You are counseling a college student in your church who has come to you very privately with ambiguity about his sexual orientation. He doesn’t understand why it is difficult for him to sustain interest in opposite sex relationships, and he thinks he might be gay, but he is not sure. He wants to know what…
Just as darkness is defined in regards to the absence of light, so Christian thought has often defined evil as the absence of good; or to use Augustine’s (354-430) words, the privation of good (privatio boni). Evil then is what ought not to be, for evil is at the least unpleasant (as in a rotten…
The Columbo Tactic, as described in chapters 3-5 of the above titled book, is a conversational method of engaging non-Christians in apologetic dialogue. It is titled after the 70s television sleuth and homicide detective, Lt. Frank Columbo. The tactic makes use of the television character’s signature style of investigation: asking questions, while appearing quite incapable…
Human beings hold in common a universal sense of morality which can be used as a logical argument against atheism. The purpose of this article is to explore the moral argument for the existence of God from the perspective of C. S. Lewis. Lewis’s version of the moral argument tends to focus more on the…
This article will argue for the reasonableness of the doctrine of the existence and the immortality of the soul. It will begin with a discussion of the nature of souls and immortality. It will briefly explore the ancient Greek and modern Christian concepts of the immortality of the soul. It will examine two types of compelling…
The biblical concept of hell is hard to swallow for many Christians, let alone non-Christians. Atheists have the worst time with hell. Hell just seems unreasonable to so many people. Hell makes God out to be the bad guy.[1] As Judge, God comes across as hateful, unforgiving, vengeful, retaliatory, and hard. But, God sometimes hates,[2]…
Defining Ethical Relativism (ER) From the fountains of naturalism and empiricism springs ethical relativism. Naturalism argues that all that exists is the natural universe, and that nothing supernatural exists. Empiricism argues that the only things that exist are what we can perceive through our five senses. ER relies heavily on these underpinnings, holding that since…
The full content of Moreland’s book is much too large to cover within the scope of this article. Therefore, I will limit my examination to just the section regarding his discussion of the current “three-way struggle” between the major worldviews of scientific naturalism, postmodernism, and ethical monotheism. Moreland argues that scientific naturalism and postmodernism are…
I want to take issue with Timothy Ward, in his book, Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God (p. 91), regarding translations of the Bible in the section “The Holy Spirit and the Transmission of Scripture.” Ward writes that: “Dynamic equivalence translations of the Bible, such as the New International family…
Suffering is to endure pain or anguish, whether willingly, as in the case of martyrdom, or unwillingly, as in the case of cancer. Christians throughout history have responded to suffering differently than other religions and philosophies. Suffering Is Real Contrary to some Eastern religions and Christian Science, Christianity holds that suffering is real. Also, Christians…