Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
The problem of evil is the difficulty of reconciling belief in the existence of an all-powerful, perfectly good God with the reality of the existence of evil in the world. Previously on this blog, I have done a four part series on the problem of evil, addressing the problem with reference to the biblical story … Read more
Christians believe that salvation and eternal life come through faith in Christ alone. Apart from Christ, no one can have a true, saving relationship with God. Apart from Christ, good works can do nothing to earn salvation or eternal life. Skeptics have raised a number of objections to this Christian understanding of salvation. Exclusive and … Read more
One of the most basic and important Christian theological beliefs is the doctrine of the resurrection. Christians believe that when Jesus comes again to fully inaugurate God’s Kingdom and to make all things new, every human being who has ever lived and died will be raised from the dead. Then, we will all experience God’s … Read more
The cross of Jesus Christ is a central focal point of Christian faith. Christians believe that Jesus’s death on the cross and subsequent resurrection was a fundamentally important event that somehow or other has provided a way for the salvation for humankind. In Christian theology, this is known as the doctrine of the Atonement. Different … Read more
Jesus: Human and Divine Christians believe that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate. In Jesus, God became one of us, a human being. Jesus is a Divine Person who has taken upon Himself our human nature, such that His Divine nature and His human nature are united in one Person. As classically expressed by the ancient … Read more
According to the doctrine of Divine simplicity, God does not have parts. God is not a being who happens to possess various qualities. Rather, God simply is the Supremely Perfect Being, and His existence is His essence. Strictly speaking, God does not have various distinct properties; rather, the various properties of the Divine nature we … Read more
According to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, there is one God who eternally exists as three Divine “Persons”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is possibly the Christian doctrine which is most misunderstood and criticized by non-Christians. How can God be both one and three? If God is three People, then it seems that … Read more
Omnipresence Christians believe that God is an omnipresent Spirit. He is not a physical body, and is not confined by the category of space. Instead, His Being is immaterial, and exists everywhere. How, skeptics ask, can Christians reasonably believe in such an invisible God? And even if this immaterial God exists, how can an immaterial … Read more
According to classical theism, God, the Creator of the universe, is the Supremely Perfect Being. This Supremely Perfect Being is simple (not composed of parts), eternal (has always existed and always will exist), omnipotent (unlimited in power), omniscient (knows everything), omnipresent (not spatially limited), perfectly wise, and perfectly Good. According to orthodox Christian Trinitarian theology, … Read more
Apologetics is a reasoned intellectual defense of the reasonableness and coherence of the Christian worldview. God’s word tells us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet 3:15), and apologetics is an attempt to do this in a … Read more