Apologetics to the Glory of God

Author: C. L. Bolt

  • Calvin and Thomas

    Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other. For, in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves; nay, that our very being is

    …

  • Abraham Kuyper on the Absurdity of Secular Art

    There is no unity in your thinking save by a well-ordered philosophical system, and there is no system of philosophy which does not ascend to the issues of the Infinite. In the same way there is no unity in your moral existence save by the union of your inner existence with the moral world-order, and there is no moral world-order conceivable but for the impression of an infinite Power that has ordained order in this moral world. Thus also no unity in the revelation of art is conceivable, except by the art inspiration of an eternal Beautiful, which flows from

    …

  • When Atheists Are Too Obvious

    Glance over the atheist’s Twitter account below and note the constant topic of discussion.

    https://twitter.com/RosaRubicondior

    Then, read the excerpt below from Chapter 5 of George Orwell’s 1984.

    ’How is the Dictionary getting on?’ said Winston, raising his voice to overcome

    the noise.

    ’Slowly,’ said Syme. ’I’m on the adjectives. It’s fascinating.’

    He had brightened up immediately at the mention of Newspeak. He pushed

    his pannikin aside, took up his hunk of bread in one delicate hand and his cheese

    in the other, and leaned across the table so as to be able to speak without

    shouting.

    ’The Eleventh Edition …

  • Paul Helm Reviews “Molinism: The Contemporary Debate”

    For the Reformed who debated Molinism in the seventeenth century, God’s knowledge of what takes place in his creation, whatever else it is, is knowledge of what he will decree. So the idea that there are states of affairs, including the counterfactuals of creaturely freedom, which are distinct from the divine mind and which are made true or false only by acts of creaturely freedom which God abets by supporting and enabling but which he does not foreknow, is quite unacceptable.

    – Paul Helm, See http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/molinism_the_contemporary_debate.

    HT: Steve Hays…

  • Christ is Lord of philosophy too.

    Skepticism is a philosophical illustration of the foolishness of unbelief described in Scripture.…

  • Overly Pious Apologetic Practitioners

    Often people argue that conversions do not come about through argument. The idea is that faith in the Gospel alone is what saves. We cannot argue anyone into the kingdom. So we should just preach the Gospel.

    The suggestion is superficially insightful. It sounds pious to preach the Gospel. And it is. But imagine preaching the Gospel to those who vocally reject its most basic tenets. Once the Gospel has been preached, and the unbeliever persists in his or her statements to the effect that God does not exist, sin is a psychological trick to get children to behave, Jesus …

  • Models, Frameworks, Circularity, and Blind Faith

    Introduction

    A number of my debate opponents have spoken of “models” or “frameworks.” A model or framework is posited as the basis of knowledge.

    For example, one model or framework claims that we may only come to know things through evidence available to the five senses. But the claim that we may only come to know things through evidence available to the five senses is not itself accepted upon the basis of evidence available to the five senses!

    Assumption

    Some will respond that a model or framework does not have to follow its own rules. A model or framework is …

  • The Consistently Inconsistent Worldview Objection

    Suppose someone posits that his or her worldview is consistently inconsistent. He or she admits that there are many inconsistencies within the worldview. In this case, inconsistency is not something to be shunned. Inconsistency is to be affirmed. Embraced. Granted approval. Are there such worldviews? Yes. There are worldviews that come close to rejecting the need for consistency. Buddhism and postmodernism are two examples. How might the covenantal apologist respond?

    First, an inconsistency-affirming worldview is also consistency-affirming. There is nothing more inconsistent with inconsistency than consistency. To be consistent, an inconsistency-affirming worldview must also be a consistency-affirming worldview. …

  • On A Personal Note

    Lately I have been battling some depression. Discouragement. Despondency. At this point in my life, and with the various activities I am involved in, I feel as though I am constantly jumping through hoops. When one is out of the way, ten more are set in front of me. Sometimes it makes me wish that I were not a Christian.

    There are at least two problems here. One is that I am falsely identifying all of those things with which I concern myself on a daily basis with my obligatory Christian duty. The second is that I frequently forget a …

  • Dead Horses and Atheist Cowboys: Can everything be explained by science?

    Fundamentalist atheists insist upon pitting science against religion as though the two are at odds when really they are not. They insist upon taking the side of science as though they are experts in the field in virtue of their atheism when really they are not. They insist that their dogmatic assumption of scientism – roughly the idea that science is the only or best way to knowledge – is rational when really it is not.

    Let’s be clear. Science and religion are not enemies in the least. In fact, science presupposes a Christian worldview. Atheists are not necessarily experts …