Christian Living

Is it morally permissible for faithful Christians to carry firearms? Yes. But don’t take my word for it: Jesus himself instructed his disciples to arm themselves with swords for self-defense. Sell Your Cloak and Buy a Sword In Luke 22, Jesus addresses his disciples shortly before his arrest, trial, and eventual crucifixion. He reminds them of how their earthly needs were providentially met when he sent them out to do ministry work ( Luke 9:1-6 ). However, Jesus warns that he

Last year I adopted a personal motto regarding apologetics: “Let’s talk about it.” Too many young people are abandoning Christianity because they think the church isn’t listening to them. No one answers the questions they have and the church doesn’t discuss things relevant to them. My answer was for the church to become a safe space where people can doubt out loud. Whatever our young people are struggling with, we need to talk about it. But it’s more than just apologetics. O

Does God cause and determine all things all the time? Do humans possess libertarian freedom? Christians have been debating these questions for centuries.  What does the Bible teach?  Before answering that question, another question must be answered: What is meant by libertarian freedom?  A person possesses libertarian freedom if they are ever free to think or act apart from the causal deterministic forces of something or someone else. That is to say, if one is ever in control

As a man who loves Jesus, is in a heterosexual marriage, and still experiences some same-sex attraction that is lingering from my previous gay life, I spend a lot of time talking to Christian men about what life as a same-sex attracted (SSA) Christian man should look like. Much of the conversation centers on behavior. “How do I go the rest of my life without acting on these desires which seem so innate and natural?” they ask many times. It is an important conversation. Denyi

If you are like me, you see it all over your newsfeed: today is National Coming Out Day. It is a day when people are encouraged to “come out” as gay. I’ve read through posts by both secular LGBTQ friends, gay Christians friends, and celibate gay Christian friends. All of them proclaiming “freedom” by “coming out” and accepting their identity as gay. A False Dichotomy As I’ve read through these posts, I continually see people say things such as, “coming out has helped me no l

Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum This is Latin for, "If you want peace, prepare for war!" It is often used to convey the idea that one of the most effective means to ensure that one lives in peace is to always to be armed and ready to defend oneself. This statement might seem counter-intuitive at first sight, but the truth found in this proposition is that the conditions of peace are often preserved by a mere readiness to engage in war if necessary. Although Si Vis Pacem, Para Be

The latest buzz in Christendom is Hillsong Worship leader Marty Sampson announcing on social media that he was losing his faith . Now, I typically don’t comment on things like this. People like Michael Brown and Skillet’s John Cooper have done a great job addressing the issue. However, there was something about his post that really bothered me. It wasn’t the actual objections against Christianity. They’re nothing new. It was that after every objection he raised, he said: “N

Question: Dear Tim, How do you lovingly tell your unsaved friends about their sin (especially their sinful sexual behavior)? Is it better just to spread Christ’s love, and hope they come to desire it as well? What if our friends don’t believe in God? - From a concerned teenager Tim's Response: This is basically a “Truth & Love” question. Christians are commanded to have both. Now truth and love (contrary to popular opinion) are not mutually exclusive concepts, so it is not

Note: This Facebook Comment/Blog article represents a significant shift in my journey toward being a more consistent Christian. Recently, I was asked to speak at Reconcile Church in Bloomington, Illinois on the topic, “The Image of God and the Black Experience.” In preparing for this presentation I encountered a number of quotations from great abolitionists and Civil Rights Movement leaders like Frederick Douglass, Henry Highland Garnett, JW Loquen, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

I invite you for just a moment to step with me into one of the great iconic movie scenes ever: “The Battle of Thermopylae.” I’m specifically talking about the fight scene in the movie “300” in which a handful of Spartans defend a small piece of territory for three days against the formidable Persian army. This scene is when the great King Leonidas inspires his men for the inevitable battle to the death they will soon engage. “This is where we hold! This is where we fight!” K

Whenever there is disagreement on an important topic, one often played strategy is to claim the moral high ground. Morality is like the trump card of debates and so every side is eager to show why their position is more moral than the other’s. Whether it is in philosophy, politics, or even whose turn it is to go next on the playground, morality plays a big part in the decisions we make. A common response to a moral argument, instead of addressing the moral grounds of a given

Every year I resolve to have the best Christmas ever, and every year I’m disappointed. It’s my own fault, though, because I set my expectations so high. I just love the season so much - the lights, the music, everything. I can’t ever get enough. So I think that more of everything  is going to make this Christmas the best one ever. And I’m not the only one. It’s truly the season of More . Kids want to receive more toys than last year. Businesses want to make more money. Peopl

We expect people in positions of authority to have training and experience in their respective fields. For example, I want my pilot to have  knowledge  of the helicopter in which I am a passenger, just as I want my surgeon to be proficient, and to  know  what he/she is doing before I go “under the knife!” Guessing, flipping a coin, or relying on luck just doesn’t cut it. We expect people to have knowledge. This seems to be the expectation of all who are labeled as experts or

When my son William was three years old, he had a bedtime ritual. My wife and I tucked him in, we said our prayers, and then I had to lay next to him, holding his hand until he fell asleep. It was sweet and I loved that my boy enjoyed my company, but some nights it would take up to an hour until he was finally asleep. So occasionally I would try to talk him into letting me go: Me: “Can daddy go now? I’ve been here a while and I have work to do.” William: “But then I’ll be a

Hi! I’m Tia and I thought I would do a mini-series of blogs of what it’s like to be the wife of a Christian Apologist. But, why be so impersonal?! I would like to specifically tell you what it's like being the wife of “The FreeThinking Theist” — aka, the "Libertarian Freedom Fighter" —  Tim Stratton! “Tim? Tim Stratton?! You’re Tim Stratton’s wife!?!” If I’ve heard it once I’ve heard it a million times. Before Tim was known as an apologist he was locally famous for being th

Does Harley Quinn really love the Joker? As many of you know, I love comic books and although I do not purchase them any longer (at least on a regular basis), I still try to keep up with many of the story lines and hit most of the movies in which my favorite childhood heroes are portrayed. I have always loved Batman. One thing is for certain: Batman would not be nearly as cool if it were not for the crazy criminals that he fights to keep Gotham City safe. Of all the villains

One of the best professors I have ever had is Dr. Michael R. Licona. The two of us have become good friends since my time in his classroom and he continues to sharpen my thinking today. Recently I shared his written debate with skeptical scholar Bart Ehrman on social media. The debate was regarding the reliability of the Gospels ( I recommend reading it ). This discussion led to another debate regarding Biblical inerrancy with a Christian. The Body of Christ can learn much f

"Pain," or "evil" is a tough part of life, but the reason no prominent philosopher defends the logical "problem of pain" any more (ie: that pain proves God doesn't exist) is that we can't prove that God couldn't have purposes for it . Chaos Theory shows how incredibly subtle things can have dramatic and far-reaching ripple effects, and pain in one place could be part of an immense good elsewhere. This article presumes belief in the God of the Bible . Without a doubt, one of

As a theologian with a bent for philosophy and apologetics, I do not merely possess theological views, but rather, I strive for systematic theology. That means that my Christian worldview is not only logically coherent on its own, but I also endeavor to make logical sense of all the relevant data in all fields -- from what the Bible says, to what science says, to what the historical evidence says, and so forth. In fact, Christianity is the only worldview that makes sense of a

It has been said that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Consider the following: How much does the color purple weigh? Can God create something that is not contingent upon Him? Is the fourth corner of the triangle an obtuse, acute, or right angle? Where do the vast majority of married bachelors live? These are examples of incoherent questions . . . stupid questions do exist! If one asks questions like these, those who are empowered by reason know that the questione