Elias Ayala

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) 1) Stay Committed to your Christian Convictions: Recognizing that there is no neutrality between the believer and unbeliever is extremely important. Indeed, we see and understand the world in a completely different way than the unbeliever. We see and understand all things as created by God and hence all things are given their proper meaning and interpretation by God Himself. We do not engage with the unbeliever as though this is not true. For the believer, all things have the meaning and connections that … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) In a recent debate I had with a YouTube skeptic, a very interesting argument was brought up in an attempt to show a logical inconsistency within the concept of God’s inherent goodness. The skeptic argued that since God can only create what is consistent with his nature, and God “created” evil as per (Isaiah 45:7), that therefore it seems to follow that God is evil. But, since the Christian conception of God is that he is all good, then this seems to demonstrate a … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The God of the Bible is often accused of being an evil deity. On the one hand, the biblical text declares the goodness and righteousness of God while on the other hand this very same God commands the death of the Canaanites and often allows the evil acts of men to prevail. Does the biblical conception of God leave us with a contradictory picture of a God who is both perfectly good and at the same time relentlessly evil? No. There is no contradiction … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The simple answer is: Of Course! The Gospel is for sinners (and also for the saved). I think it is an imbalanced perspective which takes a particular sin (Homosexuality) and elevates it beyond all other sins. While it is true that the Bible does teach that some sins are worse than others, the Bible also teaches in a general sense that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). All sin deserves just punishment, and because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), all deserve just … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The reliability of the New Testament is a central point of interest and importance in apologetics. If the New Testament is not a reliable historical source about the life and ministry of Jesus and the life and belief of the early church, then there is a clear problem and difficulty in defending the New Testament’s truth claims. When examining an ancient document to check for reliability of transmission and accuracy of copying, it is extremely helpful to have a lot of copies. The more … Read More »

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Of course not! While it is true that we are saved by faith and not by works (Romans 4:5), this does not mean that we can therefore go on living any way we wish. Believers relish in the great grace by which we were saved. God has lavished his love on us even while we were sinners, he sent Christ to die on our behalf (Romans 5:8). In light of this act of grace performed on our behalf, we are called to a higher … Read More »

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 »