Theology

The nature of truth was my topic at a recently held apologetics conference in Phoenix, Arizona. A friend of mine presented how Christians could have loving and respectful conversations with those in the LGBT community, while exemplifying grace without compromising truth . Each night ended with all the speakers (four of us total) sharing the stage for open Q&A. The following two-part question was posed on the second night of the conference: 1) Do you believe in demonic posse

https://youtu.be/WBmgcczg-fk

The Freethinking Argument was first crafted at Biola University in Scott Smith's philosophy classroom. I had been playing around with the idea for some time, but it was Dr. Smith's teachings that provided the catalyst to complete the argument. < 1> 1>  The Freethinking Argument (FTA) has received much attention ever since -- especially since freethinkingministries.com was launched not long ago. Since that time I have spent countless hours defending the FTA both online and

Question I really enjoyed the guest article on the Kalam  by Ronald Cram. I thought Dr. Craig's debate with Carroll was a little troubling as some technical literature on cosmology was offered that I didn't think Craig responded to as well as he could have. Cram's article really helped to clarify some difficulties. I have one more question about the application of the BGV theorem, as it only applies to classical space-time. Is it a potential problem for the argument ? -- Raj

The Worst Objections are The Best If you’ve spent a decent amount of time looking at the whole Atheism/Theism debate, you may have noticed something odd. The most influential teachers for the majority of online Christian apologists, often hold PhD’s in philosophy of religion, theology, or something else directly related to religion and/or critical thinking about God and religion. On the other hand, the most influential teachers for majority of the online Atheists, are often b

As an aspiring theologian I desire knowledge of God's nature. I also aspire to gain a proper understanding of foundational Christian teachings on the nature of God. Given this goal, a great deal of my apologetics and philosophical journey has been researching the attributes of God. Not only do I strive to attain justified true beliefs regarding God's character, but I want to grasp His relationship with His creation and His actions in creation. A couple of years ago, I was re

William Lane Craig is famous for resurrecting and defending the Kalam Cosmological Argument (KCA). The argument appeals to both philosophical and scientific evidence for the beginning of the universe. If the Kalam is sound, it seems to prove the existence of God. The question is raised: Is the argument sound given our modern, scientific understanding of cosmology? In this essay I will review and examine the premises of the Kalam to see if we have good reason to affirm them a

Tim Stratton's two recent articles entitled, Confusing Bible Verses, Free Will, & Determinism ( Part 1 , and Part 2 ) have sparked much discussion among the theologically inclined on social media over the past couple of weeks. Here is a conversation I had providing further illumination: Calvinist : What about John 6:44 that specifically says that no one can come unless God the father draws him. That word in draw in Greek being helkysō meaning to drag, the original text isn

Question: Tim, I can't say I admire your exegesis in your article Confusing Bible Verses, Free Will, & Determinism (Part 1) , explaining the biblical texts. Within the context of John 6:44 it's clear the key is not the word "can" but the statement as a whole that those who come to Jesus (believe in him) are able only to do so because the father draws them. That is that the Father has freed them to do so. Freed them from what? the bondage of their will in sin and unbelief. Al

Over the past few years my life has been completely transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2)! There have been many academics who have sharpened me along the way, but if push comes to shove and I were asked to provide the "Mount Rushmore" list of people who have influenced me the most when it comes to the branch of theology known as apologetics, I would offer these four names: William Lane Craig, Alvin Plantinga, JP Moreland, and Mike Licona. William Lane Craig Dr.

Question: Hey Tim, after reading pretty much everything on your website, it has reaffirmed my belief in free will. Although there are a few Bible verses that are troubling me... this may just be bad interpretation, but if you could explain how these play into the free will mindset, that would be great: John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day” and Ephesians 1:4-5: “Just as He chose us in Him before the

Like clockwork, whenever I offer logic-based arguments or syllogisms that deductively conclude a certain worldview is false ( like this one ), those who presuppose otherwise come out of the woodwork to express their disdain. It never ceases to amaze me how some are so blindly committed to a certain view that they reject opposing conclusions based on the bedrock of all reason -- LOGIC -- demonstrating their view is false. They inadvertently affirm that they are holding illogic

Welcome to the fourth - and LONG overdue - edition of my series . This is where I deconstruct some of the sillier slogans that some atheists use as conversation-stoppers with theists. (And if you haven’t checked out the first three yet, you can catch up here: part 1 , part 2 , part 3 .) This article will focus on statements atheists make about atheism. Bad “argument” #6: Atheism is a lack of belief in God. Nowadays it’s cool to redefine words that have had longtime, common

God is Omnibenevolent! Simply put, God is perfectly good and all-loving. Not only does the Bible make this clear (Psalm 100:5; Psalm 145:17; John 3:16), but logicians have also deductively concluded this apart from the Bible through the Moral Argument and the Ontological Argument . Now, if God were simply omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing), but not perfectly good and all-loving, then we would have reason to be frightened. In fact, this is how Muslims vie

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

As a philosophically inclined theologian, I strive to deal with "big questions" in life, and many of the "smaller" questions as well. Occasionally, one of these questions keeps me up at night until I find a good answer. One of these sleep steelers is: "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?" People have been asking this question for over a century and no clear answers have been offered. The question is raised: is there a correct answer with a