Elias Ayala

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The idea that human beings are merely physical entities with no spiritual or immaterial component is known as physicalism. Interestingly enough, there are some professed Christians who hold to this idea, but I think the biblical teaching clearly expresses the reality that man is both a body/soul composite. I think the difficulties with this position is legion, however, I will focus upon one important difficulty that renders physicalism irrational. This is the issue of “personal identity through time”. If human beings are reduced to … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) When doing apologetics there are important things to remember prior to and during our interactions with unbelievers. First, we do not want to forget our spiritual and intellectual commitments. Remember that Jesus Christ must be sanctified as Lord in our hearts at all times. Never within our apologetic interactions are we to defend the Christian worldview from some other foundation. Jesus Christ the Lord is to be sitting on the thrones of our hearts and mind. This commitment should be assumed at the very … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) A scoffer is someone who jeers or mocks or treats something with contempt or calls it out in derision. Notice that sound argumentation has no part in this definition. The ability to scoff at an argument is not equal to a logical and rational argument against someone’s position. Often times scoffing is a cheap substitute for rational argumentation. As Christian apologists and rational thinkers we need to be careful not to be persuaded by cheap emotional debating tricks. When we present arguments in favor … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Anything self refuting is false and so I would imagine it is easy to see why being able to identify self refuting statements would be important not only to apologetics but clear thinking in general. Suppose a skeptic objects to Christianity, but his reasoning for doing so is logically incoherent. It would be very helpful to be able to identify the logical incoherency or self refuting nature of the objection and address it from a more logical standpoint. This would at least help the … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Christians affirm that God brought the universe into existence ex nihilo (out of nothing). According to the biblical narrative, God did not create the universe out of pre-existing stuff. As the creator of the universe, God is not a being who exists within the universe, that is to say that God transcends the universe. He does not take up space within the universe. He must transcend the universe because He created the universe. As creator of the universe God is not composed of anything … Read More »

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 »

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 »

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 »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The center piece of the Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the resurrection Christianity as a religious movement would have died at its very conception. As the apostle Paul famously wrote: “…and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is without foundation, and so is your faith” (1 Corinthians 15:14). For this reason, the resurrection of Jesus is an indispensable feature of the Christian religion and on this very point there are few who would disagree. However, what does … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Not all unbelievers reject Christian evidences. Some unbelievers see the evidence presented as valid and interesting although not convincing to warrant an acceptance of Christian theism. Others reject Christian evidences because they do not see the “evidences” that Christians present as valid evidence. For example, when a Christian presents historical evidence which they think points strongly to the resurrection of Jesus, the skeptic will not accept such information as warranting belief in the resurrection. They will say something to the affect that while interesting, … Read More »