Theology

Many atheists exclaim that the existence of natural evil leading to suffering (gratuitous or otherwise) is proof that God does not exist. Is this a logically valid objection? Here's something to think about: (1) Evil is privation of good (metaphysical evil) (2) Absence of good is evil; to a degree that something is not perfect, to that same degree it is evil (3) Anything that is created must be less than Creator (4) Therefore it must suffer from some metaphysical evil—being

Can Faith Ever Be Knowledge? This is the title and central question to the first chapter of  Knowing Christ Today,  by Dallas Willard. The questions addressed in this précis will include the following: are Christians more than just “people of faith,” but are we also “people of knowledge?” What is the distinction, and does it even matter? I remember a popular line of commercials on T.V. a few years ago which made a humorous, yet profound point: we expect people to know what

Unbelievers rip its verses out of textual and historical context. Christians use expired laws as bludgeons and others’ promises as life-verses. Just admit it: You don’t understand the Old Testament. And that’s okay. The OT writings are thousands of years old. They consist of various literary genres like history, poetry, and prophecy. And what about all of those weird laws? Why do Christians like to cite restrictions against homosexuality but ignore the ones against eating sh

In my last article , I examined the problem of evil, asking if it would be possible for God to create a world without evil while allowing us to have free will. (Spoiler alert: No.) This week I want to look at pain and suffering through the lens of . It's easy to kick back and ask why God allows evil, but I'm more concerned with finding a cohesive worldview where the existence of evil makes most sense. (And if the concept of worldview is completely foreign to you, check out th

Where is God? If He exists, why is He so hard to find? This is known as the hiddenness of God. Believers and nonbelievers alike seek signs from God, either for guidance in their lives or for evidence of His existence. Why does He hide Himself from us? I see you! Imagine Jesus was knowingly, physically there everywhere you went. Admit it: you’d find it creepy and kind of annoying. Like when you hit your teenage years and you didn’t want anyone knowing you had parents. You wan

When you study to be an educator, you have to spend a certain number of hours as a student teacher, under the guidance of a veteran teacher. I remember my cooperating teacher telling me one of my strengths was that I took criticism well and was very open to it. I was shocked to hear this! I wanted to tell him he was crazy and that I hate criticism! But I was also well aware that he was the master and I was the apprentice and that it was his responsibility to help me to be the

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,

As a recovering pastor’s kid, I’ve seen and heard all the Christian church has to offer, both good and bad. I’ve been cynical and I’ve been jaded. But I’ve outgrown all of that. Now I just want to help make the church a better place (and the world too, while I’m at it). So I’ll start by examining a phrase that has been used and abused for as long as I can remember: God’s will. Let’s face it: Christians can get with discovering God's will. But what exactly is meant by that

The Omni Argument Against Calvinism has had several objections lodged against it over the past few weeks, but so far, none of these objections have had any “teeth in their bite” (so-to-speak). One complaint that I found particularly interesting was against the second premise of my argument. Here is the argument in its entirety: 1. If 5-point Calvinism is true, then for any person x, if God desires to, has the power to, and knows how to cause x to go to Heaven and not suffer

Hopefully the subtitle caught your attention. Now, if you are of the reformed persuasion, please give me a chance to explain what I mean before it exponentially raises your ire. I initially began studying theology and apologetics because I noticed many young people being drawn towards atheism. This included students who were raised in the church and now were having severe doubts regarding Christianity. Some rejected it altogether and became militant atheists, while many more,

In my last article I offered an argument called, “ The Omni Argument Against Calvinism .” I mentioned that I was a committed Calvinist for many years and eventually, after scrutinizing the Scriptures along with the laws of logic, I concluded that “5-Point Calvinism” was false for several reasons. It was hard for me to let go of something that I embraced so tightly; however, I finally came to the realization that I was more committed to Christ than I was to Calvin! Hence, I

One of the greatest debates behind the doors of the church today regards God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Typically, this debate is divided into two camps: Calvinism vs. Arminianism. Calvinists are quick to defend the providence of God; however, in the process, their case eradicates human freedom and genuine responsibility. Arminians are usually quick to defend human responsibility for sin as this makes sense of hell and prevents God from ultimately being charged w

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

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

I believe Romans 9 is one of the most misinterpreted and improperly understood passages in the entire Bible. It is due to this misinterpretation that many Christians jump to the conclusion that humans do not possess libertarian free will. However, when compared to the rest of Paul's writings (even in the rest of Romans) the Calvinistic/deterministic interpretation of this passage cannot be correct (this is an example of bad hermeneutics)! Let me explain: It is quite possible

Recently, I have been having some good conversations with many in the gay rights movement. My friends in the LGBTQ community and their advocates often attempt to argue that homosexuality and biblical Christianity are perfectly compatible. This tactic should not be employed as it ultimately fails for several reasons referencing the New Testament alone. First, Jesus made many commands, and in Matthew 19:18 He said, “You shall not commit adultery.” Occasionally a gay rights adv

One thing I can’t be accused of is being unwilling to change my mind if provided good reason to do so. I have changed my mind on many theological issues over the past few years but one of these views in particular has caused much controversy as of late. For a couple of decades, I sincerely believed that the earth and universe were only a few thousand years old. When teachers or television shows stated that a fossil was millions of years old, or that a star was millions of lig

“I only need the Bible, not man's philosophy!”, “We don't need to use philosophy since we have the Holy Spirit!”, “My beliefs are exegetically driven, yours are philosophical!” Many statements like the ones just mentioned sound reverential and benign to the religious ear, but these statements need to be refined. Often when one presses these types of statements for technical precision one will find in them an attitude of anti-intellectualism. More precisely one will often find