Category: Apologetics
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Talking About the Problem of Evil: The Cross
Finally, I end with the cross and the hope of Christianity. Jesus agonized in enduring the nastiest evil that can be thrown at him: denial by his own adored people; abhorrence from the authorities in his own religion; unfairness at the hands of the Roman court; unfaithfulness and disloyalty from his closest friends; the public…
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Talking About the Problem of Evil: The Greater Good
To review, so far, we’ve addressed how one can even object to evil, in the moral argument. We’ve talked about what evil is and is not, and the idea of it being a privation. We’ve talked about some possible reasons God allows evil, which included the best-of-all-possible-worlds argument and the free will defense. Today I…
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Talking About the Problem of Evil: Human Free Will
Yesterday we covered the principle of sufficient reason as part of the best-of-all possible worlds. The last principle of the best-of-all-possible-worlds is human free will. For Leibniz, this idea was just a principle in part of his greater defense. For Augustine, CS Lewis, and Alvin Plantinga[i] it was an entire defense by itself. In its…
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Talking About the Problem of Evil: The Best-of-All-Possible-Worlds
Yesterday we addressed how one can even object to evil, in the moral argument. Then we talked about what evil is and is not, and the idea of it being a privation. Today I want to move to the best-of-all-possible-worlds argument. The place to start is God’s omniscience. This allows God to understand all possibilities.[i]…
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Talking About the Problem of Evil: What is Evil?
I have put together an intellectual response to the problem of evil that includes a theology of evil and suffering, and a philosophical/theological series of proper defenses of God and his righteousness considering evil. What is Evil? The problem of evil is famous. This problem is personal because my wife stayed stuck as an agnostic…
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Can you defend the Gospels’ authenticity?
Generally speaking, the closer a report is to the event the more reliable it’s believed to be. Early, eye-witness reports are gold when it comes to verifying ancient documents. So how can we be sure of both the authorship and timing of the gospels? Dr. Gary Habermas, the world’s foremost scholar on the Resurrection of…
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Atheism 2.0? Talking Back to a TED Talk
In 2011, atheist Alain de Botton gave a now-famous TED talk “Atheism 2.0.” I wrote a response to it. First, here is a video of that TED talk: Dear Mr. de Botton, First, I want to say I admire your courage to share these ideas publicly and I do think you are a gifted orator.…
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Defending the Trinity: New Testament
Here are three examples from the New Testament: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19) Jesus ordered his disciples to baptize in the name of all three persons. 2. Now there are different gifts, but the same…
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Defending the Trinity: Old Testament
So, while it is true the term itself does not appear in the Bible, the concept does. Here are some examples in the Old Testament. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of…
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Defending the Trinity: Historical Background
By now, you may be thinking “You made some good points, but how do I really know the Trinity is true and not just something Christians made up? How can God be three and one at the same time? Do Christians believe in three gods? The ‘Trinity’ never appears in Scripture; how vital can it…
Surrendered and Free 