Apr 1, 2019 | Culture
Probably not, but it should be. If you’re not familiar with the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), it was published in 1852 to communicate to the American people the evils of slavery. Many people who were not involved in slavery, especially in the north, often had no idea how brutally slaves were treated by their masters. One overview of the book says:
Stowe’s vivid characters and portrayal of their struggles opened reader’s eyes to the realities of slavery and the humanity of enslaved people. Stowe hoped the novel would build empathy for the characters and, in turn, for enslaved individuals.
After seeing Unplanned, there is no doubt that anyone with an open mind and a shred of humanity would be cut to the quick over the realities of abortion, and the humanity of the babies who lives are unceremoniously, coldly, snuffed out.
(more…)
Mar 31, 2019 | Epistemology - Trust
Some years ago I had an Instant Message conversation with a co-worker of mine. It had something to do with religion, and I’ll never forget a phrase she used: “For me, I’ll stick with science.” It was not the forum to challenge such a hollow contention, but it was indicative how many Americans and Westerners think. When we reflect on epistemology, which few people do (unfortunately most Christians as well), the question is how and if we can actually know things. Or in other words, can we have confidence that the things we know are in fact true. In the 21st century secular West the default position is that science is the only reliable way we can know things (scientism). Everything else is guess work or preference, or “true for you, but not for me.” Science can indeed give us wonderful and helpful knowledge, but it is dubious thing upon which to place our trust for true knowledge, and an extremely thin reed upon which to stake all our knowing.
(more…)
Mar 23, 2019 | Explanatory Power
If you’ve ever heard the term “pretzel logic” (not the Steely Dan album), you’ll get the oxymoronic logic: logic shouldn’t look like a pretzel! Those who believe in a God-less universe increasingly have to turn themselves into pretzels to try to explain a universe that sure seems to point to something beyond matter to explain its existence. Thus the multiverse. I thought of the title of the Steely Dan album when I saw this piece in Forbes insisting that the “multiverse” must exist. What exactly is this multiverse, and why must it exist? Well, you can read Mr. Siegel’s argument and see if you agree, but I couldn’t understand about, oh, 90 percent of it. No doubt, that’s a great way to persuade people! I think it’s a lot easier, and more plausible, to say God created the universe, and if there are others, he created those too! (more…)
Mar 16, 2019 | Apologetics
Did you know Jesus was a Jew? That he grew up and lived his entire life among religious Jews? Did you know that this fact is critically important in establishing the credibility and plausibility of the gospel stories? If you don’t, then you may not be familiar with the phrase, psychological apologetics. This is basically how psychological evidence (how people think, what makes sense to them, their conceptual framework) establishes the facts of the gospel narratives. Once you learn about this, it’s impossible to un-see it, and the more your confidence will grow in the historical reliability of what we read in the New Testament (and the Old as well).
(more…)
Mar 10, 2019 | Apologetics
I’m listening to a wonderful series of lectures by pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, Kim Riddlebarger called “Apologetics in a Post-Christian Age.” He argues, persuasively, that the central fact of the apologetics enterprise is the resurrection. If that in fact happened, then everything else follows: Christianity is the true understanding of the nature of reality. If it didn’t, eat, drink, and be merry . . . . The question for Christians, and those not yet but who understand the implications of such an event if it in fact happened: Can we trust the historical accounts and information we find in our Bibles? Most people today think whatever happened, it was 2,000 years ago, so of course we can’t know if it actually happened. These people would be wrong. How can I say that with such certainty?
(more…)
Recent Comments