General

Evil and Suffering: Evidence for God

By L. Alfred James The title of this article might strike you as click-bait, or an attempt to be funny. But my intentions are both sincere and utterly serious. Believe it or not, the evil that exists in the world is actually evidence that supports the Christian worldview. In my last article I demonstrated how, if atheism is true, there is no such thing as objective right and wrong. That is, atheists have no justification for morally condemning anything, even murder. William Lane Craig makes this point very succinctly: If … Read More »

Which Monster Are You?

By L. Alfred James In my previous article we compared two different theories about human nature. The most popular theory claims that human beings are born morally pure. The only reason they do bad things is because of the evil influences of their environment (e.g., a greedy society, a flawed education, harsh circumstances, etc.). The Christian theory claims that human beings have an evil streak within them; they are fallen. They do bad things because they have a nature that has been corrupted, a nature that has been changed from … Read More »

Are Human Beings Good By Nature?

By L. Alfred James In Luke 11:13, Jesus says something that sounds a bit strange: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Within the context (see 11:1) it is clear that Jesus is talking to his disciples. He is not talking to the religious leaders who are plotting to kill him. He is not even talking to Jewish people who are agnostic or disinterested … Read More »

Can You Do Whatever You Want As Long As You Don’t Hurt Anyone?

By L. Alfred James The most commonly proclaimed moral principle in our society is this: “You can do whatever you want, as long as you don’t hurt anyone.” This view of morality is outrageously popular. In the public square, it is assumed that every intelligent person totally agrees with it. One of the reasons for the popularity of this principle is that it doesn’t condemn much of anything. In fact, it only condemns behaviors that cause physical or emotional harm. So, if you don’t cause pain in someone’s body, or … Read More »

Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) This is a question that has divided many Christians. Some suggest that salvation can be lost, and multiple scriptures are used to demonstrate this fact; especially those found in the book of Hebrews which often appear under the moniker of the “Warning Passages”. These passages are found in: (2:1-4, 3:7-4:13, 5:11-6:12, 10:19-39, 12:13-29). There are other passages that are often appealed to but the warning passages in Hebrews typically are used to demonstrate the possibility of a believer losing his or her salvation. Others … Read More »

Is Morality Just Subjective?

By L. Alfred James Is morality merely a useful fiction? That is, are moral rules just social conventions? Or does morality have some kind of objective existence? Our culture stridently asserts that moral beliefs are entirely a product of one’s culture. If one is brought up to believe that, say, premarital sex is wrong, then one will have compunctions of conscience about premarital sex. Or if one is brought up to believe that it is a sin to not recycle, then one will feel bad if one fails to recycle … Read More »

What Is Heresy?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) Heresy is a word that is too often thrown around in the church today, and it most definitely has pejorative connotation. The negative thing is that views that are typically categorized as “non-essentials” are raised up to the category of being essential, and hence, when folks deviate from these non-essentials that have been erringly deemed essential doctrine, the term heresy is thrown about. This of course is a misuse and abuse of the term as it does not properly delineate the important difference between … Read More »

Do Our Religious Beliefs Really Matter?

By L. Alfred James “I don’t think it matters what you believe, as long as you are sincere about it. Sincerity is the only thing that really matters when it comes to religious beliefs.” Have you ever heard this claim? I have heard it literally thousands of times. Friends, family, and coworkers have announced it in my presence ad nauseum. I’ve also heard it proclaimed on TV, in movies, and even in church. We are told constantly that the content of our beliefs does not matter. Sincerity is all that … Read More »

If God, Why Starvation?

By Elias Ayala (MDiv & M.A.T.) This particular question is in some way a re-hashing of the philosophical problem of evil. The argument basically tries to demonstrate that the existence of evil and suffering are inconsistent with the existence of an all-loving and all-powerful God. This form of the argument is potent if successful since if the concept of God is logically incoherent than it follows that such a conception of God is false. It is important for the Christian apologist to be able to demonstrate that there is in … Read More »

Is Christianity A Gamble?

By L. Alfred James “You are giving up so many things. You don’t act the way you used to. And now you spend so much time with Christians. And you give a lot of your money to your church, and also give money to the poor. That’s all cool, if that’s what you are really into. But I just wonder if it’s a good idea. How do you know it’s all true? How do you know you aren’t wasting your life on a lie? I mean, you don’t know for … Read More »