Apologetics to the Glory of God

Category: Resources

  • Mr. White, Mr. Grey, and Mr. Black IX

    It’s been a while! We will, however, pick up from where we left off in this exchange, and examine Mr. Black’s reply to Mr. Grey.

    “Well,” says Mr. Black, “this is great news indeed. I knew that the modernists were willing with us to start from human experience as the final reference point in all research. I knew that they were willing with us to start from Chance as the source of facts, in order then to manufacture such facts of nature and of history as the law of non-contradiction, based on Chance, will allow. I also knew that the

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  • The Covenantal Apologetic: Principles to Practice

    It cannot be sufficiently stressed that the covenantal apologetic is first and foremost a Reformed apologetic.  Consistently, a practitioner will be Confessional, therefore Covenantal and Calvinistic.  These are sometimes called the “3 Cs.”  This is not being stressed for a subjectivistic “purity’s” sake, nor for controversialism’s sake.  It is being stressed for the sake of consistency.  First and foremost in Reformed theology is the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture.  From Scripture, we also have revealed the doctrine of God, and all of the other doctrines we believe and hold to.  Consistent with these doctrines, we preach, and we …

  • Jeremiah 31 and Newness

    Most Covenantal discussions revolve around what, precisely, is new about the New Covenant.  Much ink has been spilled, and literary armies have marched forth to battle on the strength of this one word.  A newer entrant to the lists has their own opinion on the matter, and believes that the newness consists in a complete distinction from the old.  As one adherent of New Covenant Theology stated to me in conversation, the difference lies in “newness” and “not like”.  In a sense, this is true. What we bring to bear on these words, presuppositionally, will determine what we think they …

  • Have you read the Quran?

    Given the recent attention to the horrible actions taking place in Paris by Muslims, I thought I would write this post on something that I have seen come up a few times before. “Irreligious” people who tar religion, including Christianity, with the same brush and brand it all wrong and evil and the source of many problems,  appear to come out in droves when events like what have taken place recently occur. If you want proof- check YouTube. No doubt a Christian would be in a position to respond to criticisms that come from such people, and ultimately, the truth …

  • Second Timothy 2 and Unbelief

    I recently encountered a comment on 2Tim which asserted that this passage precludes “protracted arguments with unbelievers.” The verse cited as proof of this was 2 Timothy 2:14. Unfortunately, there was no argument accompanying this statement. The additional statement was made that “We have zero evidence that Jesus and the apostles spent protracted time dealing with unbelievers.” I’d like to deal with these comments to follow.

    Firstly, let’s look at the passage. Obviously, 2 Timothy is written to Timothy, a young pastor at Ephesus, and protege of Paul. The entire middle section of the second chapter concerns practical instructions for …

  • Standing our Ground: But Not Because of Tradition

    While it might be politic to cite the opinion of someone whose idea of things is, at least superficially, similar to our own, that doesn’t negate the requirement to examine that opinion with an eye toward the presuppositional commitments of the one expressing it.  When we, as Reformed believers, committed to Sola Scriptura, look at a subject like the current push for “gay marriage” – what sort of things are we taking for granted when we take that look?  I refer, of course, to the columnist Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry, who recently wrote an article entitled “Why so many Christians won’t …

  • On Proper Analysis – Scott Terry and VanTillianFire

    The author, Aaron Dale, at the blog “Van Tillian Fire,” has written a critique of my much-critiqued “Dear Sye” post.  For reasons unbeknownst to me, he neglected to read the post of the following day, “The Shattered Stained Glass Window”, as well as the post “A Necessary Distinction.”   Why is this important, you ask?  It is important because these were written several months ago – and written specifically to provide specifics about issues I left unstated, or merely referred to in general terms in the initial post.  Why did I leave them unstated? I left them …

  • The Inveterate Incoherency of Race

    Here is the problem, at root.  We talk about race – but what do we mean when we say that?  If that question sounds familiar, it should!  Before we can address the issue, we need to define the issue.  So first, what is meant by race, but secondly, from whence do we get it? Thirdly, is our discussion of it consistent with the rest of our doctrine?  You typically already know the answer to this once you’ve answered the first two questions – but it is good to answer it clearly, so that you face it clearly.

    As already mentioned, …

  • God is unity.

    I have been reading through John Gill’s works on the nature and attributes of God, and am struck with how perfect and united all of God’s attributes are.

    Consider a few examples:

    God is infinite: God is without bounds, immeasurable, uncontained and without limits. This necessitates two further attributes: Omnipresence and Eternity. Why? Because God is both unbound and without limits in everything, which includes both space and time.

    What follows on from here? Well, if we consider that God upholds all things by His power, then that necessitates omnipotence – because God upholds everything, His power must extend to …

  • The Haberdashery of Bruce Gerencser

    I have been watching, with interest, the stream of attempted rebuttal flowing from Bruce’s virtual pen today.  We began the day with the assertion that yesterday’s post was a “deconstruction” of Bruce’s story.  I found that odd, myself.  Especially since I am the author of the post, after all.  When you intentionally include such sentences as “See, Bruce doesn’t need to inflate his resume” or, ” I don’t have any concern with rewriting his story”, or even ” What is actually relevant is whether your resume has any bearing on what you actually have to say.”  Now, I understand …