Guest post by Dan Barkman. Reza Aslan's recent foray into the historical Jesus debate has certainly been provocative. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth has become a New York Times best seller and has predictably engendered a good deal of controversy. Aslan attempts to revive the thesis of the eighteenth century scholar Herman Reimarus who argued that Jesus is … [Read more...]
Black 'Heart' Friday Shopping!
Thanksgiving is a wonderful tradition where we are able to give thanks (to God) for all that we have been blessed with, especially family and friends. The following day, Black Friday, is an over-excessive nationwide shopping spree in the US, paying homage to the gods of materialism and ourselves, stuffing our lives full of typically unnecessary merchandise with money that we … [Read more...]
Questions about God
Having reached the mature age of 4, my niece has gained a new level of inquisitiveness. “Why?” and “What?” have become her two favorite questions in conversation. While she has supplied me with many laughs, what continually amazes me is the intellectual depth her little mind is capable of producing. In the past few weeks she has asked the following questions: “Why doesn’t God … [Read more...]
Review: Boghossian's A Manual for Creating Atheists
The atheist Twitter-sphere has been abuzz over Peter Boghossian’s A Manual for Creating Atheists, and regular readers here know that I’ve been eagerly anticipating its publication. It came out almost two weeks ahead of its announced Nov. 1 release. I’d like to say I was happy about that, but I’m not. A Few Words of Appreciation—But Only a Few It’s not that I’m completely … [Read more...]
Transgender Issues + Euthanasia = Tragedy!
A number of weeks ago, I stumbled across the tragic story of a Belgium transexual, Nathan Verhelst. She was born a female and given the name Nancy. Of Nancy’s birth, her mother said, “When I saw 'Nancy' for the first time, my dream was shattered. She was so ugly. I had a phantom birth.” She supposedly wanted a son. Another article speaks of the mother’s further rejection of … [Read more...]
Evaluation of Darwin's Doubt by Stephen C. Meyer, Part 4
This is the fourth and final installment in my book review series on Darwin's Doubt. Part III: After Darwin, What? In chapters 15 and 16, Meyer explores the various "post-Darwinian" models that have been proposed to account for the massive amount of biological information required to give rise to new body structures and ultimately, new body plans. … [Read more...]
Why Christian Case Makers Need to Learn a New Language
I worked as a member of our Gang Detail for two years prior to entering our undercover team. It was a great season in my career and I still think of it often. I had a partner who was younger (and more culturally relevant) than I was, and he connected with street gangsters almost immediately. He knew how to “talk the talk” and “walk the walk,” and he had a better understanding … [Read more...]
Pneumatic Evidence
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: The apostle Paul writes, "hope [in God] does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Rom 5:5 NRSV). In his book The Severity … [Read more...]
Evaluating Jehovah’s Witnesses
[This post is a work in progress as part of the CAA Catechism.] [Add the title only in the title field, not in the body of the post.] Summary in 400 words or less: History of the Watchtower Organization The belief system of the organization called the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, otherwise known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, can trace their origins to the Adventist … [Read more...]
Darwin and the Hunger Games
The Hunger Games and Philosophy provides an excellent springboard from which to dive into some key themes in this incredibly popular trilogy. Abigail Mann's contribution, “Competition and Kindness: The Darwinian World of the Hunger Games,” offers some insight into how this series looks when viewed through the lens of Darwinian theory. I will do my best to adequately represent … [Read more...]