Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 (In this part I examine Bell's motivations and supporters for this book/view) What are Bell’s Motivations? This is a difficult question to answer as no one really knows the inner thoughts, desires and motivations of another individual (except God). I’ve also asked myself if Bell is intentionally trying to deceive the reader. Some of his … [Read more...]
Why is Tamar in Jesus' genealogy?
The first place to start when Christians are asked what we believe, would be at the beginning, and that is the book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament. It starts off with a genealogy. What we'll be looking at is a few of the unusual names in there. First, why do these genealogies exist to begin with? I have a mother-in-law who enjoys doing genealogies and a cousin … [Read more...]
How To Get Apologetics In Your Local Church
In 2010, Brian Auten at Apologetics315 hosted a series on how to get apologetics in your local church. He has graciously permitted us to repost the table of contents for this series. Enjoy! .... The goal of this project is a simple one: to share stories, experiences, and advice that will help Christians to start their own local apologetics initiatives. … [Read more...]
Cynicism
“I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're led to is a life not fully lived. Cynicism is fear, and it's worse than fear - it's active disengagement.” - Ken Burns Standing on the sidelines and making witty commentary is much easier than full-throated engagement in the fray. It’s easy to ridicule what has not worked, it’s much harder to … [Read more...]
Trilemma or Quadrilemma? Answering the "Legend" Critique of C.S. Lewis's Trilemma
C.S. Lewis's famous Liar/Lunatic/Lord trilemma has been criticized for leaving out a fourth option: Legend. There are historical and textual reasons to doubt the legend hypothesis, but I believe it fails even apart from that external evidence. It's vanishingly unlikely to be true, based upon merely the New Testament documents themselves. … [Read more...]
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
One of the most frequently cited and debated arguments for the existence of God is the Kalam Cosmological Argument. I have not written on the argument before because there is simply so much good material on it out there that I don't think I can add anything new. I have, however, run into numerous people with questions on the argument recently, and felt the need to finally get … [Read more...]
Remember, you are the slave
Recently, I've seen some discussions going on where there seems to be a preponderance of an attitude that I see often going on in the church. It is the attitude that since God is in charge of the universe then we don't really need to be active with how we handle matters. This is the case in politics or in personal Bible study. No need to do much. Let God do His part. After … [Read more...]
The Atheistic Leap of Faith
In the course of having thousands of conversations about the ultimate issues of life, I’ve encountered many skeptics who, out of a deep respect for their religious friends, are reluctant to explain their objections to faith. These skeptics have noticed that, for their friends, the practice of religion is fundamental to filling their lives with meaning, purpose, joy, and service … [Read more...]
Was Osama Bin Ladin the next C.S. Lewis or Billy Graham?!?
I have heard it said that Christianity is nothing more than a breakaway religion that the apostle Paul started, founded on his fake conversion, for his own personal gain. This argument is then used to discredit Paul and his writings. I find this very interesting since he (Saul) was the early church's greatest persecutor (in the first few years). I wonder if the people who … [Read more...]
Poll: What grounds objective moral truth?
Choose one option from this poll: What grounds objective moral truth (think “human rights”)? The good is a construct of God, man or nature. God wills the good in accordance with his loving nature. Nothing, there are only constructs which do not obligate. Or, in other words: The good is a construct of God, man or nature—the good is created (made up). God wills the … [Read more...]