Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
Jed 
Most modern Western people tend to think of ethics in a very individualistic manner. They consider the primary ethical question to be, “What should I do?” The same can be said of most modern Western Christians. They consider the primary ethical question to be, “What does God want me to do?” The Church may be … Read more
For many Christians, the significance of the cross of Jesus Christ is that Jesus suffered, so we do not have to suffer. Jesus died, so we do not have to worry about dying. Jesus paid the penalty of our sins, so we do not have to worry about repenting from sin and making painful sacrifices … Read more
A year ago, I made the case for the importance of theological ethics. If Christians want to live faithfully, we cannot uncritically absorb the ethical ideas of our surrounding culture. Nor can we rely on our intuitions and feelings, since these often lead us astray. Nor can we simply look in the Bible for proof … Read more
Theological Method Before beginning an investigation of a particular subject, it is important to establish a clear and consistent method for determining what is true as it relates to that subject. This is true regarding the subject of theology, just as much as it is with other subjects, such as science and history. A person … Read more
The Bible is the Church’s primary and ultimate Authority for determining what Christians should believe and how they should live. But what does that mean? How can this collection of writings from 2,000 years ago or more tell us how we should think and live today? How can this one book have things to say … Read more
One of the most prominent contemporary theological debates among Christians who believe Scripture is the Authoritative word of God revolves around the inerrancy of Scripture. According to the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture, the Bible is completely free of any errors on any topic, including science, history, and so forth (This is to be … Read more
In recent decades, some Christians have claimed that the Authority of the Jesus of the Gospels is greater than the authority of the apostle Paul. Since Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, is the ultimate revelation of God, they argue, the example and teaching of Jesus in the Gospels is of higher Authority than the … Read more
The Bible is a collection of various writings that make up the Scriptures of Christianity. But what does it mean to call the Bible “Scripture”? At the risk of oversimplification, I will distinguish between five basic Christian positions on this issue: Scripture is an expression of the human religious experience of people in the past … Read more
In the first two parts of this series, I responded to some of the common objections made against Christian ethics by modern Western non-Christians. In the third part, I responded to objections against the Divine Command Theory of ethics made by philosopher Michael Martin in his book, Atheism, Morality, and Meaning.[1]Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, … Read more
In the first two parts of this series, I responded to some of the common objections made against Christian ethics by modern Western non-Christians. These next two parts of this series will be more focused, responding to an extended attack on the coherence and reasonableness of Christian ethics made by philosopher Michael Martin in his … Read more