10 Minute Apologetics

Christian Maturity and Its Apologetic Implications

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) When a person experiences spiritual rebirth (regeneration) and they are hence united with Christ by faith and are justified (declared righteous) by faith in Christ alone, the Christian life has just begun. The believer then begins his/her journey in being conformed into the image of Christ. This is called “sanctification.” Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives.”1 Before progressing then, it will become important to distinguish … Read More »

Are UFOs a Spiritual Phenomenon?

By L. Alfred James In a previous post, we saw that it is physically impossible for aliens—even if they live in the nearest inhabitable star system—to travel the distances needed to visit earth. At realistic speeds, it would take hundreds, thousands, or millions of years to make such a trip. The required speed for any spacecraft making this voyage would entail a continual collision with space debris equal to several nuclear bombs inflicting damage every single second of the very long trip. Most damningly, it would also entail an endless … Read More »

Pay It Forward With AmazonSmile

Amazon has recently rolled out a new feature that allows you to support the Historical Bible Society with your regular Amazon purchases: AmazonSmile! What is AmazonSmile? AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that brings you all of your favorite features on Amazon.com but they will donate 0.5% of the price of your purchases to the Historical Bible Society once you choose us as your charity of choice with no additional cost to you. Here are the instructions to get started: CLICK HERE for the easiest way to start supporting … Read More »

The Role of the Bible in Apologetics

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The role of the Bible in apologetics is of utmost importance. Indeed, what we as Christian apologists are defending is the veracity of the Christian worldview which is itself grounded in the Bible. While it is true that in apologetics, the discussion may not always be about any particular part of the Bible directly, everything we defend will be either directly or indirectly related to the Biblical witness. Our apologetic discussions can range from debates about biology, anthropology, mathematics, and science but for the … Read More »

Are UFOs Alien Spaceships?

By L. Alfred James On August 25, 1951 in Lubbock, Texas, three science professors from Texas Tech were in a colleague’s backyard, sipping some tea and discussing the scientific issues of the day. A little before 9:30 pm, they saw something in the sky that absolutely shocked them: dozens of blue-green lights passed overhead in a boomerang formation. In a very eerie way, they were absolutely silent. These science professors could not fathom what could cause such a phenomenon. The lights behaved nothing like any aircraft they had ever seen. … Read More »

The Truth About Truth

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) We live in an interesting time in which many seem to reject the notion of absolute and objective truth. In fact, many consider it an arrogant thing to acknowledge both that there is an absolute truth and that we are capable of accessing it. We will be told by many that “there is no absolute truth!” Or, people will say that “truth is relative”, “what is true for you is true for you but not true for me.” The truth about truth however, is … Read More »

Space Aliens and Christianity

By L. Alfred James On October 11, 1973, Calvin Parker and Charlie Hickson were fishing from the bank of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. Parker noticed a blue light reflecting off the water but didn’t think too much of it. He assumed it was just some police officers arriving to tell them they needed to fish somewhere else. But when he looked up, he was shocked to see that the light was coming from a craft like nothing he’d ever seen. In the summer of 2020, the Clarion Ledger published … Read More »

Is Truth What Works?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The idea that truth is that which works is the philosophical position known as pragmatism. Briefly summarized, a pragmatist holds the view that “a statement is known to be true if it produces the right results”. This view is typically attributed to William James and his intellectual disciples. It is also often associated with those who pride themselves in the legitimacy of the scientific method. (I agree that the scientific method is legitimate). If the scientific method applied to some hypothesis produces the right … Read More »

Does Christianity Teach Fideism?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Fideism within a religious context, is the position that argues that issues of faith and religion are not themselves based on reason. Indeed, on this position, religion is an issue of faith independent of reason. On fideism, one does not rationally argue for the truth of religion, rather, the person simply believes and that is it. Christians who understand religion in this fashion will often point to Hebrews 11:6 to support this claim: “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever … Read More »

Is Intelligent Design Pseudo-Science?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Well, who gets to define what “science” is? It is quite easy for someone who disagrees with another to claim their methodology is not the “true” methodology. In reality, when we do science, science itself involves the search for causes. Scientists search for the causes of some phenomena with the hopes that we get a better grasp on the natural world. When considering the cause of some natural phenomena you can really have only two options: Either the cause is intelligent or it is … Read More »