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Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Greater Good Principle
Read more: Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Greater Good PrincipleConcluding the free will theodicy, I will delicately move to the greater good principle or defense. I say “delicately” because this defense may not help a questioner much if they have been a victim of a seemingly very unwarranted evil, and/or if they are still carrying anger or bitterness. The principle supports certain evils…
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Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Free Will Defense
Read more: Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Free Will DefenseMy last post hinted at the one last, ethical, principle of Leibniz’s best-of-all-possible-worlds theodicy: God’s creation includes human free will (capacity of free will is shown in biblical examples like Deuteronomy 30:11-19, Isaiah 30:1 and Joshua 24:14-15). For Leibniz, this idea was just a principle of his theodicy. For Augustine, CS Lewis, and Alvin Plantinga…
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Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Best of All Possible Worlds
Read more: Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: The Best of All Possible WorldsFrom the last post, I want to move to the best of all possible worlds theodicy. One of the strengths of this theodicy is how straightforward and precise it is. It is also traditionally recognized as one of 18th-century philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s highly essential contributions to philosophy of religion. The place to start is…
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Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: Evil is a Privation
Read more: Taking a Deeper Look at the Problem of Evil: Evil is a PrivationThe “problem of evil” is famous. If you believe in a God who is all-powerful and sovereign over the world and together is impeccably good and just, then the presence of evil and suffering creates a problem. This timeless report of it was provided by David Hume, in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. “Epicurus’s old…
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Salvation and Why it Matters
Read more: Salvation and Why it MattersBRIEF STATEMENT ON SALVATION I believe that, due to worldwide sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God lest they be born again; and that no grade of improvement however countless, no accomplishments in goodness however great, no ethos however admirable, no ordinance of any kind, can bring the sinner one inch closer to…
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Learn to EASILY demolish BAD arguments for abortion.
Read more: Learn to EASILY demolish BAD arguments for abortion.A lot of us think we cannot be pro-life apologists unless we memorize every possible answer to every possible objection. Nothing could be further from the truth! Abortion advocates often attempt to silence the opposition by using “bad ways” to argue instead of doing the hard work of defending their position. In fact, if you…
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Defending Theism: A Response to Hume, Russell, and Dawkins
Read more: Defending Theism: A Response to Hume, Russell, and DawkinsIn this post, I look at anti-God arguments from three prominent philosophers, showing why belief in God is more reasonable than their objections to His existence. Theism, broadly defined, is the belief in the existence of a supreme being or other deities. Believers in Jesus Christ would say we follow Christian Theism, believing in and…
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Is transgenderism appropriate for a Christian?
Read more: Is transgenderism appropriate for a Christian?In respect of the growingly popular issues of transgenderism (just think of NCAA women’s swimming), what I subscribe to and will defend is the integrity and acceptance of God’s creation and intention of only two sexes, which decide gender identity. The competing good is a complex package of “sympathetic recognition of their lived reality, full…
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Stranger Than Fiction
Read more: Stranger Than FictionI recently watched the movie Stranger Than Fiction. I thought it would be profitable to practice apologetic engagement using this form of popular culture, and an ideal opportunity to explore some apologetic themes found in the movie. Most literature has echoes of the biblical storyline since it’s the foundation of understanding life in this world. As…
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Celibate Gay Christian?
Read more: Celibate Gay Christian?In the episode titled “Celibate Gay Christian Bridget Eileen Rivera” of the You Have Permission podcast, the host, Dan Koch, is joined by Bridget Eileen Rivera, a sociologist completing her Ph.D. at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Thirty-one-year-old Rivera has come to be a prominent influencer on gay celibacy in the church,…
Surrendered and Free
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Surrendered and Free 