Monthly Archives: August 2019

If God Commanded You To Kill Someone, Would You Do It?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) God’s commands are never arbitrary and without purpose or reasoning behind it. The character of God is consistent throughout the Bible. He never just randomly commands the taking of life although He as the creator, sustainer, and owner of all things has the right to take it by whatever means He wishes. Within the biblical context, when God commanded the taking of life it was always within the context of judgment. There is an exception in the story of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice … Read More »

The Soul, the Brain, and Free Will

By L. Alfred James What are human beings? Are they simply a kind of animal? Are they made only (and entirely) of matter? Or is there something more to human nature? Let me make this question more personal? What are you? Are you merely a mobile computer that is made of meat? If so, what makes human beings any more valuable than other living thing on this planet? In fact, what makes us human beings more valuable than even the bacteria that we kill with our anti-microbial hand soaps? Indeed, … Read More »

Ishmaelites in the Old Testament – Part 4

By Elysia McColley Read “Ishmael’s Desert Tribes – Part 3” So far in this series about Ishmael, we have looked at two prominent Old Testament figures – Job and Jethro – who were not Israelites and may have actually been Ishmaelites, or descendants of Abraham through his oldest son, Ishmael. There are several other Old Testament figures who may have been Ishmaelites, such as Agar and Lemuel, two kings who contributed to the book of Proverbs. Here, I want to look at someone who was possibly the most significant Ishmaelite … Read More »

The Fallacy of Appealing to Emotion

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) A logical fallacy is a discrepancy in reasoning. It is a misapplication of logic and reasoning such that the desired conclusion of a line of argumentation does not necessarily follow. Furthermore, logical fallacies also involve inappropriate appeals to make a certain point. An example of this is the fallacy of an Appeal to Emotion. An appeal to emotion is a faulty application of logic and reasoning since such an appeal, while persuasive to some, has nothing to do with the truth of a person’s … Read More »

Three Quick Reasons For Believing In The Supernatural

By L. Alfred James What do you do with that cantankerous uncle or brother-law who makes it a point (at every family gathering) to loudly proclaim, “I don’t believe in God! I only believe in science! I don’t believe that anything exists beyond what we can see perceive with our senses”? In the past you may not have known what to say, so you just kept quiet. But I’d like to equip you with three reasons for thinking it is almost 100% certain that a supernatural realm exists. All three … Read More »

Ishmael’s Desert Tribes – Part 3

By Elysia McColley Read “Who Is Ishmael? – Part 1” Read “Ishmael, The Wild Donkey – Part 2” We’ve been looking at Ishmael, one of the most controversial and misunderstood characters in the entire Bible. Being able to talk about Ishmael, from a truly biblical perspective, with your Muslim friends can be a great way to get them interested in the Bible and learning more about what it says. Mention that Ishmael’s birth was proclaimed by Jesus before the incarnation, and they will almost certainly want to know more. Here, … Read More »

God and the Laws of Logic

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The laws of logic are the rules of correct reasoning. If one does not follow these rules of correct reasoning then one would be engaging in irrationality. Of course, irrationality does not produce meaning and truth and hence should not be engaged in by a professing believer in Christ. While it is true that many unbelievers say that Christianity or religion in general is irrational, as Christians we stand firmly against such a notion. It is our position that Christianity is eminently reasonable, rational, … Read More »

The Human Appendix: It’s Not Evidence for Evolution

By L. Alfred James The human appendix is a poster child of human evolutionary theory. Whenever human evolution is taught in public schools you can almost guarantee that the appendix will be mentioned. And if you were to poll people on the street, asking them for proof that we evolved, I’d bet that the vast majority would mention it as an important piece of evidence. In case you were never subjected to this kind of public education, allow me a moment to explain. For most of human history it was … Read More »

Ishmael, the Wild Donkey – Part 2

By Elysia McColley Read “Who Was Ishmael? – Part 1” In this series about Ishmael, we have looked at how we need to critically re-evaluate how we think about Abraham’s oldest son. We have already seen how he was blessed and how he and his mother became the first two people to see the pre-incarnate Christ. Today, let’s look at one of the more difficult-to-understand aspects of Ishmael’s blessing. The Bible records some births as either divinely ordained or divinely proclaimed. The most obvious is the birth of Jesus – … Read More »