If you ever wanted a book to impress your girlfriend by how smart you are, Clifford William’s Existential Reasons for Belief in God will do the trick…either that or she will want to break up with you because you’re just that nerdy. The title of the book presents no illusion or mystery to it’s inside contents. A creative cover image, not a very creative title. But this is a … [Read more...]
Don’t Reject Theistic Arguments Too Quickly!
Sceptics often reject theistic arguments by pointing out that they “don’t prove God.”[1] Perhaps the theist has just argued that there’s a personal uncaused cause, or a personal designer of the universe, or a necessarily existent perfectly rational mind, or what-have-you; in any case, the sceptic’s response is to explain how the theist’s argument doesn’t … [Read more...]
Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt: The Passover as a Foreshadow of Christ
Previously, I posted a blog entry on the Abraham affair as a foreshadow — a prototype — of the Gospel. As with most of the arguments for Christianity, the evidence from Old Testament foreshadows and prophecies is most compelling when taken as a cumulative argument. In other words, it becomes most convincing when many different examples are considered together. In this blog … [Read more...]
Are Reproductive Rights Civil Rights?
Does a woman's "right to choose" constitute a civil right? Does the reproductive rights movement have the right to compare itself to the civil rights movement? Organizations like Planned Parenthood would argue in the affirmative, “Planned Parenthood believes that reproductive rights are deeply connected to civil rights for all Americans(1).” Is this true? Does the analogy fit? … [Read more...]
Is Agnosticism Tenable?
Over the years, I’ve encountered a few friends that have subscribed to agnosticism because they concluded that there is no way to possibly know whether or not there is a God. According to Oxford Dictionaries, agnostic is defined as, “a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God”.[1] I’ve heard prominent atheist Michael Shermer … [Read more...]
Media Review: Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a video (available in DVD and Blu-ray formats) by Illustra Media about the amazing biological transformation process from caterpillar to butterfly. The main feature is a little over an hour long and there is a good amount of bonus material. The main feature is so packed with information, that this review is only going to scratch the surface. I am not a … [Read more...]
On hypocrisy in the church
One common criticism of the church is that it is full of hypocrites, people who say one thing and do another. The problem with countering this criticism is that it is true. If we are honest, we will have to admit that none of us lives up to our own standard of behavior, let alone the standard set before us in Scripture. We all practice some level of hypocrisy in that there is a … [Read more...]
What Is This Faith We Defend?
First, let’s look at the answer for the first part of the question – What Is This Faith? … [Read more...]
Conundrum: You want to get into apologetics but don't have a degree – pt1
When I became a Christian, I was immediately drawn to apologetics. Apologists are all wired a certain way, and I'm definitely wired in a way which causes me to dig deeper for answers to questions, especially those related to Christianity. I have plenty of questions which come from my own proclivity to doubt, plus there are questions from other Christians, questions from … [Read more...]
Good Arguments For God's Existence – The Cosmological Argument (Leibniz) – pt.1
"Why does anything exist at all, as opposed to nothing?" . "Is there an explanation for every being that exists?" . This is the fundamental question, many say, to all of philosophy. It also happens to be the primary question that Leibniz attempted to answer as he formed his version of the Cosmological Argument. Who is "Leibniz", you may ask? … [Read more...]