Natural-ly There Is A Problem With Evil

Alex McElroy, Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Christianity, responding to the problem of evil, the problem of evil, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Alex McElroy One of the most difficult issues to reconcile in life is the presence of evil. This is the case whether one has a theistic, agnostic or atheistic worldview. The existence of evil is undeniable both in our witness and experience but is evil objective in nature or merely an apparition. Even atheist J.L. Mackie recognized a dilemma. In one book, he writes, “There are no objective values.”[1] Elsewhere, he writes, “We might well argue…that objective, intrinsically prescriptive features, supervenient upon natural ones, constitute so odd a cluster of qualities and relations that they are most unlikely to have arisen in the ordinary course of events, without an all-powerful god to create them.”[2] This poses a problem for the naturalist or the atheist because whatever evil does exist…
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Westminster Conference on Science and Faith, April 3-4 in Philadelphia: Design and the Designer

biology, Burke Museum, Center for Science & Culture, Chemistry, cosmology, Dallas, Daniel Reeves, Early Church, East Coast, Evolution, Faith & Science, foresight, Intelligent Design, John West, Marcos Eberlin, Melissa Cain Travis, orphan genes, Paul Nelson, Philadelphia, Stephen Meyer, Westminster Conference on Science and Faith
Here in Seattle, the University of Washington recently opened a spectacular and expensive ($106 million) new building for its natural history museum, the Burke Museum. A friend visited there yesterday — I have not yet had a chance to do so — and sent along photos. We were both struck by how the exhibits lay it on thick with regard to evolution as an unguided process. Large signs seem aggressive in advertising the curators’ position: “EVOLUTION ISN’T PLANNED,” declares one display. Another insists that life is “SHAPED BY NATURE,” and, by implication, by nothing else. The culture invests great energy and wealth to bombard us with messages like these. That’s the case even as, at deeper and deeper levels, science reveals evidence of a plan, foresight, a deliberately shaping force working…
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How to Respond to People who Mock Christianity

AFR, Apologetics, app, Christianity, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Frank Turek, google play, iTunes, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window How would you answer these questions? How do you know what is important in the Bible? How can I find out if someone is a Christian without sounding confrontational? How can I deal with coworkers who mock Christianity? Does design lose its meaning if you’re saying everything is designed? What do you say to people who claim God is a bad designer? Should Christians boycott certain businesses? These are questions sent in by listeners that Frank answers on this show. While Frank can’t get to all of them if you have a question you can submit it to Hello@Crossexamined.org.  Also, check out these resources: the CrossExamined YouTube channel has answers to hundreds of questions, and several others are answered on the CrossExamined app and CrossExamined…
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¿Por qué todos deberían creer que los Evangelios son confiables?

Apologética, Brett Lunn, Cristianismo, Escépticos, Español, Evangelios, Evidencias, Historia
Por Brett Lunn Traducción: Los cuatro evangelios hablan de Jesús, el Cristo. Juntos nos hablan de la vida de Jesús de diferentes formas. Nos hablan de su nacimiento virginal, sus argumentos con líderes religiosos, sus enseñanzas, sus milagros y mucho más. Destacan su crucifixión en una cruz romana y su resurrección de entre los muertos. Pero, ¿qué vamos a hacer con todo esto? ¿Son estas narrativas simplemente falsas por autores que fueron o engañados o lo arreglaron? ¿Hay un caso para la fiabilidad de los Evangelios? Este ensayo destaca un numero de razones por la que todos deberían creer que los Evangelios con confiables. Esto no implica que sean 100% verdaderos, perfectos, o algo parecido. En cambio, los evangelios son algo en lo que debemos confiar, y si podemos confiar…
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Putting God on Trial

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Christianity, evil, God, responding to the problem of evil, Skeptics, Suffering, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato “I can’t believe in a God who would allow so much evil and suffering in the world.” Have you encountered this challenge? Most anyone who has tried to defend the Christian worldview surely has. The person bringing this challenge will often claim to be atheist, but when you dig in a bit this challenger is more often someone who knows there is a creator but who is deeply offended by the world, and angry at the God who set all this – the carnage, the anguish, the pain – in motion. In my last post, I restated the traditional Christian response to this problem of evil.  God did not create the evil that surrounds us because evil is not a thing.  Evil is a departure- a deviation-…
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ID Inquiry: Robert J. Marks on Information and Intelligent Design

Evolution, ID The Future, information, Intelligent Design, Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics, Podcast, Robert J. Marks, scholars, scientists, Walter Bradley Center
On a classic episode of ID the Future, hear an installment in our ID Inquiry series, in which ID scientists and scholars answer your questions about intelligent design and evolution. Download the podcast or listen to it here. Robert J. Marks discusses information and how it relates to intelligent design. Dr. Marks is the director of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural & Artificial Intelligence and co-author of Introduction to Evolutionary Informatics. Got a question for an ID scientist? Contact us here. Photo: Robert J. Marks at the launch of the Walter Bradley Center, by Nathan Jacobson. The post ID Inquiry: Robert J. Marks on Information and Intelligent Design appeared first on Evolution News.
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BioLogos and the Search for Truth

Adam and Eve, Ann Gauger, apology, BioLogos, chimpanzees, Christianity Today, Darrel Falk, Darwin's Doubt, Deborah Haarsma, Dennis Venema, DNA, enzyme, Evangelical Christians, Evolution, Evolution News, Human Origins, humans, Intelligent Design, Joshua Swamidass, mutations, nylonase, retraction, science, scripture, Seattle, Stephen Meyer, truth-seeking, vitellogenin
BioLogos Foundation’s president, Deborah Haarsma, issued a statement recently that merits comment. BioLogos is the organization known for seeking to draw Evangelical Christians to the theory of unguided Darwinian evolution. Now Haarsma has announced on the group’s behalf an institutional desire to clean house. Truth Matters In “Truth-Seeking in Science,” she wishes to leave no uncertainty about one thing: BioLogos wants to find out the truth and communicate it to others. Dr. Haarsma writes, “We are committed to seeking out the truths in both of these revelations [Scripture and nature],” “I want to flesh out what truth-seeking looks like in science,” “how we are implementing truth-seeking,” “Part of truth-seeking…is a healthy willingness to change your viewpoint,” “A scientist doesn’t discover truth all on her own,” “we are living out our…
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Did Cloudinids Have the Guts to Be Worms?

Acuticocloudina, bilaterian animals, bilaterian worms, Cambrian Explosion, Cambrian News, Cambrian Small Shelly Fauna, Chengjiang biota, China, Cloudina, cloudinids, cloudinomorphs, cnidarian, Conotubus, Costatubus, Darwinian evolution, Dickinsonia, digestive tract, Ediacaran biota, Ediacaran Period, Ediacaran Small Shelly Fauna, Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary, Evolution, Feiyanella, Germany, GUT, James D. Schiffbauer, Multiconotubus, Nature Communications, Nevada, polyp, Rajatubulus, Saarina, sessile filter feeder, Sinotubulites, skeleton, University of Missouri, Wood Canyon Formation
In my Evolution News article “Why Dickinsonia Was Most Probably Not an Ediacaran Animal” (Bechly 2019), I promised last year to follow up on other alleged Ediacaran animals. Now is a good moment to come back to this, because a new study has just been published in the journal Nature Communications by Schiffbauer et al. (2020), who identify a problematic Ediacaran shelly fossil as a bilateral animal most likely related to annelid worms. The crucial evidence is the alleged preservation of a digestive tract, which would also represent the oldest fossil record for this organ system (Stann 2020). The new fossil is considered to be a close relative of the genus Cloudina, which is a globally distributed Ediacaran index fossil first described by Germs (1972). It represents one of the…
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In Just Eight Minutes, New Video Punctures Evolution’s Circular “Homology” Argument

biogeography, biologists, biology, circular reasoning, Darwin's Doubt, Darwinism, David Gelernter, Discovery Institute, DNA, embryology, Evolution, evolutionists, free speech, high school, homology, Jerry Coyne, Long Story Short, Miller and Levine’s Biology, Pearson Education, Stephen Meyer, strengths and weaknesses, textbook, vestigial organs, video, Why Evolution Is True, Yale University
The biology textbook my daughter uses in high school, Miller and Levine’s Biology, is in wide use. It’s the one from Pearson with the parrot on the cover. On page 468, it employs a circular argument beloved by evolutionists: the argument from homology. The same argument features in many different textbooks. And it is regularly cited by biologists in scolding the public about their Darwin doubts. “Long Story Short” Here is a really brief, cute, and effective new video from Discovery Institute that addresses and deftly punctures this argument. Just eight minutes long! It’s part of a freshly launched occasional series, “Long Story Short,” that compresses key points in the debate between Darwinism and intelligent design into a very welcome format: concise, accessible, and funny. As the narrator explains, “One of…
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How I Got into Apologetics (And How You Can Too!)

Apologetics, Books, Christian apologetics books, Christianity, Erik Manning, IsJesusAlive, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Erik Manning I am often asked, “how did you get into apologetics?” For some believers, they’ll get interested in apologetics because of a crisis of faith. They’ll have intellectual hurdles that come up that they have to overcome. For me, I never was plagued with doubts. While I spent several years of my life as an atheist, I had a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit. As I walked with God, the inner witness of the Holy Spirit was a real and regular experience. After coming to faith, I felt burdened to share my faith. I would share my testimony with anyone who would give me the time of day and led several of my friends to Christ. (And even a handful of strangers.) I felt, for the most part,…
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