Apologetics

Recently, there has been much debate amongst philosophers and theologians regarding an issue that most people have probably never paid much attention to: Abstract Objects!<1> William Lane Craig is at odds with many of his colleagues (such as J.P. Moreland and R. Scott Smith), regarding the existence of abstract objects in the mind-independent world. In Philosophia Christi (13:2) he denies the existence of abstract objects, which is often referred to as “Platonism.” Since

The well-known evangelical pastor, Rob Bell, has recently thrust his view of hell into the limelight with his bestseller, “Love Wins.” This view of hell is called “Universalism,” because it is the view that there is universal salvation. That is to say, the advocate of universalism rejects the premise of eternal hell. This typically results in debate regarding the meaning of certain Bible verses leading to a hermeneutical standoff. When this occurs; we can break this stalem

I recall an online conversation I had with a skeptic about spiritual things. To gain some clarification, I asked if he was an atheist or agnostic. His response? "I'm free!" Now, although this in no way answers the question, it does illustrate what people think about religion. It’s some form of mental slavery that you must liberate yourself from. Then you can be free to live your life however you wish. And freedom is a very important thing! But whenever we talk about freedom,

J.P. Moreland, in his book, Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity,  claims that physicalism (often referred to as “naturalism”) is self-refuting for many reasons, but mainly because physicalism seems to deny the possibility of rationality. In making his rational case for rationality, he demonstrates that at least five factors must be established if authentic rational agents are to exist, and can reflect accurately upon reality. I will focus on his final point. H

Why are you a Christian? As a full-time church youth pastor and a part-time adjunct professor at a Christian college, I like to ask this question to all of my students. In fact, I ask this question quite often to many active churchgoers these days. The answer I typically receive in response to my simple question is nothing but a blank stare. After a little coaxing, sometimes I get answers like, “because my parents were Christians,” or, “’cause I was born in ‘Merica!” With tha

The British actor, Stephen Fry, has recently narrated a short animated video in which he advocates the atheistic view of humanism. In my experience, humanism seems to mean different things to different people. According to a quick Google search, humanism is typically defined as: “An outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize

I find it remarkable how so many atheists are jumping all over this, "Jesus was married with children," bandwagon. This jump seems to be a blatant inconsistency, however, as many skeptics and even “Jesus mythers” are now affirming this so-called “lost gospel" reporting that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/11/10/the-book-that-claims-jesus-had-a-wife-and-kids-and-the-controversial-author-behind-it/ Nick Peters charact

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God is called, “The Moral Argument.” This case has two premises that lead to a powerful and logically “airtight” deductive conclusion. The first premise of the argument states: 1- IF GOD DOES NOT EXIST, OBJECTIVE MORAL VALUES AND DUTIES DO NOT EXIST. The word “objective” means something that is true apart from human opinion. In contrast, the word “subjective” means something that is true dependent upon a person’s opinion. So

I have recently become aware of a video on the internet that is making its way around the campus of the local university. Several college students told me that after viewing the video, it really made them question their faith. Now, this might surprise you, but I am all for questioning one’s faith (I encourage atheists to do the same), but if one is to question what they believe, it should be for good and logical reasons! In my experience, it is usually Christians who present

In a recent letter to the editor in the local newspaper, an author complained that the “big bang hypothesis” was being taught in public schools. He said that we need a better hypothesis. His answer: teach "Creationism!” What this Christian doesn’t understand is the big bang model is actually evidence for creationism. The eminent cosmologist, Alexander Vilenkin, made it clear: “With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eter