Apologetics

Challenge For those who like the moral argument, here are my five challenges (framed as questions) for you. 1. Why think that moral realism is true? 2. Why think that moral facts/obligations need an explanation? 3. Why think that God would be able to explain the existence of moral facts/obligations? 4. What about non-theistic accounts of morality? 5. Can you show that theism surpasses all non-theistic accounts of morality as an explanation for morality? I expect that yo

The following is a recent conversation I had with a Calvinist. I enjoyed it because it was not emotionally charged even though he was asking questions in an effort to refute my arguments against Calvinistic determinism. His questions were thoughtful and allowed for clarification from which all can benefit. Please enjoy the following exchange (for clarity, the Calvinist's words are in blue. My words are in black): Calvinist : Dr. Stratton, you have said this many times, but h

Is slavery good? Absolutely not! The first book of the Bible makes it clear that being sold into slavery against one's will is the epitome of evil. Scripture also shows how this specific evil (as well as all evil, suffering, and affliction) will ultimately be used by God for good. In Genesis, chapters 37 through 50 , the Bible recounts the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. Joseph was a favored son among his brothers and faced betrayal when they sold him into slavery o

One of my favorite arguments for the existence of God is known as the Moral Argument (made famous by William Lane Craig). I believe that it is sound and forceful. The deductive syllogism is typically stated as follows: If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. Objective moral values and duties do exist. Therefore, God exists. Click here to watch a short video of how William Lane Craig defends the premises of this argument. Click here to wat

Scott Clifton is a Hollywood actor who has gained fame as a soap opera star ( One Life to Live, General Hospital, and The Bold and the Beautiful ). He has also gained the respect of both sides of the aisle in the "God vs. atheism" debate. Clifton is an ardent, but philosophically inclined atheist who goes by the moniker "Theoretical BS" (TBS). He recently tweeted out an argument against Christianity that left the Church scrambling. Indeed, many Christians did not know how to

The Four Horsemen of atheism stormed the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual scene in the early 21 st Century. Their dogmatic atheistic positions (or even anti-theist depending on who you talked to) were immediately popularized. The late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris comprised the crew. They rode their vitriol for religious thought smack into the mainstream, seeking, for what felt like the first time, to proselytize religious folk

If God is so good, why did he command the Israelites to utterly destroy everyone and everything in the Old Testament? Is God a moral monster? Particularly in the conquest of the land of Canaan? God calls for the complete and utter destruction of men, women, and children (as well as animals) multiple times . How could a moral God do this? Is that not genocidal malevolence? Would we not condemn a national leader today if they said “God told me to do murder thousands of c

It is Holy Week. Shouts of Hosanna and praise on Sunday transformed to screams of anguish and hate on Friday and culminated in gasps of unbelievable joy the next Sunday morning. In many ways, the sudden transition from praise to condemnation is still unfathomable today. That is, until we realize that the people praising Jesus on Palm Sunday thought that he was someone, or something, that he was not. This stunning reversal plays itself out time and time again on the world s

Apologetics, when done with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15), is beneficial in evangelism as we see the Holy Spirit use it time and time again in the Scriptures through Paul’s “reasoning” and “persuading” to draw souls to the Lord. However, in this article, I will show how apologetics in the local church has other benefits: equipping the saints and preventing apostasy. Of course our entire Christian walk should be dedicated toward evangelism; that is a given. But, not

“Those who think they know the Gospel best are frequently the most surprised by its true shape, content, boundaries, and purposes.” -Matthew Bates, The Gospel Precisely The purpose of apologetics as an outward defense of the Christian faith must be intimately tied to the Christian call to make disciples. This means that a proper apologetic must have as its foundation that same firm ground that Scripture gives for evangelism and discipleship. This firm ground, known to us as

Question Dear Dr. Stratton, I hang out in atheist debate groups. These are among the top reasons why many Christians have "deconstructed" and are Christians no longer. 1. The Theory of Evolution 2. Santa Claus 3. Prejudice against homosexuality I don't think the church gives good answers on any of them. 1 and 3 were listed among the reasons why Rhett and Link "deconstructed." I honestly don't know why we perpetuate the Santa myth. How would you address these "Top 3" reasons f

The majority of my time seems to be spent arguing against deterministic world views and for the proposition that humans possess libertarian freedom. I then seek to demonstrate how human freedom in a libertarian sense is evidence pointing to the existence of God. In fact, I contend that the biblical view of God is the best explanation of this seemingly supernatural phenomena! Often, however, after I have made a case concluding, "Therefore, humans possess libertarian freedom,"

Each year my hometown does a big fundraiser for the non-profits based in the area. This year the Give Where You Live fundraising event will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2021, from midnight to midnight. We have a $10,000+ matching opportunity, so, for every dollar a person uses to support FTM, it magically becomes two dollars. If one person gives $10,000, it magically becomes $20,000! FreeThinking Ministries is devoted to equipping the Church to engage the culture. We als

Question Hey Dr. Stratton, I love your site and content. I am planning on reading your book soon. In the meantime I need your perspective on something. I love the MMA syllogism and the articles you’ve written on the subject of Molinism making the most sense of all the biblical data . But as someone who doesn’t hold to "once saved always saved" (due to my study of scripture), how can I reconcile the notion of "mere Molinism" with the warnings scripture gives of believers fall

In 2012 I was sitting next to Timothy Fox listening to Dr. R. Scott Smith teach about the philosophy of intentionality at Biola University. Smith was explaining that intentional states of consciousness entailed an awareness OF and ABOUT things. With "of-ness: and "about-ness" in mind, I started thinking of the laws of logic and about competing hypotheses. It soon occurred to me that if one cannot think of and about competing hypotheses, then it would be impossible for one

"My conclusions were both more sanguine and restricted than I had anticipated. I was surprised by the actual strength of the resurrection hypothesis." Over my short years of reading large texts on different subjects and in different genres, I’ve started to notice somewhat of a pattern or correlation: authors and scholars with humility tend to produce not only good books, but long books as well. The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (RoJ) by Dr. Michael

As Christians we are called to share the Gospel with all people ( Matthew 28:16-20 ). Indeed, the Gospel is literally the "good news" -- the best news -- a person could ever hear. With this in mind, it is vital for all Christians to grasp exactly what the Gospel message is and also know how to articulate why this is good news. Sadly, I have found that a large percentage of self-professed Christians cannot clearly articulate this good news. Indeed, often times when I ask a ch

“Why would a loving God condemn people to Hell?” How many times have you or someone you know asked this question? It seems like an obvious question. We know what love is and we know what love is not (at least that is what we tell ourselves), and condemning a group of people to eternal punishment seems not only punitive, but unjustly so. In over a decade of youth ministry, this question, above all else, is at the forefront of every Q&A session I ever held. Kids are desper

Michael Huemer has established himself as one of today's leading philosophers on a variety of topics ranging from ethics, to political philosophy, to logical paradoxes, to epistemology. Skepticism and the Veil of Perception (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2001) is concerned with this last topic. Huemer is concerned with rebutting skepticism in general and skepticism about the external world in particular. His solution is a version of direct realist foundationalism. The bo

Question Dr. Tim, You recently shared a Facebook post high-lightning the Apostle Paul's words in 1st Corinthians 10:15. It reads: "I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say." You then added the following: "Be a FreeThinker. Don’t let something or someone else causally determine your judgments!" Do you really want to trust your own judgements and not let God cause and determine all of your judgements? Being led by the Spirit means letting God lead your min