Category: Uncategorized
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More Mitch, Moreland
In a recent post Mitch LeBlanc accuses me of blundering and misunderstanding apologetics. I consider these extremely strong claims coming from someone who argues as inconsistently regarding apologetics as Mitch does.
Mitch LeBlanc has been writing comments on my posts regarding apologetic methodology in which he attempts to actually defend the method even though as far as I know he claims to be an atheist and rejects the traditional arguments for the existence of God. Mitch often ranges well beyond the scope of a topic in responding to it; that this is the case may be seen in his presentation …
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Of Mitch and Moreland
For some unknown reason Mitch LeBlanc has recently been half-heartedly defending non-presuppositionalist apologetics from the evil presuppositionalist Chris Bolt. It is as though he believes that the contributors to Choosing Hats have never really dealt with arguments in favor of other methods of apologetics, or that we are not familiar with the other methods of apologetics, but I do not want to assume this concerning his belief. However, I will state plainly that if he believes this, he is incorrect.
Mitch wrote a comment on my post that was about the statement Dr. Craig made prior to his debate with …
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No, Dr. Craig; I will not and I cannot.
Today I was shown the first part of the William Lane Craig versus Christopher Hitchens debate. Before Craig begins to present his case, he mentions that he welcomes those who “check their view at the door”. This allegedly allows for an “objective” position from which to evaluate argument and evidence.
Unfortunately for Craig, no such position exists. He is only entitled to disagree with this claim if he rejects what is set forth in the Christian worldview with respect to the issue. This is God’s world and we are made in the image of God. Christian teaching is that Christ …
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Reason for unbelief…
Me: Why are you an unbeliever?
Atheist: Chris: because I don’t accept the notion of any god, nor the Bible’s claims
Me: None of the Bible’s claims?
Atheist: Well, it gets some: details right… there was a Jerusalem, Roman Empire, etc :p
Me: What do you mean by “notion”? Does “notion” = “concept”?
Atheist: Well, I meant it in that context, yes
Me: Why do you reject the concept of the Christian God?
Atheist: Because I don’t accept scripture’s claims regarding god, his intervention in human affairs, the life of Jesus and the theology it teaches
Me: Right but anything …
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Where To Start
When it comes to disagreements about the existence of God people usually want to proceed without ever setting down a clear set of rules by which to make a case. We often assume that we are all thinking along the same lines as to what the rules are when it comes to discussions about God and truth and knowledge and other such subjects. This assumption is unfortunate because Christians and non-Christians “play” by a different set of rules. The amount of literature written about the subject of the existence of God could fill libraries, yet if we searched through all …
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Applying Paul
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov 1:7 (ESV)Recognizing God for who He is and giving Him due reverence as Lord is the beginning of knowledge, not the end of it. This is very different from what most people think today. Even some Christians think that if we just start with what we already know without God, we can show people that God really does exist. From there, we can tell people about who God is. This does not match the verse though. A knowledge of God does not come …
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A Different Set of Rules
Imagine you are at a friend’s house playing a game of pool. Your friend begins the game by breaking, but not a single ball goes into a pocket. Now it is your turn. You step up, adjust your pool stick just right, and sink a striped ball into a side pocket. You call solids but your friend objects.
“Huh? You can’t be solids. You sank a striped, so you are stripes.”
“Nope. It doesn’t go by what kind of ball you sink first. Being the first to sink a ball just means that you get to choose first, not that … -
Beware of Philosophy!
It is not uncommon to find people who are afraid of philosophy. Philosophy makes people question things. When people question things they start believing new things. It can be dangerous to believe new things. Besides, philosophers are weird. They stand out from the crowd. They are picky about what they say and write and do. Philosophers look at the world in a different way from most other people.
Christians are often afraid of philosophy. The reason for this is that they take their beliefs so seriously. It is sinful to question God and His Word, and philosophy can lead people …
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Not Overly Surprising
A few months ago a close relative of mine visited a church gathering. The person who “preached” that day is a well known evidentialist apologist. If I wrote the name of the person the majority of the readers would undoubtedly know this person.
So what happened? Well, according to my close relative, the Bible was never opened during the entire course of the “sermon”. I told her that I was not surprised.
One’s apologetic is generally indicative of and affects one’s view of Scripture. Evidentialism is grounded in philosophy. If we are to compare it to presuppositionalism, the chart might …
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Why The Bible Is Necessary For Apologetics: A Brief Reflection On 1 Peter 3.15
Introduction
The study of defending the Christian faith has recently become extremely popular. Bookstores are filled with manuals on how Christians can defend their faith. Usually the books present “facts” from secular writings. The Big Bang Theory, Ancient Greek philosophy, Near Death Experiences, selections from secular Roman historians and even liberal theology are used to try and show unbelievers that Christianity is reasonable. Christians are encouraged to look at these “facts” with unbelievers in a “neutral” way as though God does not exist or the Bible is not His Word. I find this odd.
When we are looking for help …