Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
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 the first three parts of this series, I presented a Christian theological framework for making sense of the problem of evil. First, God did not create evil; evil exists as a result of the free human choice to rebel against God at the Fall. Second, on the cross, God Himself was willing to humble … Read more
In the first part of this series, I addressed the question of how evil could come to exist at all within the creation of a good, omnipotent God, pointing to the Christian doctrine of the Fall as an answer. In the second part of this series, I addressed the question of how we can believe … Read more
Does God love us? Does God care about us? Where is God? Has He abandoned us? Why doesn’t He do something to help us? These are questions that believers in God who experience deep suffering have been asking for centuries. For example, the biblical book of Psalms contains many psalms written by ancient Israelites that … Read more
The Problem According to monotheism, God is both omnipotent (having unlimited power) and perfectly good. But when we look around at the world we live in, we can see much evil. This creates a problem regarding the reasonableness of monotheism, a problem typically referred to as “the problem of evil.” The problem of evil can … Read more
Harris, Sam. Letter to a Christian Nation. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. I originally wrote this commentary for a friend who told me that this book had inspired him to leave Christianity. The fact that someone could, over a decade after it was written, point to this book as a primary factor in their … Read more
I. Presuppositions When assessing the historical evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, the matter of presuppositions is of fundamental importance. If someone believes that miracles are in principle impossible, no amount of evidence will convince them that Jesus rose from the dead, since they have ruled out this possibility a priori. If someone believes that miracles might … Read more