs when you incorrectly assume that by proving the origin of a belief, you have thereby disproven the validity of that belief. For example, atheists often claim that morality is merely the … [Read more...]
Fallacy Fridays
Over the past few years I have occasionally been asked by para-church, church and home-schooling groups to put together a critical thinking or “mini logic” course, with a focus on fallacy spotting, and teach it to their youth. I have done this from time to time and have often found as many adults in attendance as youth; the demand for this sort of thing seems to be fairly high … [Read more...]
A Neighborhood Sidewalk Logic Lesson
My family and I live in a interesting setting when it comes to our housing. Back in 2003, we literally landed in a townhouse community where the neighborhood has ever reflected a transitional nature. How does it change? Families in renting or leasing scenarios either change residences due to not being able to pay the rent, been evicted because of negligence or not following … [Read more...]