Josiah Concept MinistriesJosiah Concept MinistriesAn apologetics blog dedicated to using common sense and discernment to test what is good. I discuss Roman Catholicism, Atheism, and New Age religions. Articles
Been Blogging Lite for too Long
2008-03-27 07:51:00 I haven’t been blogging much lately because I’ve been going through a lot in my personal life. My grandmother, Virginia Tucholski, passed away last week. She went quickly and painlessly, which is an answer to prayer. It isn’t like I’m never going to see her again; we will meet again in the resurrection, but that ... More About: Personal , Site News , Blogging , Lite , Long
Faith Healing
2008-03-27 07:39:00 God is not a gumball machine–you can’t just pop in a prayer, turn a cosmic crank, and expect God to answer the prayer in exactly the way that you expected Him to. God promises to listen to prayer, and listen only. Despite the dramatic hyperbolic language (such as Mark 11:24 and others) used by ... More About: God , Faith , Prayers , Healing , Faith Healing
Reader Comment
2008-03-18 19:00:00 In a comment posted here, a reader named Daniel F. writes: I grew up in a devout very loving Christian family. I love my family, but the Christanity stuff fortunately did not stick. As I grew up, I noticed a lot of Christians were definite in their conviction, but confused on the details. I appreciate ... More About: Theology , Reader , Morality , Apologetics , Comment
Rook Hawkins is Right: I Write for a Specific Audience
2008-03-13 21:01:00 Rook Hawkins makes this claim right off the bat: Cory has written a very interesting blog article in response to my positions. He has written to his reader?s satisfaction, and although he makes grandiose claims, he should be applauded by known apologists such as Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel for the erudite quality of his response. ... More About: Personal , Atheism , Write , Apologetics , Specific
Two Down, One to Go
2008-03-12 18:38:00 As of today, I have been mentioned on two of the three core Rational Response Squad member blogs. I was mentioned by Sapient in glowing terms for my series of articles dealing with the unchristian behavior of Frank Walton. Now, I have the dubious honor of being “refuted” by Rook Hawkins, the historian ... More About: Site News
God is REAL!
2008-03-11 17:42:00 I’m up to proof #45 on God is NOT Imaginary (http://weknowgodisreal.wordpress.com) for those of you that follow that site. Check it out! I should be able to finish the remainder of the proofs either tomorrow or Thursday. More About: Site News , Real
Quest for the Historical Jesus
2008-03-05 19:02:00 Liberal scholarship has agreed on one point and one point alone: the Jesus of history is not the Jesus presented in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Rook Hawkins, co-founder and self-styled ancient texts expert of the Rational Response Squad, has utilized this as the starting point for his article, “Which Jesus: ... More About: Atheism , Historical , Apologetics , Quest
On Doctrine
2008-03-04 04:13:00 My good friend Caleb posted an interesting but profoundly misguided entry on his MySpace Blog. In this entry, Caleb has formally rejected all religious doctrine in favor of sola scriptura. This is a dangerous view to hold. People who adhere to extremist views of sola scriptura run the danger of sinking into heresy without realizing ... More About: Theology , Apologetics , Heresy
Contextual Limits of ?ALL? and the Limited Atonement
2008-02-29 22:25:00 A reader with the pseudonym Edge7 left a comment in regard to the brief section on the Limited Atonement in this post. This assumes that verses like 1 Timothy 2:3, 5 and 1 John 2:2 confound the Calvinist position that the Atonement saves only the elect. These verses, combined with John 3:16, seem ... More About: Theology , Limits , Contextual , Apologetics , Calvinism
No More Podcasting
2008-02-29 03:44:00 I regret to announce that Josiah Cast is officially done and over with. I was going to do one more episode, where I answered Sean Hutton’s comment on my Catholic Mass article, however due to time constraints I am not going to be able to do that episode. I enjoyed podcasting, so I will definitely bring ... More About: Site News , Podcasting , Podcast
Predestination: Anything But Arbitrary *UPDATED*
2008-02-26 19:41:00 I think that an obvious objection to predestination is that the election is, by its nature, unconditional. Most people take that to mean random or arbitrary. If that were so, then it logically leads to fatalism. You then end up with the following thought process: Why go and preach the gospel as we ... More About: Theology , Apologetics , Calvinism , Predestination
What?s up with All the Theological Treatises?
2008-02-26 05:23:00 Lately, readers have probably noticed that I’m doing less with refuting heresy and more with Christian understandings of things like Hell and predestination. I’ve been spending more time studying historic Christianity and its creeds rather than the vitriol that drips from the mouths of the evangelistic atheist sorts. Not that I’ve waned in my vigiliance ... More About: Site News , Theological
Rook Hawkins
2008-02-26 05:15:00 Rook Hawkins, co-founder and ancient texts expert of the Rational Response Squad, has been writing a lot of stuff lately that I wish I had the time to respond to. Unfortunately, I have to take the time to pick and choose the projects that mean the most to me. Rook has written two pieces, “Which ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics , Rook , Heresy
The Most Controversial Letter In TULIP
2008-02-26 04:34:00 When I first started studying Calvinism , I thought that the most controversial element of the TULIP was the “L”–Limited Atonement. This is summed up in the Westminster Confession of Faith III.6: Wherefore, they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called unto faith in Christ by His Spirit working in ... More About: Theology , Letter , Controversial , Apologetics
Is Hell the Best Way to Evangelize?
2008-02-24 06:11:00 I would have to say that talking to people about Hell is one of the worst ways to evangelize people. We live in a society that is very, very uncomfortable with the idea of judgment and even less comfortable with the idea of having to serve a sentence. The “sentence” in this case is eternity ... More About: God , Apologetics
Fifth Marian Dogma Letter
2008-02-23 05:56:00 Five Roman Catholic Cardinals have written a letter to the other members of the College of Cardinals urging additional support in the form of signatures asking Pope Benedict XVI to define the fifth and final Marian dogma. The suggested wording is thus: Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of man, gave to humanity from the Cross his mother ... More About: Theology , Letter , Apologetics , Mariology
The Jewish Philosopher Profoundly Misunderstands Atheists
2008-02-18 18:22:00 I still believe in the Bible when it tells me that only a fool says that there is no God (Ps 14:1). Regular readers know that I am no defender of atheism. Unfortunately, a post by a religious Jew has recently come to my attention as part of my series on refuting Kelly O’Connor of ... More About: Atheism , Jewish , Apologetics , Atheists , Philosopher
Irony
2008-02-17 03:28:00 I find it extremely ironic that Kelly O’Connor of the Rational Response Squad takes offense to a Christian making a statement against her philosophical beliefs, but then goes on to write that atheists are under no obligation to respect the beliefs of others. The proof is in the pudding. First, Kelly acts offended at this statement ... More About: Atheism , Irony , Apologetics
Kelly and Rook are at It Again!
2008-02-16 08:34:00 In my newest edition of the Rational Responders Newsletter, they tell us Kelly O’Connor, always ready with the atheist response, has written “the most destructive blow dealt to Christians so far” in her recent post, “Damn Right I’m Angry,” part 1 and part 2. Kelly addresses two writers, Marty Fields and Jacob Stein, who have ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics , Rook
Show #2: Women in the Bible
2008-02-16 08:08:00 Better late than never, right? Josiah Cast is all about women in the Bible this week. I show how the Bible is used to elevate women rather than denigrate them. I forgot to mention some website resources at the close of the program, so instead I’ll provide the links below. As usual, if you want ... More About: Women , Site News , Show , Podcast
Preview of this Friday?s Show
2008-02-14 03:56:00 My podcast this Friday will be on how the Bible elevates women. The Pope has spoken on this controversial topic as well, according to Catholic News Agency. See the article here. The Pope agrees with me: Criticizing male chauvinism, discrimination against women, and the undervaluation of women, he called for Christians to promote ?a culture that ... More About: Preview , Show , Roman Catholicism
VJack on Judges, Ruth, and 1 Samuel
2008-02-14 02:54:00 Vjack, the proprietor of Atheist Revolution, continues his series on reading the Bible from cover to cover. And so I continue my series which critiques his critique of the Bible. This post finds us on the book of Judges , Ruth , and 1 Samuel . VJack sympathizes with Gideon when he exclaims, Please, sir, if the LORD is with ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics
I Called It! I Called It!
2008-02-12 04:19:00 In a previous post, I made the following claim: Atheists, agnostics, and skeptics believe that God should still be doing large and visible miracles every day so that we can see and believe that He exists. Most deny any miracles occurred in the past. So I?m left to wonder if it would make any difference if ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics
How God Identifies Himself
2008-02-11 21:25:00 It?s interesting how God defines himself. He told Moses that he is the God of your fathers; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He did not define himself by his omnipotence or his omniscience but by his personal relationships with these common men. (source) So reflects Albert Cardinal Vanhoye, ... More About: Father , Roman Catholicism
VJack Continues Reading the Bible? And Gets It Wrong
2008-02-11 05:03:00 I missed Atheist Revolution proprietor VJack’s last two posts on his reading of the Bible . So I’m going to have to make up for lost time and quickly answer him. Starting with the post dated December 14, I can see that my refutation of VJack’s assertion that the Bible commands Christians to kill unbelievers has ... More About: Atheism , Reading , Wrong , The Bible
When Atheists Attack
2008-02-10 05:58:00 Matt, from Matt’s Notepad, has taken me on in the comments section of this post about historical inaccuracies in the Bible, the Christ Myth, and Biblical contradictions. I’ve decided to split off and answer the comments in the blog because this last comment is a long one and will require more space than I’m ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics , Atheists , Attack
The Portable Atheist: Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mark Twain
2008-02-07 02:53:00 Christopher Hitchens’s book The Portable Atheist is a collection of “essential” writings for unbelievers. I’m currrently posting some of my miscellaneous thoughts about the various works in the book as I read them. According to Hitchens, Percy Bysshe Shelley was a victim of the theocracy that once ruled Oxford and Cambridge universities. He wasn’t allowed to ... More About: Atheism , Book Review , Apologetics
The Problem with Podcasting
2008-02-01 04:03:00 I worked so hard to get the final podcast product set to go that I neglected to find a way to distribute it. The final size is to big for Yahoo-GeoCities and WordPress won’t allow MP3 uploads without a paid upgrade. So, for right now, if anyone would like to listen to the first podcast, please ... More About: Site News , Podcasting , Podcast , Problem
The Portable Atheist: How A.C. Grayling Poisons the Well
2008-01-31 23:15:00 I was at the library today, and as I so often do when I’m there, I checked out a book: The Portable Atheist , which is an anthology of “essential” atheistic writings collected and edited by the inimitable Christopher Hitchens. I’m not going to read it in order, and I’m not going to read the entire thing, ... More About: Atheism , Apologetics
Tom Cruise Video Preempts Women in the Bible Discussion
More articles from this author:2008-01-23 17:30:00 My critics may look at this as symbolic, but I need to strike this story while the iron is hot. I am preempting my very first podcast, which was supposed to be on the Bible and women, in favor of a Christian response to the Tom Cruise video that has been sweeping the Internet like ... More About: Video , Women , Site News 1, 2, 3, 4 |
|
 |
|
 |
