The establishment and spread of the Christian faith is unique among all religions in that both rest on a historical event (the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ) witnessed firsthand, unwavering belief that what was witnessed actually happened (i.e., what happened was a true state of affairs in reality), and the resolve to share this conviction in … [Read more...]
What Is Faith?
So many times I have heard people say that faith is believing something despite evidence against it. I have heard skeptics of Christianity deride faith based on this, and I have heard Christians claim a higher level of spirituality because they possess this kind of faith. But is this what faith really is? Let's look at it a little more closely. When Person A states that they … [Read more...]
Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman – Book Review
Questioning Evangelism Looking for a short read that's insightful and practical? Check out a very accessible book called Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman. I almost put this on the required reading list for my "Practicing Apologetics and Evangelism" class at Western Seminary, but I ended up leaving it off, thinking the course load was already pretty tough. In hindsight, I … [Read more...]
The Wolves of Mercy Falls
"In the end, it’s a long, cold night and those woods for all of us.” _________________________________________________________________________ Maggie Stiefvater has written a a trilogy entitled The Wolves of Mercy Falls. While her latest, The Scorpio Races, has her on the front pages of literary news, this trilogy has excelled as well. Grace lives in Mercy Falls. As a child, … [Read more...]
Philosophy in the Abortion Issue, Part III
Now we’ve seen what goes into an argument, and how to possibly respond to an argument. We’ve also seen some arguments that commit logical fallacies, which is simply an error in reasoning. Now we’ll look at some arguments that are simply bad arguments, from both sides of the abortion fence. … [Read more...]
My Testimony
My name is Richard Playford. I am a new Christian Apologetics Alliance contributor. For my first post, the editing team and I thought that it would be a good idea for me to post my testimony! I was raised in a fairly agnostic English family. We might go to Church once or twice a year at Christmas and things like that, but as a family we were not in any way committed … [Read more...]
On having a perfect brother
Following the birth of Jesus, Scripture indicates that Mary went on to have other children. I quote Mark 6:3 below: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him." (NASB) My question is, what would it have been like to grow up with a perfect older brother? Some of … [Read more...]
Achilles Heel: Internet Arguments
This clever picture really breaks down the state of affairs when it comes to arguing over the internet, especially when it comes to the arguments between Christians and Atheists. … [Read more...]
Apologetics is Alive: People are Hungry for Answers
By Matthew Flannagan. Here in New Zealand, I am often told by evangelical leaders that we now live in a post-modern society, which has moved beyond “arguments” and that Apologetics is an outdated “modernist concept.” They say we need instead to “tell the story” so that people will see the "meta-narrative of scripture"—whatever exactly that means. Last night, Madeleine and I … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God: Design
Having been an investigative journalist for many years I highly recommend returning to the beginning of an issue, crime, or whatever is your assignment before reporting about it. If not, you may miss the very thing that will turn your story in the direction of truth, which should be the objective of every journalist. In that spirit I returned to Charles Darwin’s On The … [Read more...]