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Category Archives: Apologia
Protestant “De-Conversion” and the Epistemological Shift
I began to consider whether a person would naturally pick up the distinctive trail of the Protestant Reformation if one started with the writings of the early Church? The answer increasingly seemed to be no. I knew the reformers had explicitly rejected much of what I was finding in the Church Fathers. … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged called to communion, church fathers, epistemology, jason stewart, opc, roman catholic church
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Defending Life
Some may say that defenders of life, who oppose those that promote death by means of abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and others, defend life solely on the basis of religious beliefs. But that could not be further from … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged Abortion, death, embryo, ethics, euthanasia, life, stem cell research
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Books by Reformed Apologists
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, cornelius van til, defending the faith, greg bahnsen, john frame, philosophy, reformed theology, scott oliphint
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Delight and Disgust: The Inescapable Beginning and the Inescapable End (Descartes vs. Sartre)
I have previously written of the contrast between Descartes’s and Augustine’s understanding of the dictum cogito ergo sum. Let us look at this dictum again from another angle: Descartes (with respect to knowledge) vs. Sartre (with respect to existence). For Descartes, … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged certainty, cogito ergo sum, descartes, existentialism, existentialist, knowledge, nausea, sartre
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Book Review: Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith
See my review here.
Deconstructing Deconstruction
From Answering Bad Philosophy: You say that a speaker’s words do not carry meaning and intent. I say you are ugly. You are angry. QED.
Augustine vs. Descartes
René Descartes, father of Modern Philosophy, is famous for his oft-quoted dictum, “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am.). Descartes, on a quest to lay a foundation upon which to build a system of knowlege, began the process of … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged augustine, city of god, descartes, doubt, knowledge, skepticism
3 Comments
The True Philosopher
Now if wisdom is identical with God, by whom all things were made, as we are assured by divine authority and divine truth, then the true philosopher is the lover of God (St. Augustine, City of God, 298). Thus, the … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged augustine, Christianity, city of god, God, philosophy, plato
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A Caution Against Anti-Christian Science
Read the whole thing here by the 19th century Southern Presbyterian R.L. Dabney. Here are a few choice quotes. Can the Scriptures, my brethren, be shown plastic enough to be remoulded, without total fracture of their authority, into agree- ment … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, Christianity, creation, discussions, naturalism, robert lewis dabney, science, theism
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The Best 50 Minutes Spent this Week
Absolutely brilliant.
Posted in Apologia
Tagged eye witness, gospels, new testament, peter williams, testimony
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A Monster That Surpasses All Understanding
If he exalts himself, I will humble him. If he humbles himself, I will exalt him. And I go on contradicting him Until he understands That he is a monster that passes all understanding -Blaise Pascal, Pensées, #130
Atheism and Terminological Mischief
Bill Vallicella, a.k.a. Maverick Philosopher, is at it again, taking atheists to task who define atheism as a “lack of theistic belief.” Read here for his trenchant remarks and criticisms of such a proposition, especially because this sort of “terminological … Continue reading
The Apologetic Task
Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men … Continue reading
Head and Heart: The Love for God Fueled by the Love for Truth
The Love for the Mind or The Love for God? Abusus et Desuetudo The question concerning the role of the mind and the Christian faith has often caused the church to vacillate between two opposite errors: the abuse (abusus) or … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia, Rightly Divided Dogmatics, The 21st Century Church
Tagged apologetics, bahnsen, bavinck, Christ, epistemology, evangelical, feel, God, immanuel kant, j.p. moreland, james anderson, love, mcgrath, mind, morality, philosophy, piper, reason, reformed, sire, stott, theology, think, thornwell, Truth, turretin, van til, wood
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A Priest Among Priests? The Finality of the Melchizedekian Priesthood and the Impossibility of the Mormon Claim
Hebrews 7:11-28 Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged aaron, brigham young, byu, Christianity, hebrews, Jesus Christ, joseph smith, latter day saints, melchizedek, mormon, mormonism, priest, priesthood
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A Book Among Books? The Bible, The Koran, and the Book of Mormon: A Redemptive-Historical Argument for the Finality of the Christian Scriptures Over Against the Koran and Book of Mormon
Is the Bible just another holy book among holy books similar to the Koran or the Book of Mormon? Do they not all claim to be God’s word? Have you ever interacted with a Mormon missionary who told you that … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged bible, book of mormon, canon, Christianity, islam, joseph smith, koran, latter day saints, mormon, mormonism, muslim, new, old, qu’ran, redemptive history, revelation, testament, unique
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Lamentation in a Happy Clappy World
I just finished listening to this excellent lecture by Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. Highly recommended.
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, Christianity, denver seminary, douglas groothus, evil, God, lamentation, suffering
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No Dilemma for the Proponent of the Transcendental Argument
James Anderson is always worth reading.
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, james anderson, philosophy, proginosko, reformed theology, TAG, van til
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Atheism, Morality, and Blessed Consistency
A great post over at Sacramental Piety, a blog I would highly recommend for your daily consumption!
The Task of Apologetics: Bringing and keeping in the sheep
Wise words from Paul Manata.
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, aporetic christianity, Christianity, defend, faith, paul manata
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How to Teach Logic with Pedagogical Effectiveness
The medieval philosopher Avicenna once wrote: Anyone who denies the law of non-contradiction should be beaten and burned until he admits that to be beaten is not the same as not to be beaten, and to be burned is not … Continue reading
Dogmatics and Apologetics
Accordingly, apologetics cannot and may not precede dogmatics but presupposes dogma and now gets the modest but still splendid task of maintaining and defending this dogma against all opposition. It now attempts to do this, not in response to some … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia, Rightly Divided Dogmatics
Tagged apologetics, dogma, dogmatics, herman bavinck, presupposition, presuppositional, prolegomena, scripture, theology
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Nihilism and the Meaningless of Life
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. – Macbeth, … Continue reading
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Tagged atheism, atheist, life, macbeth, meaningless, nihilism, purpose
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The Philosophy of History and the History of Philosophy
I often come across book reviews on Amazon.com, say, for a book on science, philosophy, etc. which is written by a Christian author. And what always strikes me as odd are the negative reviews that say something like, “DO NOT … Continue reading
Atheism, Death, and the Point of Tension
The more logical a man who holds a non-Christian position is to his own presuppositions, the further he is from the real world; and the nearer he is to the real world, the more illogical he is to his presuppositions…Man … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheist, cornelius van til, death, francis schaeffer, ken pulliam, steve hays, triablogue
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Why Most Naturalists Are Not Nihilists
Why, then, aren’t most naturalists nihilists? The obvious answer is the best one: Most naturalists do not take their naturalism seriously. They are inconsistent…Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living, but for a naturalist he is wrong. … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheist, life, materialist, naturalism, naturalist, nihilism, socrates
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Infinite Worldviews On God?
Are there an infinite number of differing worldviews when it comes to belief/unbelief in the existence of God? Kenneth Boa helpfully shows that there are actually a small, finite number of worldviews that can be broken down and summarized as … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, Christianity, creator, creature, deism, existence of god, islam, panentheism, pantheism, polythesim, worldview
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The Bankruptcy of Naturalism and the Family
Al Mohler shows how intellectually and existentially unsatisfying (and bankrupt) naturalistic evolution is when it comes to everyday things such as sending your children off to college. Read it here.
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheist, college, empty nest, evolution, family, love, michael shermer, naturalism
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Six Enemies of Apologetic Engagement
Really good article by Douglas Groothuis (pronounced Grote-hice) on the enemies of apologetic engagement: Indifference Irrationalism Ignorance Cowardice Arrogance and intellectual vanity Superficial techniques or schlock apologetics
Pascal’s Apologetic
Men despise religion. They hate it and are afraid it may be true. The cure for this is first to show that religion is not contrary to reason, but worthy of reverence and respect. Next make it attractive, make good men wish it … Continue reading
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Tagged apologetics, attractive, blaise pascal, Christianity, reason, religion, respect
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The Rage Against God (Psalm 14:1)
Here is the link to the sermon I preached this past Sunday from Psalm 14:1 entitled The Rage Against God. In the sermon, I examine unbelief in 5 parts from Psalm 14:1. The Creed of Unbelief (…There is no God…) … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged agnostic, atheism, atheist, bertrand russell, Christopher Hitchens, fool, god delusion, new atheist, practical atheism, psalm 14, richard dawkins, romans 1, skeptic, thomas nagel, unbelief
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Free Apologetics Lectures by Douglas Groothuis
Here is a great source from Rely On Christ: Is the Christian faith rational? Reasonable? How do we respond to other faiths in this world? These lectures were originally delivered in the Fall of 2004 on the campus of Denver … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, denver seminary, dr. Douglas Groothuis, philosophy
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The Psychology of Atheism
R.C. Sproul has a 15-part lecture series entitled, “The Psychology of Atheism.” You can listen to all the lectures online for free. Here is a list of the lectures: A Vested Interest How Do You Know? Faulty Logic and Sense … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, Christianity, lecture, ligonier ministries, mp3, r.c. sproul, the psychology of atheism
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Featured Blog: Aporetic Christianity
Paul Manata, a Christian, apologist, philosopher, and razor sharp thinker, has launched a new blog called Aporetic Christianity. You might ask, “What does ‘Aporetic’ mean?” Click here to find out. It’s an excellent read. HT: Triablogue
Posted in Apologia
Tagged apologetics, aporetic christianity, Christianity, paul manata, philosophy
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Hawking and Haverings
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, Christianity, david robertson, Jesus, science, stephen hawking
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Worldview Chart
Here is a helpful worldview chart courtesy of Summit Ministries. HT: Apologetics 315
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, Christianity, islam, naturalism, religion, spirituality, worldview
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Axiom: Human Autonomy
There is nothing more repulsive to autonomous man than the Biblical doctrine of man (anthropology) in relation to the doctrines of creation, sin, and redemption. For… The doctrine of creation declares that man is created by God and is accountable … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia, Rightly Divided Dogmatics
Tagged atheism, atheist, autonomous, creation, fall, human autonomy, redemption, sin
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The Fun Never Stops
HT: Reformed Philosophy
Kant
Immanuel Kant taught that you Kant know the noumena. Har har har.
Hope: Atheism’s Anchor of the Soul
That man is the product of causes that had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheistic, bertrand russell, Christianity, free man’s worship, hope, materialism, nihilism, why i am not a christian
10 Comments
Logical Positivism and Ethics
With logical positivism ethics is demoted to the study of emotional outbursts (Cowan and Spiegel, The Love of Wisdom, 334).
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, Christianity, ethics, logical positivism, materialism, philosophy
5 Comments
Are Laws of Logic Conventional?
From my interactions in the comment thread with William. William: Laws of logic are entirely independent of gods. The existence of gods cannot be explained. The laws of logic can be explained….people made them up. The fact that we are … Continue reading
The Law of Non-Contradiction
Think about it…
Featured Website: The One Minute Apologist
This is a great website. We live in a culture in which many individuals are used to getting their information in thirty-second soundbites. Christians often find themselves in situations where a ten-second window is all they have to offer a … Continue reading
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Tagged apologetics, atheism, Christianity, one minute apologetics
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Friday Funny: Free-Will
HT: Challies
Posted in Apologia, The 21st Century Church
Tagged atheism, determinism, evolution, free will
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Atheism: Vacillating When It Makes Sense
Perhaps you have noticed that the typical atheism of our day wages a dialectical war within itself, vacillating between rationality on the one hand and irrationality on the other, specifically, between modernity and postmodernity. For example, when arguing against God’s … Continue reading
Posted in A Call to the Unconverted, Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheist, dawkins, hitchens, modernity, New Atheism, postmodernity
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Presenting Evidence within a Van Tillian Framework
I found this article to be helpful concerning how Christians should present evidence to non-Christians. Often, we are too quick to jump to give evidence without considering more broadly how non-Christians interpret evidence within their worldview. For example, you may … Continue reading
Posted in Apologia
Tagged atheism, atheist, evidence, facts, philosophy, presuppositional, van til
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