Monthly Archives: July 2020

Self-Destructive Atheism

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Francis Crick was a British molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. An influential mind to be sure. However, his materialistic atheistic outlook on the world demonstrates very clearly the futility of the materialistic atheistic perspective. Crick astonishingly wrote: “The astonishing hypothesis is that you-your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules…” This reduction of human beings and … Read More »

Why Believe that Jesus was God?

By L. Alfred James As a young Christian, I remember learning about the concept of the Trinity for the first time. I read a lot of books that said belief in the “deity of Christ” (the doctrine that Jesus is God) is extremely important. At the same time, I also worked at a grocery store right alongside a Jehovah’s witness who consistently told me that Jesus was definitely not God and never claimed to be God. This coworker (who was a very nice guy) insisted that the Bible never even … Read More »

The Irrationality of Atheism

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The purpose of this article is not to suggest that atheists are stupid, unintelligent, or unable to contribute intellectually to the world. Indeed, there have been many atheists throughout history that have done much to contribute to fields like science, history, philosophy, and philanthropy. In the area of the intellect, educated atheists are often very good with the “details”. Some often wax eloquent on sophisticated discussions concerning biological evolution, astrophysics, and quantum mechanics. They can often dive deep into discussions of sophisticated philosophical theories … Read More »

How Can A Good God Allow So Much Suffering?

By L. Alfred James Last week, we saw that one reason why God allows people to do evil things is because of his decision to give human beings a free will. Without freedom, genuine love is impossible. If human beings were pre-programmed to always do the right thing, their love would be a sham. However, this does not solve all problems pertaining to suffering. Even if true love requires the possibility of doing evil, why does there have to be so much suffering in the world? Just think about how … Read More »

Can God Perform Evil?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) No! God cannot perform evil. In fact, it is logically impossible for God to perform objectively evil actions. From within the Christian worldview, God is good and is the epitome of good (1 Chronicles 16:34). Indeed, God is the standard of goodness itself, and all other things are judged good on the basis of whether it conforms to the character and nature of God Himself. It is logically impossible for a perfect, holy, righteous and good God to perform that which is not perfect, … Read More »

How Can A Good God Allow Mass Murder?

By L. Alfred James There is an astonishing amount of evil in our world. Consider these three levels of evil events: Some evil events happen at a local level. For instance, in February of 2020 a sweet 6-year old girl in Cayce, South Carolina was strangled to death by one of her neighbors who then slit his own throat. This grisly crime stunned everyone in the metro Columbia area. Sometime evil is felt at a national level, such as the Las Vegas shooting a few years back. On October 1, … Read More »

Does Everything Happen for a Reason?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) This is a very profound question and is a bit complicated to go into in great depth here. But I would agree with the Westminster Confession of Faith, “On God’s Decree”, that “God from all eternity by the most wise and holy council of his own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violation offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second … Read More »

Is the Holy Spirit God?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The Christian doctrine of the trinity is an essential feature of Christian orthodoxy. Attacks upon this important Christian truth historically have come from many quarters including Arians (and modern day Jehovah’s Witnesses), Mormons, Unitarians and others. The nature of these attacks have been multi-faceted either focusing upon its perceived unbiblical character and logical inconsistency, to its apparent “pagan” origins. In reality the doctrine of the trinity is neither unbiblical, illogical, or pagan. While entire treatises have been written defending the orthodox understanding of the … Read More »

The Threat of Religious Syncretism

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Syncretism is the process by which aspects of one religion are assimilated into, blended with, another religion. The assimilation between them fundamentally changes both of them. The threat of syncretism has been with the church since its conception. The temptation to intertwine unbelieving philosophical thought with biblical principles was constant within a context where syncretism was the norm. Rome often mixed religious themes and borrowed deities from other religious perspectives. A good example was the fact that Rome borrowed deities from the Greek pantheon … Read More »