Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category

Logic in Apologetics

Posted: June 2, 2011 in apologetics, Christian, education, faith, Religion, wisdom
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This is reposted from carm.org, a valuable resource for parents and students alike! For more on the article follow the link to their site!
Logic in Apologetics
by Matt Slick

Logic is typically very important in apologetics. To defend the faith, the Christian must use truth, facts, and reason appropriately and prayerfully. The Christian should listen to objections and make cogent and rational comments in direct response to the issues raised.

Logic is simply a tool in the arsenal of Christian apologetics. Logic is a system of reasoning. It is the principle of proper thinking used to arrive at correct conclusions. Of course, some people are better at thinking logically than others, and there is no guarantee that using logic to the best of one’s ability will bring about the conversion of anyone. After all, logic is not what saves a person. Jesus does that, and we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1).

Therefore, the proper use of logic in apologetics is to remove intellectual barriers that hinder a person from accepting Jesus as Savior. Logic is not to be looked at as the answer to every problem facing Christianity nor every objection raised against it. Logic has its limits. It cannot guarantee wisdom. It cannot prove or disprove inspiration or love. It cannot replace the intuition gained through experience, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, nor the clear truth of God’s word. Nevertheless, logic is still very valuable and can be quite powerfully used by people, both saved and unsaved.

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Bill Craig debates Larry Krauss

Posted: April 6, 2011 in atheism, Christian, education, faith, Religion, women
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A superb revelation of the weaknesses of Atheist’s arguments. Great training for teens to recognize and respond to the fallacious arguments they will be assaulted with in college.

First video clip.

Second video clip.

Third video clip.



Fourth video clip.

Fifth video clip.

Sixth video clip.

Know the Enemy

Posted: March 9, 2011 in Bible, Christian, faith, Religion, Satan, spiritual warfare
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I don’t know about you, but I have been CRAZY busy lately! Finals, midterms, papers, oh my! Not to mention the usual mommy and wife responsibilites. But in the midst of chaos, God provides His peace and mercy. I am so unworthy of His loving-kindness and yet He lavishes His grace upon me. Just a few personal thoughts this morning to go with your Cup-o-Joe.

Lately many of the people (adults and kids) I have spiritual discussions with are struggling with spiritual warfare. What is it? Who is Satan? How do I fight? Many years ago I wrote a curriculumn for adults on spiritual warfare. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to writing anew these days, so forgive me while I recycle. This is a list of scripture detailing who our adversary is and what his limitations are. In any battle the first rule is know your enemy. I hope this helps in your understanding of the enemy. Blessings to you!

1Pet 5:8-9 says, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

Job in Chapters 1 and 2, is allowed to be tested by Satan, note that he has to ask permission from God and he is limited in what he may do.

Zec. 3 Satan is our accuser.

Matt 4 Satan is the tempter and perverts the scriptures.

Mark 4:15, Luke 8:12 Satan snatches the Word that is sown in the hearts of men who do not receive it with gladness preventing them from being saved.

Mark 8:33 Satan is mindful of the things of man not the things of God, which is very important, when we are discerning choices and making decisions for our families.

Luke 13:16 Satan has the power to bind those who are not believers.

Luke 22:31 Satan desires to sift us as wheat, but Christ intercedes on our behalf praying for us to remain strong in our faith.

2Cor 11:14 Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

1 Thes 2 Satan hinders the spread of the gospel.

2 Thes 2:9 Satan is the lawless one.

Rev 12:9 Satan deceives the whole world.

Rev 16:14 Satan works lying wonders.

1Tim 3:7 Satan ensnares the wicked who do his work.

1 Tim 3:6 Satan is proud and will use pride in Christians to cause them to fall.

Eph 2:2 Satan is the prince of the power of the air at work in those who disobey.

James 4:7 Satan is a coward, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

John 8:44 Satan is a murderer, hates truth and is the father of lies.

Acts 13:10 Satan is the enemy of all that is good perverting the truth.

Eph. 6:16 Satan throws fiery darts or wicked thoughts into our minds, but he cannot read your thoughts.

I found this helpful summary to clarify our understanding…

The devil is not all powerful – He can only function within the permissive will of God.

The devil is not omnipresent – He can only exist in one place at a time.

The devil is not all knowing – The devil does not know your thoughts.

The devil is not the adversary of God – He is the adversary of man.

The devil is not the Antichrist – The Antichrist was only a man.

The devil is not the author of sin – Sin exists independently of the devil.

The devil is not the negative element in a dualistic theology – The nature of evil does not necessitate such a dichotomy.

The devil will not rule hell – Hell is the devil’s punishment, he fears hell.

The devil cannot possess a Christian – Christians are possessed by the Holy Spirit. The devil is not permitted by God to possess the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Evil does not represent the devil – The devil represents evil, not the other way around.

The devil is not always the cause of misfortune – Misfortune occurs naturally as a result of our fallen nature. The devil is not concerned with your success or failure.

The devil is not at war with God – There is no battle for souls between God and the devil. The battle is between man and the devil.

Seeking a Reasonable Faith

Posted: February 8, 2011 in agnosticism, atheism, Christian, faith, Religion
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Is it possible that God exists?

When confronted with this essential question many Atheists/Humanists do a delicate dance of dodging the question, and with good reason. There are three possible answers: yes, no, or maybe. But only one is intellectually honest. There are tremendous repercussions associated with the answer and the “dodgers” recognize that. Yes, I am talking to you, Hitchens. It is a coping mechanism: better to not answer than to have to face the crushing reality of their unreasonable worldview. It takes great faith to be an Atheist, unreasonable faith.

To be fair, let’s explore the options. Any die-hard Atheist will want to answer “no” to this irritating question. But to remain consistent with this claim requires a denial of anything immaterial in this life, including the existence of one’s own soul, free will, love or the possibility of miracles. A consistent belief in an exclusive material reality requires a denial of any objective standard of truth which is self-defeating. To affirm the impossibility of a spiritual reality also requires omniscient knowledge. People in our culture who consider themselves to be omniscient end up modeling strait jackets in padded rooms. If one’s worldview must deny so much of what we know to be true and it is apparently inconsistent with reality, then there exists a very real possibility that one’s worldview is false; hence, the dodging dance.

So you may think the safe option is to answer “maybe.” Not so fast. Agnosticism is a deceiving alternative. Blissful ignorance embraces the Agnostic view that says, “We cannot know if God exists.” Really? How do you know that? To claim I cannot know about a thing presupposes knowledge of the thing being denied. Agnosticism is a self-defeating claim that can never be true, but many people think it is a safe alternative to acknowledging God. Perhaps they think it buys them time or excuses them from seeking a viable alternative. We have incomplete knowledge as humans after all. A true statement to be sure, but it does not follow that we have no knowledge. Incomplete does not mean non-existent. We can know about God, even if we cannot understand Him fully.

So that leaves us with the possibility that God exists, but what is God? What is His nature? Is He many or one? We can neither create nor sustain our own existence, so we know that we are not He. But who is He? An overwhelming majority of the human population since the beginning recognizes the possibility of God. If God exists, then we can know about Him without any supernatural revelation even if we cannot know Him personally.

There are some acknowledgments about reality which correspond to the possibility of God, some directly some indirectly.
1. Truth is knowable.
2. Truth is objective.
3. Truth corresponds to reality.
4. Opposing claims cannot both be true.
5. Miracles are possible.

You might consider yourself a Seeker if you concede the possibility of God, but haven’t discovered yet whoever or whatever that may be. Seeking the truth in all things is a reasonable and worthy endeavor, don’t you think?

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13

“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’ to a nation which did not call on My name.” Is. 65:1

Hitchens Cannot Affirm His Atheist Belief

Posted: January 31, 2011 in atheism, Christian, faith, Religion
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Hitchens cannot affirm his own belief in atheism. Priceless.

You have to hand it to Hitchens; at least he had the courage to attempt a debate with Bill Craig. Dawkins however is running scared.

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