Apologetics to the Glory of God

Tag: bad arguments

  • Annihilationism, Conditionalism, Monism, et al.: The “Musty Canard” of the Alleged Platonic Dualistic Interpretive Lens

    Adherents to a number of theological positions that are often related to annihilationism posit that the vast majority of Christians throughout history have incorrectly read the anthropological and eschatological teachings of Scripture through the Greek lens of Platonic dualism such that they have also settled upon unbiblical conclusions regarding the constitution of the human being, the intermediate state, and the eternal punishment of the wicked.

    Even Greg Bahnsen gave some credence to this accusation (http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pa143.htm), though he continued to hold that there is an immaterial aspect to the human mind, an intermediate state in virtue of a temporary …

  • The Best in Atheistic Argumentation

    Witness the ultimate atheistic counter to presuppositional argumentation:

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  • “Christianity is a Man-made Religion”

    It is always amusing to hear some of the language that non-Christians, and especially atheists, use in their assaults on the Christian faith and defenses of their own position.

    Presumably the atheist thinks it is somewhat problematic and perhaps even insulting to the Christian to dismiss his or her position as “man-made.” We can set aside the obvious “problem” with using “man” this way in the current academic climate. We can also set aside that the unbeliever almost always merely asserts without argument that Christianity is man-made. We may then note that the statement as it stands is no insult …

  • The Second Paragraph of The Fire That Consumes

    “In the public square, fire and brimstone are definitely out of vogue. Hell shows up in conversation often enough, but generally as an expletive rather than as a serious subject. Hell is not unique in this regard – the same can be said of Jesus Christ. More troubling than hell’s absence from secular society is its general disappearance from many Christian pulpits. Interestingly, although nearly all evangelical pastors and teachers firmly believe that Jesus will ‘come to judge the living and the dead,’ a considerable number of them cannot remember when they last preached or taught on the subject. Might

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  • Gill on Sheol

    Another name or word by which it is expressed, is Sheol, which is often rendered the “grave”; as in Genesis 42:38 and 44:31 and should be where it is sometimes translated “hell,” as in Psalm 16:10 yet in some places it seems as if it could not be understood of that, but of the state or place of punishment of the wicked; as in Psalm 9:17. “The wicked shall be turned into hell”: now to be turned into the earth, or to be laid in the grave, is not peculiar to wicked men; it is the common lot of all,

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  • Gill – of the Final State of the Wicked

    It is called destruction, or Abaddon, which is the name of the king of the bottomless pit, (Rev. 9:11 which signifies a destroyer, and is rendered destruction in Job 26:6, Proverbs 27:20 and 15:11 where “hell and destruction” are mentioned together, as signifying the same thing, the one being explanative of the other. Indeed the grave, which the word used for hell sometimes signifies, is called the pit of destruction and corruption, because bodies laid in it corrupt and waste away; but here it seems to signify the place of the punishment of the wicked, where body and soul are

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  • Fudge and Date: On how to view challenges to orthodoxy

    Date: “When you originally published your book, how was it received? Did you find that traditionalists were giving maybe some serious consideration to your work, and maybe reconsidering their own view, or did they consider you a threat and try to stamp out any influence you might have?”

    Fudge: “Interestingly, I’ve learned over the past 67 years, Chris, that the reactions I get to this subject, and to this book, are not really so much reactions to this book, as much as they are reactions out of the heart of the person who makes the reaction. And the same reaction

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  • Internet Skeptics and Bart Erhman

    Justin Taylor points out an interesting point in the introduction of Bart Erhman’s book Did Jesus Exist? where Dr. Erhman was surprised people were using his work (even to the extent of misquoting him) to argue that Jesus didn’t exist. This may come in handy next time you are in a conversation and your conversation partner keeps misquoting Erhman.

    http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2012/03/30/the-historical-evidence-of-the-existence-of-jesus-of-nazareth/…

  • A Fantastic Insight into Redaction Criticism and the Islamic use of it

    Two brief excerpts:

    I can tell you, without hesitation, that the vast majority of those who embrace form and redaction criticism in all of its flavors and kinds do so out of tradition, not out of having examined the case set forth in defense of these methods. In fact, very, very few of those who glibly repeat the party line have ever even given thought to any other viewpoint. Anyone who thinks there is a fair, open dialogue in “the academy” over these topics is simply misinformed. To “get ahead” in Christian scholarship you must—not should, MUST—toe the line when

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  • New Atheism, Intentional Ignorance, and Apathy

    Over at erstwhile atheist blogger Paul Jenkins’ site, he posted the following:

    At Choosing Hats, contributor McFormtist considers what constitutes successful apologetics. As the type of apologetic usually in question at Choosing Hats is “covenantal” or “presuppositional” apologetics, and my own limited encounters with presuppositionalists have led me to the conclusion that presuppositonal apologetics is spectacularly unsuccessful in the declared purpose of apologetics in general, naturally my interest was piqued.

    Early on in the piece comes this:

    Our theology dictates to us that it is God who changes men’s hearts. As Reformed Christians, we understand that God in

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