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In: Apologetics, Theology

I just learned that Islamic holy month, Ramadan, begins today. So why an image of the Return of the Prodigal Son painted in 1622 by the Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn? Quite simply because any image portraying God’s actions would not be tolerated in Islam. As Craig Hazen’s intriguingRead More

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In: Apologetics, Philosophy

The funny thing about truth is …. There is a distinction between matters of taste and matters of fact. Consider these two statements: Chile makes the best Merlot. Arizona is nearer to California than Vermont.   Sincerity and truth are not the same. I can sincerely believe that running acrossRead More

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In: Apologetics, Culture, Philosophy, Reviews

My good friend Louis McBride of Baker Book House offers a brief review of the upcoming Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal authored by two towering Christian intellects, Keith Yandell (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and Harold Netland (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School). Although I’ve not yet read it, I’m confident itRead More

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In: Apologetics, Philosophy

What is the relationship between faith and reason? Does faith require that we have reasons to believe or is faith merely a blind leap in the dark? Is faith a product of rational inquiry where our minds investigate first before we commit to a belief? Or do we commit toRead More

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In: Apologetics

The argument for God’s existence from objective moral values states that some things are really wrong in themselves, not because society says so or because some human choices may be inherently helpful in survival while others are harmful. Abuse, rape, and child torture are really wrong and not just sociallyRead More

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In: Apologetics

With Easter upon us it’s a fine time to look again at the “other” option so many so sadly seem to find attractive: R-E-I-N-C-A-R-N-A-T-I-O-N. When talking with your non-believing neighbor, co-worker, friend, etc., why not bring up the subject of life after death, expose the concerns of reincarnation, and showRead More

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In: Apologetics, Culture, Philosophy

Os Guinness writes in Time for Truth: The discipline of living in truth is urgent today because modern life reduces community and accountability to its thinnest, thereby tempting us to live in a shadow world of anonymity and nonresponsibility where all cats are gray. In such a world, becoming peopleRead More

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In: Apologetics

The Logic of Hope

Modus ponens is a basic, valid argument form. Typically, it consists of a conditional premise, a second premise that asserts the antecedent of the first premise (i.e., the “if…” clause”), and a conclusion that asserts the consequent (the fulfillment of the conditional clause in the first premise). Its formula runs thusly,Read More

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In: Apologetics, Bible

A Brief Treatise on Inspiration, Infallability, and Inerrancy

At the outset it’s necessary to define some terms that are are thrown around rather loosely in Christian circles, such as “inspiration,” “inerrancy,” and “infallability,” and zero in more precisely what they mean. As is well known, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “all Scripture is inspired by God [literally, “God-breathed”].” The term “inspired” more precisely connotes expiration rather than inspiration, since the source of Scripture is God and he “breathed out,” as it were, the content of Scripture. The mode by which he chose to communicate was, of course, human agency, but without displacing the writer’s peculiar style, background, personality, et al. In so far as copies were faithfully reproduced from the original manuscripts, truthfulness and accuracy was preserved in the text. Read More