Apologetics to the Glory of God

Month: May 2010

  • Glenn Beck – Mormon Historian?

    I was listening to Glenn Beck’s show yesterday morning, and heard this discussion:

    (Note: This may be a first, me linking to Media Matters – but they have the relevant clip – for some reason, it won’t let me post the video directly. If you’d prefer not to visit, my blog has it embedded.)

    Here’s a transcript:
    22:40: Glenn: “…the Dead Sea Scrolls, you know what they are? Stu, do you know what the Dead Sea Scrolls are?
    Stu: Well, of course I do…
    Glenn: Now, c’mon, most people don’t.
    Stu: Well, I heard of them, I don’t really …

  • Jesus and the Paralytic (Part 1)

    Passage

    And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them.  And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the …

  • Initial Comments on the Reiter Article

    Adam Omelianchuk has done everyone a great service by summarizing David Reiter’s recent article on the Transcendental Argument for God (TAG) which recently appeared in Philosophia Christi. I left a comment there with my initial response to the article. (I was working from memory and do not have a copy of the article in front of me even now so I cannot get very specific.)

    __________________

    I have read the article in question and it appears to me as though a traditional argument form is being assumed in the case of TAG in order to argue that it is …

  • Was Van Til A Philosopher?

    In response to a recent post on this site, our good friend Mitch from Urban Philosophy made the following comment:

    One can grant that Van Til was a philosopher, but they need not grant that he was a competent philosopher. 😉

    A few comments later, Pierre-Simon Laplace shared with us his own perspective on Van Til’s Presuppositional approach to apologetics. After sharing this, he then posted a rather interesting follow-up comment (in response to Mitch, as far as I can tell).

    “Oh, and Van Til was NOT a Philosopher.”

    At first blush, one might see this merely as a knee-jerk …

  • William Lane Craig’s Inconsistent Objections to Presuppositional Argument

    I recently wrote that two of the most popular objections to TAG are in fact inconsistent with one another. The objections are that TAG is circular and that TAG is unstated. These two assertions are far too readily accepted as some kind of meaningful objections. Moreover, they are inconsistent with one another.

    Today curiosity got the best of me and I began to wonder if anyone in Five Views On Apologetics might have made the error of trying to use not one or the other of the objections in question, but both of them at the same time. …

  • God-Ordained Responsibility

    Paul wrote to Titus that overseers (pastors and elders) in the church are required to be especially adept at refuting those who oppose the truth of God (Titus 1:9). However this is not merely the assigned task of ordained men. All believers are commanded to engage in it as well. Addressing himself to all members of the congregation, Peter penned the following command: “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to give an answer to anyone who asks from you a reason for the hope that is within you, yet with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

    …

  • Two Initial Objections to TAG

    Two of the most common objections to the Transcendental Argument for God from both inside and outside of Christianity appear to be inconsistent with each other.

    Consider:

    1. TAG is circular.

    2. TAG is unstated.

    Perhaps the two can be reconciled, but I believe it would take more than the typical surface level treatment of TAG to do so. One notable exception might be when a bare assertion is offered as the proof itself. However it would be odd to describe a mere assertion as “circular”.…

  • “Cruel Logic”

    …

  • Practical Atheism

    But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
    James 1:22 (ESV)

    Take the rest of the day to reflect on this verse including its apologetic import. You probably really need to.…

  • Alvin Plantinga Retirement Celebration

    Read a little about Alvin Plantinga and the upcoming Alvin Plantinga Retirement Celebration. Registration deadline for the event is May 14!

    There are many good and bad things about Plantinga’s work worth mentioning in the future but I thought his retirement at least worth mentioning for now.…