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We Missed You, Jeff!
2008-05-07 05:14:00
Jeff Haws, the proprietor of The Atheocracy, is always a pleasure to answer for several reasons. First, he’s much friendlier than his counterparts. He is nothing but professional and polite. Second, he’s a journalist. He’s doing what I want to do for a living, so I can take a page out ...
More About: Apologetics , Jeff

Day 2b: Unshakable Faith
2008-05-04 04:29:00
It seems as though the audience favorite was Dinesh D’souza tonight.  The lanky scholar received thunderous applause after his speech on New Atheism.  D’souza had several tough acts to follow, including a very enlightening speech on the bodily Resurrection of Christ from Dr. William Lane Craig and a lecture on inerrancy of Scripture from Dr. Norman Geisler. I have only one regret for this conference.  I probably won’t ever get the chance to do it again.  After all, how often do I run into William Lane Craig? I wish I had challenged Dr. Craig’s view of Calvinism.  Dr. Craig fell into exactly the same trap that I describe in my post on predestination, only he runs into it with God’s sovereignty.  Dr. Craig assumes that the Calvinist and hyper-Calvinist views of human freedom are one in the same.  Dr. Craig affirms the Molinist view of God’s middle knowledge while attacking the Calvinist view of God’s sovereignty as deterministic.  Whil...
More About: Faith

Day 2a: Unshakable Faith Conference
2008-05-03 18:47:00
The high point of the first half of day 2 of Unshakable Faith was Dr. William Lane Craig’s presentation of Leibniz’s argument for the existence of God.  It goes like this: Everything that exists must have a cause, either as an intrinsic necessity or from some external source. If the universe has a cause, it must be ...
More About: Personal , Theology , Prayers , Apologetics

Day 1: Unshakable Faith
2008-05-03 03:15:00
It is day one of the Unshakable Faith Conference put on at Landmark Cincinnati.  The pastors hope that this will become an annual event, but they don’t think that they can top this first year.  I’m inclined to agree. First on the menu this evening was Dr. Norman Geisler presenting a talk that the program title ...
More About: Personal , Atheism , Prayers , Apologetics

Parents Charged in Death of Madeline Neumann
2008-05-01 10:04:00
As a father and a Christian, I would never leave my daughter’s health up to fate.  Look at that sweet face, beautiful eyes, and that smile that can melt your heart!  She is one gorgeous baby, that is certain.  I couldn’t look into the face of this child who trusts me implicitly with her very ...
More About: Personal , Prayers , Death , Parents , Madeline

Final Objection to Predestination
2008-04-28 09:00:00
I’ve posted much on the topic of predestination lately. I have posted a general definition here, on its definite nature according to the counsel of God’s will here, and finally on the two-edged sword of double predestination here. The two primary objections to predestination are the hyper-Calvinist error of double predestination, and the ...
More About: Theology , Final , Apologetics , Calvinism , Predestination

Interesting Thought…
2008-04-26 08:50:00
I wish I could take credit for this thought, but I can’t.  It originated with John Crane from The Daily Detour.  It is a deep thought, and one worthy of consideration by everyone on each side of the abortion debate. Why is it that when an outside party causes the death of unborn children, it is considered murder whereas if the mother causes the death of the unborn child it is considered a choice? Here’s the situation: a pregnant teller was shot during a bank robbery.  She was pregnant with twins and she lost both babies.  The shooter is no longer considered a bank robber–he is now a murderer.  He rightfully should be!  He caused the death of two innocent children. But what if the mother had decided to terminate the pregnancy?  Well, that wouldn’t be murder for some reason in the eyes of the law.  It would be considered a choice. The children have the same rights as a full-blown human in the first scenario.  They have no rights–they are simply f...
More About: Interesting

Let Sleeping Saints Lie, Please!
2008-04-25 04:28:00
Fifteen thousand people attended the Mass this morning that exposed the remains of Padre Pio for public veneration. I think that this is disgusting, personally. Already 750,000 people have made reservations to venerate the remains of the most popular saint of the twentieth century. More than a million people are expected to file past a glass casket holding his restored corpse between now and the end of the year. Catholic practices allow for the remains of saints to be exhumed, checked for their state of deterioration, and put on display as relics for veneration. (source) What are they venerating? Old flesh and dried bones. This is the object of their veneration. Jesus has said that the flesh is no help to us (Jn 6:63). It is His Spirit that gives us life. Jesus, therefore, should be the object of worship–not flesh and bone that can do nothing for us.
More About: Sleeping , Saints

Scientology Hard at Work Suppressing Its Critics
2008-04-19 06:42:00
Recently, reports have circulated that actor Jason Beghe, a former Scientologist, has denounced his religion.  Beghe is reported as saying that “Scientology is destructive and a rip off.”  He goes on to say “[Scientology is] very, very dangerous for your spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional health and evolution. I think it stunts your evolution. If Scientology ...
More About: Work , Hard , Apologetics , Critics

Did I Contradict Jesus?
2008-04-16 18:52:00
Christian, the keeper of the blog Free Thinking Joy, has accused me of contradicting Jesus : In my remarks about the Ten Commandments, I have come to the conclusion that their real content can be summarized as “Treat others as you would like to be treated by them”, also known as the Golden Rule. Jesus, as quoted ...
More About: Atheism , Theology , Apologetics

Ten Commandments for Atheists, pt. 2
2008-04-15 23:13:00
The ironically named Christian, proprietor of Free Thinking Joy, asserts that the Ten Commandments are perfectly compatible with atheism. It is absurd on its face to think that any of the first four commandments, which center on man’s relationship to God, could be followed or even understood by atheists. Christian’s analysis is flawed, as ...
More About: Atheism , Theology , Apologetics

Ten Commandments for Atheists
2008-04-15 09:17:00
“I guess that most atheists may not be aware of the fact that they observe the Ten Commandments better than many observant Jews and Christians,” says Christian, keeper of Free Thinking Joy. Let’s examine his post and see if that is true or if Christian is blowing smoke. 1. You shall have no ...
More About: Theology , Apologetics , Atheists

Double Predestination?
2008-04-14 19:42:00
My church attendance has been absolutely lousy. Normally, I work an opening shift on Sunday–which means that I go in at 6:00 am and I’m off at 4:00 pm. This is not a good Sunday work schedule for a church goer, since it means that I’m working right through the service. This Sunday, however, ...
More About: Theology , Double , Apologetics , Calvinism , Predestination

R.C. Sproul
2008-04-14 09:01:00
Christians In Context has been doing a series of “theologian trading cards,” where they take popular theologians and put their faces on baseball card-like graphics.  Then they explain a little bit about who the theologian is and what he has done. The most recent entry into the series is a theologian that I respect very much, ...
More About: Apologetics

Catholic Superstition
2008-04-12 09:53:00
Catholicism seems to lend itself well to superstition. Reference the St. Joseph statue. A Catholic bookstore near my house sells these little novelty statues of St. Joseph with instructions that if you bury it on the property that you’re trying to sell, it will beseech St. Joseph to help the sale along. Two articles ...
More About: Apologetics , Catholic , Superstition , Roman Catholicism

Update on Monique Davis
2008-04-12 09:28:00
Illinois Representative Monique Davis , whose Christian witness has been forever tainted by misplaced remarks about atheists and atheism, has done what a Christian should do in her shoes–she apologized. Instead of a public apology, Representative Davis apologized directly to the one she offended. Personally, I think that this shows great humility on Davis’s part. It ...
More About: Atheism , Update , Apologetics

Fear
2008-04-11 20:26:00
The recent comments made by Illinois State Representative Monique Davis reveal an unfortunate deep-seated fear that many Christians have regarding atheists.  Representative Davis berated an atheist and told him that he had no right to testify due to his lack of belief in God.  She even called the philosophy of atheism “dangerous” and said that ...
More About: Atheism , Fear , Apologetics

Why be Moral?
2008-04-07 06:28:00
Why be moral if there is no punishment in the afterlife?  Daren Jaques, of Just Atheists, answers the question like this: Well, there are lots of reasons. 1) I will not be as successful in life if others cannot trust me, and if all I ever do is look after myself, then people will not trust ...
More About: Atheism , Morality , Moral

Atheist on Death
2008-04-05 20:34:00
Brian J. Sabel from Just Atheist s wrote a post that caught my attention.  Since my grandma died, I’ve been thinking about death quite a bit for obvious reasons.  Obviously, my view of death is that we who place faith in Christ go on to eternal reward, while the rest do not.  “[I]t is appointed for ...
More About: Atheism , Theology , Death

Update: Madeline Neumann?s Siblings Wisely Removed from Parental Custody
2008-03-30 00:48:00
The three siblings of Madeline Neumann, the young lady who died tragically as a result of her parents praying instead of seeking medical attention, have been removed from their parents’ custody. In the original article, the authorities had not made that decision yet since there were no signs of abuse or neglect.  I’m very glad that ...
More About: God , Prayers , Update , Custody

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