Reprinted with the gracious permission of Dr. Douglas Groothuis. This question was posed by the moderator at an early Republican presidential debate in 1999: “Who is your favorite political philosopher?” George W. Bush surprised, if not stunned, his fellow candidates, moderator, and audience when he tersely declared, “Jesus Christ, because he changed my life.” At the … [Read more...]
A Virgin Shall Conceive but Not According to the Rabbis
Arguably, Isaiah 7:14, prophesying a “virgin” giving birth, is the most contested verse in the Old Testament. Although Matthew unequivocally states that this prophecy was fulfilled by the birth of the Messiah, the Hebrew Scriptures seem to indicate that there was a fulfillment during the life of King Ahaz. Although this might seem like a contradiction, these two perspectives … [Read more...]
Open Forum Response: “Is it Possible to Come to Moral Decisions Using Logical Reasoning Alone?”
A Quick Introduction. Not long ago, I had the privilege of speaking to a Christian student group at Christopher Newport University. The topic for the evening was “The Problem of Evil and Suffering.” Much of material for the talk came from the piece I wrote on "The Three Faces of Evil and the Christian Response." This posting emerges from a question I received during the Q … [Read more...]
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
“You tell me that battling with monsters has made me a monster? Doing business with devils, what has that made you?” _________________________________________________________________________ Universal Pictures has already bought the film rights to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and no wonder: Laini Taylor's book has received exceptional critical accolades: New York Times … [Read more...]
Pre-Pauline and Post-Pauline Christology
The Apostle Paul often gets a bad rap in certain, non-Christian circles. Atheists, Muslims, and Pluralists all have it out for Paul. Everyone's got a bone to pick with Paul! He is (infamously) responsible for the idea that Jesus is God. Christianity started out as a nice, little group of hippies who shared their possessions and lived in close community while following the … [Read more...]
"Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics" by William Lane Craig (A Book Review)
(Note: This review was originally posted in May 2011 on my personal blog.) It's no secret that I am a fan of William Lane Craig. He is one of my heroes as an apologist, and one of the main apologists that inspired me to take up the field. While I don't see eye to eye with him on everything, it is his dedication to the subject of defending the faith in a Christlike manner that … [Read more...]
The Importance of Defining Terms
A few years ago I listened to the podcast "The Word Nerds". This podcast helped me gain an appreciation for the power of the English language. In my conversations with people I have noticed the power of the words themselves. Using the wrong word can cause needless arguments; using a less specific word can cause confusion, and many other effects (I just checked Dictionary.com to … [Read more...]
Fallacy Friday: Ad Ignorantiam (Arguments from Ignorance)
In the discussion following last week’s Fallacy Friday topic, Ad Populum, LJ asked about the ad ignorantiam fallacy. In particular she wanted to know about its relationship to creationism. I suspect LJ was being sarcastic but despite this it is worth exploring this issue a bit. First, we should recall that a fallacy is not simply a false position on some subject. The fact that … [Read more...]
How Do You Read The Bible?
The Bible: Learning How To Read It It’s sad to say but quite a few people within the body of Christ are not that Biblically literate, which just shouldn’t be so. It’s apparent that far too many rely on their pastor’s sermon, a seminar, retreat, etc to understand it. Those means are all beneficial but should never take the place of our personal study and meditation on the Word … [Read more...]
The Backyard Skeptics of Orange County
I bet you thought it would never happen! Orange County is home to two mega-churches that are known around the country, namely Saddleback Church and The Crystal Cathedral (not so much anymore). More than that there are several other mega churches spread out around Orange County, such as First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, or Eastside Christian Church, not to mention my … [Read more...]