Apologetics

Do humans survive the death of their bodies? As a pastor, I have officiated several funerals over the past few years and I have attended many recently. This topic is always sure to come up while talking to the surviving relatives. Questions such as these are regularly asked: Will we see our loved one again? Although the body of our loved one has died, does their soul continue to exist? The vast majority of humanity has believed in the soul throughout the centuries; however,

"If God is all-powerful He cannot be good, if God is good He cannot be all-powerful!" - Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Why does Lex think such a thing? He reaches this conclusion based on all the evil and suffering in the world (especially the suffering he experienced as a child). Lex is not alone. In fact, this "reasoning" is offered today as the greatest objection against the existence of a Maximally Great Being (God). Lex and many atheists reach their c

Here is a question I received regarding The Freethinking Argument in my article entitled,  "Freethinking Atheists are Oxymorons" : In your argument, you make the case that “If the soul does not exist, libertarian free will does not exist.” Underneath that argument, you do not mention the word “soul” again. You go on to argue that rationality and free will exist, and conclude “therefore the human sole exists”. Nowhere do you argue how or why a soul allows for rationality or f

One of the greatest debates behind church doors is regarding the first book of the Bible. Christians are split regarding what the author’s original intent of the first three chapters of Genesis really was. Are these “creation days” supposed to be taken literally? In the book, “ ,” three teams of theologians committed to the inerrancy of Scripture debate what the author of Genesis was really trying to communicate. In this article, I will not be taking a position, but rather,

Nothing is more exciting than examining the historical evidence of the resurrection of Jesus . Most people are shocked to realize that by employing the historical method, one can conclude that Jesus not only died on a Roman cross but was raised from the dead as well. This is compelling evidence not only that God exists, but also that Christianity is true! However, with that said, we cannot discuss the resurrection without first discussing the crucifixion. After all, Jesus ca

So, you want to create your own religion, eh? Well, good for you; you’ve come to the right place. I’ll give you a checklist of things to be sure to avoid so that you will get started on the right foot. Be prepared to have the masses follow you as you gain wealth untold! Practically speaking, what are the sorts of things one ought to avoid when fashioning a new religion? Just follow these general guidelines and all should be well: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Never, ever, ev

https://youtu.be/vnoGjuE56c4

I have the best wife in the world! Tia Stratton is smart, she loves Jesus, she goes out of her way to bless me, she has a great sense of humor, and she is so SMOKIN' HOT it is not even funny!!! Seriously, she is way out of my league, but for some reason, she freely chooses to love me. However, things between my wife and I have not always been this bed of roses -- because I previously wanted TULIPs! Let me set the stage: my wife and I used to fight about a certain subject all

"Why is it incorrect to think that morality evolved out of the necessity to survive?" - Graden Hi Graden, It is logically possible that our sense of morality evolved to allow humanity to survive. If this is true, and God does not exist, then it is to affirm that there is nothing objectively wrong with rape, holocausts, or terrorism. It is simply saying that since God does not exist, our feelings of objective morality are false and simply due to survival and not truth. Th

What is truth? People have been asking this question for centuries. In fact, Pilate asked Jesus this very question over two thousand years ago (John 18:38). The answer to this intriguing question is quite simple: statements that are true correspond to reality. This raises another question: what is reality? The answer to this question is uncomplicated as well: reality is the way things are. I am committed to truth. In fact, I have said that I am more committed to truth than I

Dr. William Lane Craig, in my humble opinion, is the smartest man on the face of the earth! He is the finest of logicians, his philosophy of science is unmatched, and there is no better systematic theologian. On top of that, I recently attended his lecture at the EPS conference in Atlanta where he systematically  refuted Stephen Hawking’s cosmological model (let that sink in for a while). Dr. Craig is so scary smart that the popular atheist, Sam Harris, states that Craig put

Two of my earliest memories in life still have great significance to this day. First, in the spring of 1977 my life was transformed as I prayed and asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life. Second, just a few weeks later, I saw Star Wars in the theater. Right around the same time little “Timmy," who was almost  four years old, was in awe of both Jesus Christ and Luke Skywalker! My parents were so cool (and they still are)! I always felt like I could trust them and that they wo

I met Tim Stratton almost fifteen years ago, but have recently become friends with him when I developed an interest in philosophy. I attended the first semester of Reasonable Faith UNK and I have always been interested in science, mostly social science academically and philosophy recreationally. I believe my initial draw to Christian Apologetics came from the fact that these people at Reasonable Faith were the few I knew who were willing to engage in deep discussion and debat

EDIT (1-9-24): When one Googles "The Free-Thinking Argument," this blog article is often at the top of the list. While the big ideas behind this blog are true, the Free-Thinking Argument has evolved and been defended with more philosophical precision in recent years. After reading this article, please see the peer-reviewed academic journal article I co-authored with J.P. Moreland called An Explanation and Defense of the free-Thinking Argument (2022), and also my debate with

It's the zombie argument. The objection that won't stay down: the . Skeptics just can't accept the fact that Euthyphro has been dead for centuries and keep dragging him out of his grave. In case you don't know who Euthyphro is, let me introduce you to him. Euthyphro is a character from one of Plato’s writings who has a discussion with Socrates about the gods and piety. His dilemma has been repurposed as an argument against the goodness of God and can be stated as follows: Is

It never ceases to amaze me how many internet atheists go to extreme, ignorant, and incoherent lengths to hold on to their faith in atheism. This is astonishing given all the evidence pointing out their worldview is probably false. Contrary to what you may read from atheists on social media today, we are living in a time when atheism is actually in retreat in academia. The atheistic philosopher, Quentin Smith, of the University of Western Michigan laments "the desecularizat

I love to spend my time thinking about time. That might sound rather odd to most people; however, I have come to the conclusion that if we understand time correctly, then the rest of reality starts to fall into place. My interest in time theory began to exist when I began examining the beginning of the space-time universe. William Lane Craig's Kalam Cosmological Argument captivated me and I have been studying it for several years. This argument is about beginnings and th

Keith Thompson made a video taking Dr. William Lane Craig out of context. Sam Shamoun took the liberty of posting this video  to Dr. Craig's wall in an attempt to discredit him as an evangelical Christian apologist. In response to Thompson’s video (that Shamoun shared on Dr. Craig’s Facebook page), I said the following: “We must be careful when using words like "certain." After all, I can prove to you that you are not even 100% *certain* of your own name or of the existence o

Am I responsible for my beliefs or does something else impose them upon me? What do you believe? How do you know those beliefs you hold are any good (let alone true)? Many philosophers, scientists, and theologians today reject the idea that humans can ever make genuine choices. I freely think they are wrong as it sure seems as if we possess free will and can make real choices (at least occasionally). Moreover, as I have demonstrated in my Freethinking Argument Against Natura

Does God exist? Is Christianity true? Is the Bible reliable? These are three of the most important questions a person could ever ask. Even if a skeptic starts with the assumption that the Bible is not reliable, they would probably agree with the Apostle Paul that if Christ has not been raised, then our faith is meaningless (1 Cor 15:14; 17). Basically, what Paul is stating is that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then we are a bunch of idiots who should be pitied! And h