Sep 21, 2019 | Explanatory Power
In my last post I wrote about the concept of Explanatory Power, specifically in the context of life’s meaning, or not. The concept of what most powerfully, compellingly, explains the reality we experience extends to the heavens and the skies. You may be familiar with the words in the title that come from the first verse of Psalm 119. I put an exclamation point at the end because I came across an article of pictures taken of the heavens that are simply mind blowing in their beauty. The title of the piece shows that it took two creators to reveal this specific beauty: “35 ‘Astronomy Photographer Of The Year 2019’ Finalists That Took Massive Amounts Of Planning And Precision.” Here’s one:
Most people exposed to such stunning beauty are left dumbfounded, and deep down inside know there has to be an artist responsible for such artistry. Other people think it’s all just a cosmic accident. We learn why in the first chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: (more…)
Sep 19, 2019 | Explanatory Power
The great English playwright William Shakespeare expressed his inner Richard Dawkins, born almost 400 years later, when he wrote these almost immortal words coming from the mouth of murderous King MacBeth:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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Sep 14, 2019 | Truth
I’ve taught my kids all their lives that truth isn’t personal. In other words, what is true has nothing to do with me! Whether something is true or not is not determined by what I think about it. Of course we live in a postmodern relativistic (secular) age where people actually believe something can be true for them, and at the same time not true for somebody else. I know, I am tempted to laugh too, but I’ve encountered people who sincerely believe this, and get mad when you challenge their lack of logic. They take it . . . . personally. The beauty of historic, orthodox Christianity is that it rests on events that either happened or didn’t, the evidence for which we either trust or we don’t. Critical scholars and skeptics of every sort have been trying very hard to discredit the Bible for several hundred years(!), and yet it stands stronger and more credible than ever. But if compelling evidence at some point does arise that the Bible is, as it’s critics insist, myths and fairy tales, so be it. I couldn’t get mad at those who uncovered that evidence because it has nothing to do with me. I might be sad, but I have no interest in believing lies.
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Sep 8, 2019 | Gratitude
You’ll be happy to know that for most of the characters in the Bible, life was as much a conundrum for them as it is for you and me. This is one of the reasons I don’t believe the Bible is just myths and fairy tales as many critics contend. Rather, it reads like real people encountering real things, much of which they don’t understand. If it was all made up I don’t think we’d see so many confused people in it’s pages. It would read much more like, well, myths and fairy tales!
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Sep 2, 2019 | Apologetics
I wrote recently about a documentary of Korn guitarist Brian Welch’s conversion to Christianity. He had a serious issue with drug addiction, even after his conversion, and some people are accusing him of replacing his addiction to drugs with an addiction to religion. Here is part of his response to these critics he recorded in a Youtube video:
“There’s a supernatural way that you can feel that euphoria and that high and that pleasure, and that comes from the Spirit,” Welch continued. “There’s a scripture in the Bible that says, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the wonderful things that God has prepared for us,’ or prepared for humans.
“Now, people would say, ‘Why do you believe the Bible? Why do you believe that? Why would you believe some words by men two thousand, three thousand, four thousand years ago?’ It’s because of the next verse, and the next verse says, ‘But God has revealed it and unveiled it to us by his spirit.’”
Those are very good questions that any honest person should ask. Welch gets the answer exactly right, and any good Calvinist, like me, would completely agree. The only reason people believe on and trust in the Lord Jesus is because God has revealed it to them, and enabled them to believe it. He turns the heart of stone to flesh, brings the dead sinful heart to spiritual life. But that’s not all that could, and should be said.
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