Feb 29, 2020 | Apologetics
In a universe without God, we come from a meaningless past, and are destined for a meaningless future; we came from chance for no reason at all with no purpose at all, and are hurdling through this eye blinking thing called life toward extinction. The question arises for the atheist: Can human beings find meaning between those two polls of meaninglessness? I ask because of a comment I made at at First Things on an article titled “Auschwitz and ‘Intrinsic Evil.'” An atheist challenged me, and linked to a blog post to better explain his position: “The Meaning of Meaning & Why Theism Can’t Make Life Matter.” I decided to reply here. The article starts thus:
It comes up constantly. Without a god, without an afterlife, how can life have any meaning?
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Feb 25, 2020 | Apologetics
God has revealed himself in creation, Scripture, and ultimately in the person of Jesus Christ. In previous posts about creation and the Bible, I argued the only plausible explanation for each is God. Jesus is the ultimate manifestation of God’s revelation of himself to his creatures. Regarding creation, Paul says that “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” In Christ we see God’s more visible qualities. Creation only gives us limited knowledge of God. Read some history of philosophy to see how many speculative rat holes philosophers have gone down trying to figure that out. But we don’t have to speculate or guess what God is really like; we only need look to Jesus. There is a practical and the theological way to explain why God can be the only explanation for Jesus Chirst. (more…)
Feb 19, 2020 | Apologetics
In a previous post I argued that God is the only explanation for the stupefying complexity, functionality, and beauty of creation, the first and most obvious of God’s revelations of himself to mankind. In this post I will argue that the Bible is way too mind blowing to have any other explanation than God himself. In my next, I will show how Christ himself is the ultimate revelation of God, and that God himself is the only explanation!
For the last two hundred years we’ve endured a veritable world war on the Bible, driven by the anti-supernatural bias of the so-called Enlightenment. This was sort of understandable considering the limited scientific knowledge of the 18th and 19th centuries (see previous post on creation). The obvious problem was that the impossibility of the supernatural was never proved, but assumed because Newtonian physics (and the worldview inspired by it) required a closed system to work. In other words, we assume a mechanistic universe, ergo, God is unnecessary. (more…)
Feb 18, 2020 | Apologetics
As you may know, because of improved technology anyone can publish a book today. Writers are no longer dependent on all powerful book publishers to to get their books in print, or face limited shelf space to get it purchased. Publishing is a tough business, so publishers rarely take a risk on first timers, like me, so self-publishing is our only option. I found out the hard way that not all self-publishers are created equal, and the first one I picked delivered a book that wasn’t acceptable. So I decided I would not promote it, and hired another self-publishing company with a catchy name, Dog Ear Publishing. I spoke to the owner a couple times, liked him, and decided to move forward with them. Because of my inexperience, it took longer than I would have liked, but most things do.
So here it is, with a much more professional presentation. The content is the same, and I think as persuasive as ever! Of course you would expect me to say that. It can currently be found at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and I’d be interested to see if you think it’s as persuasive as I do. I know my kids do! They grew up experiencing the persuasion. You can read a bit more about the inspiration and content at The Book.
Feb 7, 2020 | Apologetics
In my previous post I argued that the transformed life of converted sinners is a profound defense of the truth of the Christian faith. We can’t see God, like the wind, but the evidence of his reality, like the wind, can be seen in the effects of his Spirit in the lives of his people. I mentioned that Romans 12 gives us an explanation as to how this works itself out in practice, and will explain that here. Paul spent 11 chapters giving us a detailed explanation about the meaning of redemptive history, then transitions with a declaration of the mind-blowing (in modern parlance) nature of it all (11:33-36). Then he transitions to how we are to live in light of it all:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
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Feb 1, 2020 | Apologetics
I was praying recently, and said something to God like, it’s difficult to believe what we can’t see, but . . . . I can’t help but believe it! And for many of the reasons I argue here. Then something different came to mind, an apologetic I don’t believe I have ever appealed to: changed lives. Evangelical Christians, a description I embrace for myself, are familiar with Christians using their testimony as a means of sharing the reality of their faith with others. I’ve always shied away from this as an apologetic, as a defense for the truth of Christianity, because it seems subjective, and I want to root that defense in the objective, in things that are real and substantive, like evidence, Scripture, history, archaeology, logic, philosophy, etc. What came to my mind is a saying of Jesus from John 3, and I realized just how powerful is the evidence God has given us for his existence and spiritual reality in the lives of his people:
7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
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