Elias Ayala

Does Justification by Faith Alone Lead to Moral Laziness?

It has been a concern throughout history that the belief in justification by faith alone leads to a sort of moral laziness. It has been argued that because one is saved by faith alone independent of our moral actions, people would become lazy in doing what is right given the fact that salvation is not based upon what we “do”. Indeed, the Apostle Paul asked this very question. Consider Romans 5:20-21 when Paul says, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all … Read More »

Were Adam & Eve Created Immortal?

Many believe that Adam was created by God with inherent immortality until he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Although Eve was deceived by the serpent first, Adam took of the fruit and hence plunged mankind into the bondage of sin and death. However, an interesting question arises concerning the nature of Adam and Eve prior to eating the forbidden fruit. Did Adam and Eve have the intrinsic ability within their created nature to live forever? Or was their living forever contingent upon their access … Read More »

Jesus and the Wild Animals

The Gospels record the significant events in the life and ministry of Jesus, yet the fact that there are four Gospels instead of one provides for us an interesting and multifaceted look into the details of an amazing life lived, a courageous and sacrificial death, and a miraculous conquering of death through bodily resurrection. As one reads the Gospel narratives one finds both broad thematic brush strokes as well as detailed and intricate inside looks into the life and ministry of Jesus. While some aspects of the Gospels give us … Read More »

What’s Up With the Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The Jehovah’s Witnesses is a non-christian cult that denies the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. They deny the deity of Christ and relegate Christ to a created being. The JW’s do not affirm the physicality of Jesus’ resurrection. They teach that Jesus rose spiritually from the dead and some even go as far to say that his body dissolved into gases (Which would explain the empty tomb). They deny the biblical doctrine of the trinity and believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s impersonal active force. Furthermore, they deny … Read More »

Demanding Scientific Physical Evidence for God

When in dialogue with atheists, there is often the demand for scientific and empirical evidence for God’s existence. However, the inappropriateness of such a request should be quickly pointed out. Scientific and empirical evidence is good when the nature of that which you are discussing and debating is consistent with such a methodology. For instance, the scientific method is a means whereby one can observe, test, and hypothesize the material world around us. However, such a methodology does not apply to immaterial reality. If the atheist objects at this point … Read More »

If God Is Good, Why Is There Evil?

While I have addressed this question In another article, it consistently comes up within apologetical encounters, so I think the question is worth re-visiting. The implicit assumption inherent in the question is that the presence of evil is somehow inconsistent with the existence of God. I suppose this could be the case depending upon the nature of the God in question. Notice that the question uses the term God, but as is often the case, the particular God in question is not defined. One’s definition of God and His, Her, … Read More »

The Straw Man Fallacy

Apologetics, and all clear thinking requires logic. Logical thinking is an indispensable tool for refuting opposing ideas as well as defending one’s own. To be able to demonstrate one’s own position in a logically consistent and compelling way honors God and goes a long way in showing the futility and falsity of unbiblical ideas. Thus, learning the laws of logic and applying them is an essential feature for doing apologetics. Furthermore, logical thinking also helps us identify fallacies in reasoning; this is vitally important because much of the argumentation of … Read More »

Faith or Rational Reasons?

It is often claimed by skeptics that you either have “faith” or “rational” reasons for what you believe in. However, this presents us with a false dichotomy. Someone can have both faith and rational reasons for why they believe something to be true. At the fundamental level, everyone has faith to the degree that eventually, one needs to appeal to a reliable authority in areas of admitted ignorance. However, faith in a reliable source is not at all irrational. Not only can one have both faith and rational reasons for … Read More »

How Do We Know When Someone’s Objections to Christianity are Not Intellectual?

The task of apologetics can become bogged down in intellectual argumentation and philosophical reflection, even to the point the very task becomes burdensome. It is often the case that an over emphasis on the intellect can get in the way of the heart of the apologetical task. This is not to undermine the necessity of an engaged intellect; indeed, an engaged intellect is necessary to every facet of the Christian faith. As Christians, we do not make the arbitrary distinction between “heart” and “mind”; heart being popularly understood as emotion, … Read More »

The Bible Cannot Be True Because it Contains Miracles and Miracles Violate the Laws of Nature

Is this a valid objection for believing the Bible? Not at all. While it is true that miracles may involve a suspension of the laws of nature, this is definitely not the case with all miracles. Consider the amazing miracle of the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14); while this was no doubt one of the most dramatic displays of God’s power in the Old Testament, it did not violate any known law of nature; indeed the scriptures tells us that this was accomplished by God sending a strong … Read More »