How Heavy Are Your Beliefs?

Is your brain true or false? How much does a belief weigh? If you gain new beliefs do you gain weight? Do these questions even make sense? These are more examples of incoherent questions! Why are these questions incoherent? Because based on the logical law of identity we know that brains and beliefs are two different kinds … Continue reading How Heavy Are Your Beliefs?

USA’s Founders Had Christianity in Mind (Part III: Franklin)

Christ Church Burial Ground is the final resting place of Benjamin Franklin and his wife. Four other signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried here. Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin considered himself as a Christian during the founding of the United States, but experimented with other religions (such as Deism) during other times of his life. … Continue reading USA’s Founders Had Christianity in Mind (Part III: Franklin)

Historical Evidence of the Resurrection: A Debate with a Skeptical Friend

While attending Biola University, Dr. Clay Jones gave me the assignment to engage in a friendly and respectful debate with a skeptical non-believer regarding the historical resurrection of Jesus. A deep-thinking friend of mine (who happened to be an atheist who would debate my views quite often) graciously accepted my invitation to have this conversation. The following is my conversation with … Continue reading Historical Evidence of the Resurrection: A Debate with a Skeptical Friend

#blacklivesDON’Tmatter

The killing of Trayvon Martin was “9-11” for the African-American community. What do I mean by that? In the same way that there are some events in our personal lives that leave a bruise—loss of a loved one, a bitter break up, bad report from the doctor—there are collective experiences like 9-11 that impact us … Continue reading #blacklivesDON’Tmatter

Could Jesus Have Sinned?

Question In scripture (Hebrews 4:15) Christ was tempted like us, however He not being born into a sinful nature and lived a perfect life (which is needed in order to be a sacrifice for the unjust). So, was is it really a temptation for Christ? We are tempted with a sinful nature that is prone … Continue reading Could Jesus Have Sinned?

An Updated Contingency Argument

As the title suggests, what I’ll be presenting is an updated version of the argument from contingency. This version is heavily inspired by the work of Joshua Rasmussen, so, if this piques your interest, I recommend looking into his two papers on the subject. Why an updated version? Two reasons. First, this version utilizes weaker … Continue reading An Updated Contingency Argument

Is the Historical Jesus Fact or Fiction?

As a pastor who spends a lot of time on the college campus, I hear the following challenges quite often from young skeptics: “There is no good evidence to think that Jesus ever existed,” or “Christianity has pagan roots!” One might put these common challenges as two questions: (1) Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? … Continue reading Is the Historical Jesus Fact or Fiction?

Historical References to Christ From Non-Biblical Authors

1. Thallus, the Samaritan-born historian One of the first Gentile writers who mention Christ is Thallus, who wrote in A.D. 52. He wrote a history of the Eastern Mediterranean from the time of the Trojan War to his own time. However, his writings have disappeared, and we only know of them from fragments cited by … Continue reading Historical References to Christ From Non-Biblical Authors

Thomistic Compatibilism: The Bad, the Worthless, & the Ugly

Over the past week, FreeThinking Ministries has taken a close look at various shades of compatibilism. The shade we will be concerned with today is one that is found in both Protestant and Catholic circles and is what I will refer to as Thomistic Compatibilism. Before elaborating this view, I think it’s important to get some … Continue reading Thomistic Compatibilism: The Bad, the Worthless, & the Ugly

Calvinism & Euthyphro’s Horns

When one finally has a firm grasp of the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Calvinistic thought, one cannot bear to wonder whether Calvinism is true because surely no contra-causally free creature would freely choose to believe a system that invokes the logical deduction of God being the author of sin. Of course, many Calvinist’s will not … Continue reading Calvinism & Euthyphro’s Horns

Yoda & K-2: Semi-Compatibilism & Responsibility

Recently a friend of mine — a philosophy professor who believes humans possess libertarian freedom — posted a question on social media directed to Christians. He asked: “If you had to choose between the two, would you rather be a Calvinist (compatibilist version) or an open theist?” I quickly responded with the following: “The ironic … Continue reading Yoda & K-2: Semi-Compatibilism & Responsibility

Libertarian Freedom Fighters

Nothing fascinates me more than investigating evidence for the existence of God. I have spent the past seven years of my life devoting multiple hours every day examining this data and related issues. One of these related issues is that of free will. Though this has been the subject of debate for centuries — among Christians and … Continue reading Libertarian Freedom Fighters

Fifty Shades of Compatibilism

What is “compatibilistic free will”? Years ago when I first heard of this doctrine it shocked me. Intuitively I thought it did not make sense. How can God determine (force) someone to freely do something? Little did I know that it is one of the most discussed doctrines in modern philosophy and theology. Roughly, compatibilism … Continue reading Fifty Shades of Compatibilism

Confusing Bible Verses: Matt Slick & Mark 4

Matt Slick recently debated Jerry Walls regarding the omnibenevolence of God. That is to say, the following question was addressed: Is God really all-loving? I have argued that not only is God all-loving, but that it is actually a sin to doubt God’s love for all people — let alone teach that God does not … Continue reading Confusing Bible Verses: Matt Slick & Mark 4

How Should a Molinist Understand 1 Peter 1:3?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. . .” 1 Pet. 1:3 (ESV) For the determinist, this verse would seem to pose a problem for … Continue reading How Should a Molinist Understand 1 Peter 1:3?

An Unfortunate Appraisal of Molinism: A Response to CARM.org’s “What Is Molinism and is it Biblical?”

Summary: CARM, a Reformed ministry, has given a negative appraisal of Molinism. I lay out 9 issues with their explanation and critique of the doctrine, undercutting/rebutting their claims by showing that they either rely on comprehensional errors, dictional ambiguity, or question begging (or some medley of these).1 Source: http://carm.org/what-molinism Issue 1: CARM Misrepresents Libertarian Free … Continue reading An Unfortunate Appraisal of Molinism: A Response to CARM.org’s “What Is Molinism and is it Biblical?”

1 31 32 33 34 35 43