General

What Does God Think About Sex?

By L. Alfred James The Christian church has an unfortunate history of encouraging people to think of sex as dirty, as a subject to be avoided, and as a source of shame. For instance, in the late 100’s the church father Origen taught that sex was inherently impure and should be carefully avoided.1 Likewise, in the 300’s, St. Ambrose echoed this sentiment. He declared that virginity was a superior form of spirituality. He even told married priests that they should stop having sex with their wives.2 After Ambrose, Augustine (perhaps … Read More »

Are We Punished for Adam’s Sin?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) There is a sense in which we are and a sense in which we are not. On the one hand, because of Adam’s sin all men have inherited a sin nature as a result and hence all men are inclined to sin by nature. As Romans 5:12 is clear to point out. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…” What is particularly interesting is that last … Read More »

7 Objections to Christianity

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Isn’t the Bible Filled with Errors? No, the Bible is not filled with errors and the person suggesting such bears the burden of proof to demonstrate this. An opponent of Christianity does not get to go unchallenged when they bring forth objections. The burden of proof is typically placed upon the person making the claim, and hence, if someone says that the Bible has errors, it is incumbent upon that person to make his case and not merely stipulate that the Bible has errors. … Read More »

Christian Apologetics & Wicca

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Christian apologetics is the defense of the faith. While it is often associated popularly with defending the faith against atheists and other skeptics, it also involves interaction with false religious systems. This can include Mormonism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witnesses and others. However, in this article I want to focus on the topic of Wicca. Wicca is a religious belief system centered upon gods, goddesses, and the worship of nature. It is very much an earth-based religion and its proponents engage in the attempt to manipulate … Read More »

Atomic Bomb Apologetics

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) A simple hand grenade has nothing on an atomic bomb. Atomic bombs completely decimate everything within its all-encompassing scope and causes its target to completely disintegrate. While apologetic hand grenades can be helpful and useful in keeping the opponent at bay answering their tit-for tat objections, they can never fully defeat the foe since all he need do is regroup, place bandages on his intellectual wounds and plan his next attack. However, if the nature of our apologetic is that of an atomic bomb, … Read More »

Illumination or Revelation? Which is It?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) The Bible is a revelation of God. It intends to convey divine truth to man so that the will of God is understood and the actions of God are made known throughout redemptive history. The Bible is not a book of enigmatic riddles and secret codes. As a divine revelation, the Bible seeks to unveil many things of which were hidden in times past and to illuminate that which God has already made known. However, it is important to recognize that the revelation of … Read More »

Can We Know or Say Anything Meaningful About God?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Some have the understanding that the concept of God is so grand and incomprehensible, that even if God did exist, we couldn’t know anything about him. The very moment we try to conceptualize the infinite, every time we try to put into words some truth with regards to God, we have lost the concept of the infinite, since we have limited the infinite by either linguistic constructs or conceptual analysis. So, the person will suggest that even if God existed he is unknowable and … Read More »

A Silent God Provides No Basis For Morality

By L. Alfred James In my last post, we saw how the Bible has been the most important factor in the development of Western culture’s attitudes regarding human life, dignity, freedom, and equality. Even an atheistic historian like Tom Holland admits that Christianity has been the greatest social force for making the world a better place. That is an interesting historical observation. But it prompts an important question: Why? Why would the Bible have that effect? Why would the Bible lead to a reverence for human life? Why would the … Read More »

Practical Apologetics

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Apologetics should be practical and useful for everyday life situations and not confined simply to academia and the discussions/debates between the scholars. If we are reminded of the primary context of the New Testament, much of its content is aimed at the average joe of the first century of which we as modern readers can glean great practical application. The New Testament itself presents to us a narrative in which God used normal people to proclaim and defend his truth. Indeed however, this is … Read More »

The Power to Change the World

By L. Alfred James Do you want to become a better person? Do you want to grow in your character? Do you want to enhance your ability to love others? Do you want to improve your health? If so, I can tell you what you need: truth. It sounds trite to say this, but it still needs to be said: Human beings need truth. They need to hear the truth, and they need to be firmly convinced that it is indeed the truth. That is what motivates them to make … Read More »