About a month ago, I wrote about my frustration with being a lay apologist and I stated my frustration often came from two camps, both fellow Christians and unbelievers. I mentioned in that post how it seemed I could not win sometimes because unbelievers told me I was not intellectual enough, while my fellow church members often said I made things too complicated. In my first … [Read more...]
Forgiving Yourself: A Virtue or a Vice?
Some psychotherapists would have us learn to forgive ourselves. However, shouldn’t we instead seek forgiveness from the offended party? If you just robbed the local convenience store and beat up the clerk, self-forgiveness represents a refusal to acknowledge culpability, a denial of the obvious. Instead, you first have to be reconciled to the victim, as Jesus taught: • “If you … [Read more...]
The Top 10 Philosophy, Science, and Theology Podcasts
The following are a list of podcasts that I’ve been following and listening to that have been quite helpful in my philosophical, scientific, and theological studies. The criteria for consideration are based on 1) quality of content, 2) accurate presentation of the material, 3) constructive and respectful criticism of opposing views, 4) frequency of podcast release, and 5) a … [Read more...]
Featured apologist: Dr. Edgar Andrews
Today the CAA kicks off a series dedicated to the work of Dr. Edgar Andrews. There are five posts in this series: 1. Featured apologist: Dr. Edgar Andrews (Live on September 24, 2012) 2. On ENCODE, from the Last "Creationist" to Debate Richard Dawkins (Live on September 25, 2012) Includes fresh commentary from Dr. Andrews. 3. Book Review: Dr. Edgar Andrews' "Who Made … [Read more...]
A Simple Answer for the Complex Universe
A recent article piqued my interest which has brought about much discussion between a whole host of people and me. This article, Can Science Disprove the Existence God? (sorry, the typo was in the title) by Natalie Wolchover, is essentially an interview of a theoretical physicist noting how advances in science are eliminating the evidence for design in our universe. However, I … [Read more...]
Why Does the Historical Jesus Matter?
Brian, You spend a lot of time talking about the “Historical Jesus.” Why is it so important that we believe that Jesus was a real person? Isn’t it enough to believe in the teachings of Jesus, regardless of whether he actually existed? -Rick … [Read more...]
The New Testament Witness to Christ’s Divinity
Dan Barkman Even a cursory reading of the New Testament Gospels will be enough to convince most people that the Jesus portrayed there is one who claimed to be divine-both in His statements and His behavior. In this article I will explore how the rest of the New Testament authors portrayed Jesus and how this bears on the overall case for Jesus’ divinity. We will pay particular … [Read more...]
"Six Ways of Atheism" Answered
Geoffrey Berg, an unknown author with credentials he is deliberately concealing, has written a book entitled The Six Ways of Atheism: New Logical Disproofs of the Existence of God. Berg touts the book as definitively disproving the existence of God, and containing arguments completely original to him. As it happens, neither is true. None of the arguments are original to him, … [Read more...]
The Finely Tuned Genetic Code
Francis Crick regarded the genetic code found in nature as a "frozen accident." Yet more and more it is looking to be the case that this code is exquisitely finely tuned -- with features suggesting it is indeed one in a million. Therefore ought not purposive or intelligent design be regarded as a legitimate inference, as the best explanation for how the code came into … [Read more...]
Converting from Atheism — 7 years ago today
I spruced up the old testimony for Brian Auten's Former Atheist Project on Apologetics 315, just in time for my approaching born-again birthday. If you're a former atheist, Brian would love to hear your story--and so would I :) Mine begins here... Before I became an atheist, I had grown up in church, a preacher’s kid who prayed to receive Christ when I was four. I never … [Read more...]