04Dec 2024 by Post

Jesus: Santa Claus for Adults?

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Atheism, Christianity, Christmas, FreeThinkingMinistries.com, Gospel, Grinch, Jesus, Santa Clause, Tim Stratton
It’s common for atheists to be a “Grinch” over the Holidays and exclaim that Jesus is just a “Santa Claus for adults!” When I hear that claim, I immediately respond with a question: “What do you mean by that?” If one means that children often believe in fictional fairy tales and adults believe in fact-based evidence, then I agree – Jesus is for adults (and actually people of all ages)! But I don’t think that’s the intent behind this claim. I believe the intent of the atheist (“Grinch”) is to convey that little kids believe in a fictional Santa Clause and many adults believe in fiction too – Christianity. How the Grinch Stole Christ out of Christmas Well, why think a thing like that, Mr. Grinch? Is belief in Jesus —…
Read More
18Sep 2024 by Post

Key Tenets of Marxism VS America’s Philosophical Foundations

Apologetics, Christianity, Free Thinking Ministries, government, Karl Marx, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Marxism, Politics, Tim Stratton
I’ve been fascinated by Marxism since my parents first told me about the Cold War we were living in when I was almost 10-years-old (1983). I remember asking them why the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons aimed at us. After my parents reassured me that we had just as many nuclear missiles aimed back at them — ensuring that they will not use these weapons against us (peace through strength) — they explained it to me like I was 10-years-old (because I was). While not using these exact words, my parents basically told me that the Soviet Union was based upon a philosophy called Marxism which is logically incompatible with America’s theological and philosophical foundations. This sparked a desire to learn more about our fundamental disagreements. I wanted to know…
Read More
01Jul 2024 by Post

Apologetics and Politics

Apologetics, Arguments for God, Christianity, ethics, FreeThinking Ministries, Gospel, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Politics, Reasonable Faith, Tim Stratton
How should we live?How should we think?How should we vote? Are these questions with objectively right or wrong answers? That is to say, is it true — apart from human opinion — that humanity ought to live, think, and even vote in a certain manner? Some Questions that Need Answering If it is not objectively right or wrong to live, think, or vote in a certain manner, then does anything really matter? Moreover, if it is objectively wrong to live, think, and vote in a certain manner — how would we know? After all, is how we ought to vote determined by the majority vote? That doesn’t seem right. Are these things merely based on your emotions or “how it makes you feel?” That doesn’t seem right either because, as Ben Shapiro often says “Facts don’t care about your feelings.” One…
Read More
08Mar 2024 by Post

The #1 Doctrine That Answers Christianity’s Toughest Questions with Dr. Tim Stratton

AFR, Apologetics, app, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, faith, God, google play, iTunes, Jesus Christ, Jorge Gil, Molinism, Podcast, Radio, Spotify, stitcher, Tim Stratton, truth, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | Email | TuneIn | RSS It’s the age old question–if God is sovereign over all things then how do we have free will? And if God controls everything, does that make Him the author of evil since He causes humans to sin? How do we reconcile a good God with all of the pain and suffering that’s happening in the world? It can seem like a bit of a conundrum for Christians, and the lack of satisfactory answers has caused many people to turn away from God. But what if there was a doctrine or school of thought that could help us make sense of these seemingly intractable problems?…
Read More
15Dec 2021 by Post

3 Reasons Why Jesus Is The Only Way

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Evidence, Free Thinking Ministries, Jesus, Jesus Christ, theology, Tim Stratton
By Tim Stratton Sermon Outline Riddle me this: What’s black and white and RED all over? I remember the first time my dad posed that question to me when I was a young child. Even as a little boy – untrained in philosophy – I knew something was amiss. I intuitively understood that if something was literally black and white . . . like a news paper . . . then it could not be the COLOR RED all over. After all, something cannot be the colors RED and Black and White simultaneously and in the same sense. There’s a contradiction here – nothing can actually be black and white AND the color red ALL OVER. Then my dad explained to me that there was a “play on words” going…
Read More
26Aug 2020 by Post

The Woke-ing Dead and the Futility of Reason

Apologetics, apologetics tips, Christian Apologetics, COVID-19, FreeThinking Ministries, Gospel, Great Commission, Insane Times, reason, The Walking Dead, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tim Stratton
By Tim Stratton The COVID-19 “quarantine” wasn’t all bad. Sure, no one likes being sentenced to “house arrest,” but I enjoyed spending some extra time with my wife and 17-year-old son (I did not take those moments for granted). The dreaded coronavirus, however, shut down Hollywood, movie theaters, restaurants, and sporting events. Being sequestered at home, my family and I considered other entertainment options. A friend told me about The Walking Dead — a series featuring survivors of a zombie apocalypse fighting to survive amidst a constant threat of attacks from mobs of the undead, colloquially referred to as “walkers.” I went to Netflix and saw nine seasons awaiting our binge-watching pleasure. My wife and I decided to give the first episode a shot, and the next thing you know, we had…
Read More
04Jul 2020 by Post

The Best Kind of Love

Apologetics, christ, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Free Thinking Ministries, free will, God, Gospel, If God why Evil, Jesus, Love, the problem of evil, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tim Stratton
By Tim Stratton Question: Dear Dr. Stratton, In your interview with Jorge Gil on Cross Examined’s Hope One, you attempted to answer “all the problems of evil” by appealing to love. In fact, you said that “the best kind of love requires libertarian free will.”  Surely this is false, for I can think of a counter-example that clearly shows this to be false. After all, the members of the Trinity are the epitome of perfect love and they do not have libertarian free will. They cannot do otherwise. They must love by necessity. So how can “the best kind of love” require libertarian free will? – Phillip Tim’s Response I am thankful for your question, Phillip! When I read it I could have kicked myself for not providing this vital clarification…
Read More
08Apr 2020 by Post

Is the Historical Jesus Fact or Fiction?

Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Evidence, Fact, Fiction, Free Thinking Ministries, Gospel, history, Jesus, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tim Stratton
By Tim Stratton As a pastor who spends a lot of time on the college campus, I hear the following challenges quite often from young skeptics: “There is no good evidence to think that Jesus ever existed,” or “Christianity has pagan roots!” One might put these common challenges as two questions: (1) Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? (2) Are the gospel records of this man merely fictional mythology? In this essay, I want to explore several lines of evidence that will show that the answer to the first question is a clear “Yes!” and to the second “No!”       i. Did Jesus of Nazareth really exist? Though there are many “street atheists,” or “internet infidels” who espouse their unqualified views and who in the process influence many…
Read More