Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
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
In this second part of this series, I will continue to respond to some objections modern Western non-Christians commonly make against Christian ethics. Wastes Resources The Objection: Christianity causes people to waste resources. Christians waste time, energy, and money on Christian buildings, Christian religious rituals, Christian writings, Christian theological teaching, and Christian evangelism. In a … Read more
In this apologetics series, I will respond to some of the common objections made against Christian ethics by modern Western non-Christians. Distracts from Improving Earthly Life The Objection: Christianity is actually a hindrance to ethical action. It makes people “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.” It makes people focus on a “pie … Read more
In a previous post, I addressed a popular interpretation of the Protestant principle of sola scriptura (“Scripture alone”), arguing that Protestants still must acknowledge church tradition to be to some extent authoritative, even if Scripture is their highest theological authority. In this post, I will address a popular interpretation of the Protestant principle of sola … Read more
In my last post, I examined how paying close attention to some key Old Testament citations in the Gospel of Mark can help us better understand the theological teachings of Mark’s Gospel. In this post, I will examine how paying close attention to how the New Testament uses the Old Testament to talk about Jesus … Read more