Elias Ayala

God always hears the prayers of his people. But hearing their prayers is different than answering their prayers. I suppose the question can also be posed: Does God always answer our prayers? If we were to take the first question in a generic sense, then yes, God always hears our prayers, in fact, the Bible teaches that God knows what we will pray before we actually pray (Matthew 6:8). This is true given God’s omniscience. God knows all things past, present, and future. Scripture however, does point to the fact … Read More »

As a Christian who affirms the bible, the world clearly had a beginning since God created the world. If God created the world then it follows that the world did not always exist. The problem is that not everyone affirms the idea that God created the world. Without going into literally every theory out there as to how the world came to be, there are those who hold to the view that the world “never came to be.” These folks would suggest that perhaps the world always was, and hence … Read More »

In and of itself, sharing one’s faith can be an intimidating task. Often times this intimidation comes from the fear of someone asking a question that you do not know how to answer. Other times the intimidation comes from the fact because your neighbor or friend rejects the Bible outright, you don’t even know where to start. How do you start a conversation about the Bible with someone who rejects the Bible? There is no perfect answer to this question because the reality is that people are different. People’s reasons … Read More »

The task of apologetics has several aspects to it. I want to explore these aspects and discuss why each are vital and important to doing apologetics. Answering Objections to the Faith The believer engaged in apologetics will no doubt confront a vast array of objections against his position. The apologist must be well rounded enough to address them as they come. This may require the apologist to be familiar with a number of areas such as exegesis, Christian doctrine, church history, philosophy, science, and logic. The believer need not be … Read More »

There are those who see the question of God’s existence to be the most important question that one can ask, and hence seek to answer it in the affirmative. On the other hand, there are those who also agree that the question of God’s existence is the most important question that one can ask, but answers the question of God’s existence in the negative; these are our atheists and skeptics. However, there are also those who seem to be uninterested in the very question itself. Indeed, they think the question … Read More »

Apologetics and abortion seem at first glance to be two completely unrelated topics. However, they are quite related upon deeper reflection. Jude 1:3 tells us that we are to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered. The content of our faith is found in the scriptures and includes our responsibility to protect the innocent and stand for righteousness and justice. Indeed, if we know what is right and fail to do what is right, for him it is sin (James 4:17). Again, if apologetics includes a defense of … Read More »

Agnosticism is the position of being without knowledge concerning a proposition. If asked whether they believe that God exists, the agnostic responds: I don’t know! Within the technicalities of philosophical thought there are shades of agnosticism as there are shades of atheism. On the one hand, there are soft agnostics which make the weaker claim to not know whether God exists, and on the other hand the strong agnostic claims that not only do they not know, but no one can know whether God exists. Apart from the irrationality of … Read More »

The term adiaphora refer to those points of doctrine which are not essential for salvation. As simple as this term is and as easy as it is to understand its definition, it is an important term given the extreme imbalances within popular theological discourse. Often times we read on the internet, on Facebook posts, etc. folks placing non-essential doctrine on the level of essential doctrine. There are people who are so consumed with their respective area of theological interest that they place an unhealthy and unbiblical emphasis upon the particular … Read More »

It is clear from scripture that we are to provide a defense for the “hope that is in us” (1 Peter 3:15) as well as “earnestly content for the faith once for all delivered” (Jude 1:3). However, it is often popularly understood that the Christian faith is just that, a faith commitment not based upon fact or reason, but simply a belief in that which has no rational justification. Such is an inappropriate and inaccurate conception of the biblical notion of faith. Faith in scripture is not belief in some … Read More »

Atheism is not a monolithic worldview perspective. Many atheists will even balk at my calling atheism a “worldview perspective”. I honestly cannot see how it is a not a worldview. It matters not what shade of atheism one affirms, all manifestations of atheism by implication make claims as to the nature of reality. A worldview is a network of presuppositions not verified by empirical methods, in terms of which all reality is interpreted. If one affirms as part of their network of presuppositions the non-existence of God, or the low … Read More »