Archive for the ‘Topics’ Category
 Photo: confusion by marfis75 (Flickr)
This past Saturday (Feb 25th), I got into a bit of a Twitter kerfuffle with Dr. James White (of aomin.org) over the Canadian (Quebec) “Ethics and Religious Culture” Curriculum which has been causing a stir around the Internet recently. In this case, it is concerning Alberta, but seems related to the Quebec ERC debate (I could be in error here, as the article was a bit mixed). We exchanged a number of messages in the process, but I’m not sure we gained much clarity. (Note to self: Twitter is just horrible for this kind of thing.) I decided to give up on Twitter and post a blog on the topic. If Dr. White would like to respond, he would be most welcomed (and I’d be honored, though it isn’t expected). Continue Reading…
Hidden Treasures in the Book of Job is a book written by scientist, pastor, and astronomer Hugh Ross. While it is, in some sense, a commentary on Job, it is also a considerably different treatment than I have run across before. Most people who analyze Job immediately jump into the suffering Job experienced, God’s sovereignty, or something along those lines. While these would certainly be primary themes of Job (Ross acknowledges this (22) and spends some time on these topics), the point of this book is to ‘read between the lines’ a bit more to see what else we might discover; and discover, Ross does!
The book aims at a general audience, including Christian and non-Christian. It is written at a level which should be accessible to nearly anyone. As to what the book hopes to accomplish, Ross says, “My hope in writing is that readers will find this book’s focus on the science and creation content of Job a liberating experience in answering their questions and concerns about the Christian faith, in healing divisions within the church, and in challenging nonbelievers with evidence they’ve never yet considered.” (13) I believe Ross accomplishes this goal. Continue Reading…
The recent observance of World Environment Day and Canadian Environment Week reminded me of a very important apologetic topic; that of environmentalism or creation care.
What does this have to do with Christian apologetics and is it important? Well, how ‘hot’ this topic is depends on where you live and what circles you keep acquaintance with. If you live in a place such as Vancouver or San Francisco, you might already be quite concerned about the environment, Christian or not. It is part of the culture in these places. In this case, you likely encounter people who blame Christians for much of the environmental damage. You probably should have a good response (ie: apologetics!). Continue Reading…
I’m quite late in responding to the issue of a Christian response to the death of Osama bin Laden. Much has been said on the topic and I had not intended to add to the commentary. However, while listening to the recording of the recent “Unbelievable? the Conference” in London, I decided that this conversation was worth passing along. The entire recording (which is only a small part of the whole conference) is well worth listening to, however I wanted to highlight, in particular, the responses of the panel to the question of how Christians should react to the death of Osama. Continue Reading…
While some apologetics issues remain the same through the ages, such as, ‘did Christ rise on Easter morning?‘ or ‘Does God exist?‘ many depend on specific challenges Christianity is facing at a specific time. This article aims to equip you to answer one of the hottest apologetic topics Christians face today, creation vs evolution. And, this topic can often be as heated (or more so) between Christians than between the Christian and unbeliever.
Yet, it does not need to be this way. With a bit of education on the subject, everyone should be able to discuss it without all the heat, even if they ultimately disagree. Sadly, because of this heat, many have chosen to avoid the details, focusing only on what Genesis 1 is ultimately about. I think this is a crucial mistake apologetically. Continue Reading…
Michael Behe has been a controversial figure, both within biological sciences, as well as within Christian apologetic circles. He is probably best known for his views on Irreducible Complexity in the area of intelligent design. Continue Reading…
I probably know what you are thinking . . . after reading the title, you believe that I am not following my own apologetics tips. You probably also believe that I should start asking for forgiveness, even as I type.
You may be correct on that last point as I could not help but be angered while listening to Friday’s Science Friday program with Ira Flatow. (righteous anger? I’ll let you decide) However, I want to ensure you that I AM NOT inferring that these people are dummies (as in, lack of intelligence). They are some of the smartest people on the planet. That is what is so scary about what they end up saying! Continue Reading…
Most Christians realize that the Bible is very important to the Christian faith. So much so, in fact, that it often leads to treating the Bible in some strange ways. We might take a particular sentence (verse) and memorize it, but use it out of context. There are some strange views of how the Bible was produced (ie: dictation). Some Christians might venerate the physical Bible in the home, yet hardly ever crack it open and just read.
‘Just’ reading the Bible is an important practice that has, too often, been lost today, especially with all the technology we now have. I must admit that I have been guilty of this as well. I have participated in (and have taught) book studies where I dug into a particular book or text. I’ve read the entire Bible at least a couple times for classes over the years or in studying the individual books. However, up until recently, I have not made a great effort to simply read the Bible as a book and try to get familiar with it in an overall way. Continue Reading…
Over the years, my e-mail address has somehow found its way onto the lists of a whole bunch of political and Christian organizations, ranging from extreme ‘left’ to extreme ‘right’ in their views. Sometimes, browsing these can be amusing, but at other times, it just makes me mad.
This is what happened about three weeks ago (and in the last couple weeks) when I received e-mails from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) about the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ project in New York city. Continue Reading…
In the coming weeks, I will be posting a blog which should be very helpful to people struggling with the issue of creation vs evolution. However, as a background to that article, we first need to take a look at some of the terms used in the discussion. We will begin with the word evolution itself.
Definition of Evolution
It is important to realize that people can mean different things by the term ‘evolution’. I find that people are often talking past each other in discussions when using this term. It is important, then, to get everyone on the same page so they can truly get to the core of agreement or disagreement.
Continue Reading…
|
Recent Comments