Philosophy

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John Piper is founder of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For over three decades he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. Piper is the author of more than 50 books, and is one of the leading proponents of Calvinism today. I have benefited greatly from Piper's ministry; in fact, if it were not for John Piper I might not be married today. I had just finished the chapter,  Risk is Right , from his book, Don't Waste Yo

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If a child turns to her parents and asks why the sun shines, the knee-jerk response might be to tell her that it shines to give us light or to help the plants grow. Hidden in this response, however, is an assumption of purpose or design. It assumes that the sun was put there for a reason, and that its light serves an intentional purpose – not that the benefits of its light are a coincidental side-effect of a natural process. A more analytical response might be that the sun s

Flyover country! That is where I live, in a small town in middle America. Kearney, Nebraska is probably most famous for The Archway over Interstate 80, the best high school track and field team of all time (Go Bearcats!), and for being the official headquarters of both The Buckle and  FreeThinking Ministries ! Over the past few years many locals have been raving about how Jon BokenKamp from Kearney is the creator and driving force behind one of the most successful television

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Free Will is a topic debated among Christians and even some non-Christians. The Christians who affirm that men have free will in the libertarian sense are typically Arminians, Molinists, and Open Theists. Christians who deny free will in the libertarian sense generally fall into the Calvinist camp. I have argued  elsewhere  that libertarian free will is the only true kind of free will. Compatibilism (the view that free will is compatible with determinism), despite what the na

I find it interesting that so often Calvinists complain that Molinism is nothing but dressed up Open Theism , while many Open Theists complain that Molinism is merely Calvinism in disguise! Obviously Open Theists adamantly disagree with Calvinists when they conflate Molinism with Open Theism, and Calvinists typically revolt against Open Theist's claims that Molinism and Calvinism are basically identical. This should cause both the Calvinist and the Open Theist to realize the

René Descartes (1596-1650) is probably best known for his Latin philosophical statement, "  This phrase is best translated into English as "I think, therefore I am."  This proposition provides a strong foundation for one to build further knowledge upon instead of resorting to extreme skepticism about everything. Descartes believed "the very act of doubting one's own existence served—at minimum—as proof of the reality of one's own mind. That is to say, there must be a thinking

A few months ago, I interviewed Dr. Sean McDowell about the recently-released AWANA Youth Ministries Advocates curriculum . Now I'm excited to have him back for another interview about an awesome apologetics project: the updated version of Evidence That Demands a Verdict . Can you tell me about the history of  Evidence That Demands a Verdict ? My father first wrote   in the early 1970s because people were asking for his notes after he spoke at universities, conference, and

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Abstract: Philosophers and theologians alike are very interested in the view called compatibilism. Recently an article written by Matt Slick of carm.org released an article on this view, but it was unfortunately replete with mistakes. This article is a direct response to his and seeks to clarify what the view is, whether it is biblical, and also whether it is philosophically consistent with Christian theism. Source: https://carm.org/what-is-compatibilism-and-is-it-biblical

Abstract: This is a critical examination of CARM.org’s article “What is Libertarian Free Will and is it Biblical?,” which purports to define libertarian free will and demonstrate that it is not biblical. I conclude that Slick’s own definition is idiosyncratic and based on faulty research. It therefore fails to accurately represent the concept as currently defended by prominent Molinists. Furthermore, Slick’s critique of Moreland and Craig’s definition is fraught with philosop

The idea that the universe might bear some marks of design has traditionally been denied in academic circles. Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins has famously  stated that : “The universe that we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.” <“god’s utility function,” scientific american, november, 1995, p. 85> And writer  Raj Bains points out that : “Right now, it

In my four decades or so on earth, I do not remember race relations being so tense as they are today. Although I was raised in a small and mostly "white" town in central Nebraska, my parents always taught me that all human beings are created equal in the image of God and that the color of one's skin does nothing to negate this fact. As I was growing up in the 80s, besides Luke Skywalker, nearly all of my heroes were African-American. From Michael Jackson (in his "Thriller" da

Link Original: http://freethinkingministries.com/the-abstract-dagger-of-platonism/ Recientemente, ha habido mucho debate entre filósofos y teólogos sobre un tema que la mayoría de la gente probablemente nunca ha prestado mucha atención: ¡Los Objetos Abstractos! El Dr. William Lane Craig está en desacuerdo con muchos de sus colegas (tales como J. P. Moreland y R. Scott Smith), con respecto a la existencia de objetos abstractos en el mundo independiente de la mente. En Philoso

Ideas have consequences! The thoughts and beliefs one possesses shapes the course of one's life. They influence -- if not determine -- our destinies. With this in mind, it is clear that the way we choose to think is vital. Our thoughts can either set us free or enslave us. The Bible is clear that the way we think is of prime importance because our thoughts can take us captive! In fact, the Bible seems to suggest that God is more concerned with our thought life and our state

Many reformed folks (freely?) choose to reject Molinism because they contend that this theological view "smells of synergism." What is this stench that reportedly makes John Calvin turn over in his grave? Simply put, synergism is the view that man plays at least a small part in his own salvation process. Monergism, on the other hand, is the view that God is the author of salvation from beginning to end. Since Molinism affirms that man is free to choose to reject God's savin

Synergism and Monergism; these are two of the foremost contested doctrines in the Theological arena today. Despite popular belief, I will demonstrate that one can affirm Molinism whilst synergistically affirming Monergism (pun intended). As per John Hendryx, Synergism is: he doctrine that there are two efficient agents in regeneration, namely the human will and the divine Spirit, which, in the strict sense of the term, cooperate. This theory accordingly holds that the soul h

A few questions in relation to the issue of God’s sovereignty and human freedom have piqued interest in numerous individuals through the ages and provided ample amount in debate material. One of these debated matters centers around whether God is a respecter of persons if he chooses to damn some while saving others. Now without question God is ultimately sovereign in that election occurs. God has sovereignly chosen to actualize this world instead of another. He has done this