The idea of the divine or God is, if you think clearly about it, a very strange concept. To many contemporary scientifically minded people it is childish and even laughable to believe in God. They contend that the physical material world is all there is. So why invent ghost stories? For example, the prominent atheist polemicist Christopher Hitchens contends that as a child it … [Read more...]
When Were The Gospels Written?
When were the gospel biographical accounts of Jesus written? One popular claim by skeptics is that the gospels were written so long after the events which they narrate that their historical and biographical value is suspect. While virtually all scholars maintain that all of the gospels were written in the first century, within liberal scholarship it is conventionally thought … [Read more...]
Issues with Answers in Genesis
When I say I have issues with Answers in Genesis (AiG), I'm not referring to their Young Earth Creation (YEC) interpretation of Genesis 1-11. My issues are with the considerable amount of time and effort they spend leveling false accusations against those who believe in Old Earth Creationism (OEC). AiG is the most widely followed YEC ministry, and unfortunately their divisive … [Read more...]
Are New Atheists Nietzsche’s English Flat Heads?
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) described “New Atheists” as early twenty-first century atheist authors promoting atheism. The “New Atheist” label for these critics [that include Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens] of religion and religious belief emerged out of journalistic commentary on the contents and impacts of their books. A … [Read more...]
Denver Seminary’s New Christian Apologetics and Ethics Master’s Degree
"Douglas Groothuis has established the reputation of being one of the best apologists and Christian philosophers in the Evangelical community. Now he has developed a new and exciting program in Christian apologetics and ethics. This program is very important in light of contemporary culture, and any student who studies with Groothuis and his colleagues will get first-rate … [Read more...]
The Appearance to Paul
In his first letter to the Corinthians the apostle Paul testified that Christ appeared to him after being raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:8). This experience transformed him from a leading opponent and persecutor of the church to its most famous missionary. The record indicates that Paul spent the last three decades or so of his life after this experience traveling around the … [Read more...]
The Gentle Art of Faith Defense
The Art of Faith Defense is called Apologetics. It may sound like someone is making an “apology,” but that’s not the meaning. It comes from the Greek word apologia and means “a speech made in defense, a verbal defense, to give an answer in defense.” In ancient Greece, the prosecution in a trial would deliver their kategoria (accusation, charge). The defendant would respond with … [Read more...]
Lost Scriptures of the New Testament?
In a previous blog, I discussed the textual integrity of the documents which comprise the new testament, and addressed the often-raised claim that the new testament has been substantially edited over the intervening centuries with doctrines being added and removed at the church’s will. As I argued in my previous blog, such ill-informed assertion is pure fantasy. Another … [Read more...]
Genuine Faith Is Never Blind
I grew up believing that reason can only take you so far--after that, faith takes over. In one sense this belief is true: Intellectual faith/belief, if it isn’t blind, comes ‘after’ good evidence. However, in the sense that faith persists independent of reason or even in spite of evidence to the contrary (the sense preferred by New Atheists) this belief is false. One cannot … [Read more...]
Question about Religious Epistemology
Randy, I have a question about Reformed Epistemology. In this Question of the Week, Dr. Craig essentially says that Plantinga's model for warranted Christian belief boils down to this conditional: (1) If Christianity is true, then there are no successful de jure objections to Christian belief. He then says that we know that the antecedent of this conditional is true because … [Read more...]