It’s Not What You Think Oftentimes, I hear mentioned that the serpent in Genesis 3 is merely a talking snake, that, somehow Lucifer spoke though (ventriloquism?), or it was actually him in the form of a slithery snake, something along these lines. After all, some Bible translations do in fact say snake and is mentioned as being more subtle or crafty than any beast of the field. … [Read more...]
A Look at Jewish Messianism: A Crucified Messiah:What An Embarrassment!
The Jewish Messiah When it comes to talking to Jewish people about the possibility of Jesus being the Messiah, there is a wide range of thought. For some Jewish people a personal messiah is irrelevant. For others, it is said that in every generation there is a potential messiah or a time when there will be a Messianic Age. For the disciple of Jesus, His death is a “ransom” … [Read more...]
Halloween and the Fascination with Fear
If I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say – “Halloween is my favorite holiday”, I would perhaps not be rich, but my student loan balances would be significantly lower. It seems to me, and this is in no way scientific, that for many people Halloween is their favorite time of year; even though most people don’t get a day off work as they do at Christmas.True, there is … [Read more...]
The Presumption of Pluralism
Everyone has their own truth. What's true for you is true for you, what's true for me is true for me. All religious backgrounds have a piece of the puzzle. All roads lead to the same goal. God is big enough to work through all people's faiths. Pluralism is rampant in our society. People want to affirm everyone's belief. Tolerance is the buzzword. Few want to talk about the … [Read more...]
Understanding the Calling of the Apologist
There seems to be a widespread misconception, even within the church, that the ambition of Christian apologists is to argue nonbelievers into submission to the truth of Christianity. I admit that up until a few years ago, I even held a version of this idea myself. I thought that if your arguments were "good enough," the person they were aimed at would hit their knees in … [Read more...]
Hume and Modern Miracle Claims
In his famous essay “Of Miracles,” David Hume argues that “it forms a strong presumption against all supernatural and miraculous relations, that they are observed chiefly to abound among ignorant and barbarous nations; or if a civilized people has ever given admission to any of them, that people will be found to have received them from ignorant and barbarous ancestors, who … [Read more...]
Rejecting a Guilt-Laden Christianity
One pedagogue has been beckoning Christians to take his seminars with this promise: "We want to liberate Christians from the burden of guilt-laden doctrines." This promise is trendy. It caters to the spirit of our doctrine-despising age, especially those doctrines that cause discomfort. Consequently, our youth call themselves “spiritual” and carefully distinguish this from … [Read more...]
Tactics by Greg Koukl: A Book Review
Want more friends? Better conversations? Frequent, life-changing spiritual encounters? But wait, there’s more! What if you could also avoid dead-end discussions, pointless arguments, and go-nowhere debates? Then you should be interested in Tactics, a book by Greg Koukl, the president of Stand to Reason Ministries. The fact is that many Christians feel intimidated by … [Read more...]
J.T.'s underwhelming critique of Christianity: Part Two
At the end of Part One, found here, J.T. Eberhard tells his audience that the one argument Christians need to address is that there is no evidence for the existence of God (8:00). J.T. then moves into his critique and refutation of the various arguments Christians use when discussing their beliefs. Part Two will examine a few of these critiques and refutations in order to … [Read more...]
Love Wins Critique (Part 1)
The doctrine of hell is “one of the chief grounds on which Christianity is attacked as barbarous and the goodness of God is impugned.”[i] Rob Bell wishes to address this problem in his latest book, Love Wins,[ii] by providing an alternate way at looking at hell. This post was written to critique Rob Bell’s recent book - especially in light of the stance of this site against … [Read more...]