13Jun 2022 by Post

Why Doesn’t God Need a Creator

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, Christianity, creator, Kalam, Philosophy of Science, Skeptic, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Christians believe that God is an infinite being who has always existed. But what “evidence” can the theist put forth in support of this claim? This is a common challenge raised by the skeptic. When a person asks for “evidence,” the usual response is to look for things like witness statements, or documents or fingerprints left at a scene. Since no one has “evidence” relating to things outside our universe, or to a being who preceded the Big Bang, it’s a safe bet, they think, that the Christian apologist can’t come up with any “evidence.” Or is it? Teasing out the unspoken premise in the question highlights what is at play: the challenger assumes that it is only through physical or testimonial “evidence” that we can know…
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23May 2022 by Post

Is It Possible To Break Through Apathy?

Al Serrato, Apathy, Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christianity, Culture, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Worldview
By Al Serrato The biggest obstacle to most apologetics efforts is apathy. While there are indeed some ardent atheists, usually the ones who take the time to write a response to posts like these, by and large the response of the average skeptic is to figuratively throw up their hands. They usually don’t take the time to research and consider a specific truth claim that is being made, or to counter some argument with evidence to show that an argument is false or mistaken. Nor do they try to convince you that their worldview is in fact true. Instead, most skeptics I’ve dealt with have developed a comfort level regarding the “unknowability” of ultimate things. They often argue that the fact that people disagree about such things – that a…
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14Jan 2022 by Post

Por qué es un error decir que todas las religiones son iguales

Al Serrato, Apologética, Cristianismo, Español, Evidencia, Preguntas sobre Dios, Preguntas sobre la fe, Religiones, Teología, Verdad
Por Al Serrato Todos los años se producen en Estados Unidos miles de delitos en los que no hay testigos ni apenas pruebas. A veces, el autor del delito deja una impresión dactilar -una huella latente- en algún lugar del escenario del crimen. En el pasado, estas huellas tenían poco valor para identificar al delincuente; antes de poder realizar una comparación, la policía debía tener ya un sospechoso conocido. Hoy en día, los agentes de la ley tienen acceso a una tecnología mucho mejor, en forma de AFIS, el Sistema Automático de Identificación de Huellas Dactilares. Mantenido por el FBI, alberga los datos de millones de impresiones dactilares, lo que permite comparar una huella latente desconocida con millones de delincuentes conocidos. En cuestión de minutos, el ordenador del AFIS puede…
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10Jan 2022 by Post

What Would It Take To Prove That God Doesn’t Exist?

2. Does God Exist?, Al Serrato, Answers to Skeptics questions, Apologetics, Atheists arguments, Christianity, God, Jesus, religion, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Atheists who feel certain that there is no God are staking out a rather interesting position. As a corollary of their position, they are of course also convinced that those who believe in God are engaging in a form of wishful thinking, that their desire to believe in a “cosmic judge” of good and evil clouds their thinking, preventing them from following where “the science” actually leads, as they believe they have done. Indeed, many believe that religion is no more than the opiate of the masses. But a bit of careful consideration will lead to quite the opposite conclusion. Holding to atheism may have some superficial appeal, as the theist must concede that it is not possible to directly see or experience God. But pretending to…
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31Dec 2021 by Post

Por qué la gente odia ser juzgada

Al Serrato, Apologética, Cristianismo, Cristianos, Es bíblico juzgar, Español, Juzgar, Juzgar a otros, La Biblia y el juzgar a otros, Teología
Por Al Serrato “No me juzgues” parece ser un refrán cada vez más pronunciado, y aceptado, en nuestra sociedad, que refleja lo que parece ser una tendencia humana universal y profundamente arraigada. Incluso los cristianos, que deberían saberlo mejor, parecen subirse al tren, creyendo de algún modo que la compasión cristiana nos obliga a ser más comprensivos y aceptar el mal comportamiento. Pero si se piensa en ello, la frase no es del todo acertada. La mayoría de la gente no quiere decir realmente que no quiera ser juzgada. De hecho, lo hacen. Lo que quieren decir es que quieren que los demás aprueben su conducta o comportamiento. Lo que no quieren es que se les juzgue y se les considere deficientes. Ya sea en los deportes, en los estudios…
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24Aug 2020 by Post

Why It Is Foolish To Insist There Is No God

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, Christianity, Christians, Evidence, Objections to the existence of God, reasons to believe, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, There is no God
By Al Serrato  “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” If this passage from Psalms is correct, then many people today – including numerous scientists and other well-educated folks – are fools, for they insist that God does not exist. While name-calling is never productive, is there a way in which one might conclude that a person who denies God’s existence is indeed a “fool,” and not merely someone with whom we disagree? Well, let’s begin with a look at the definition of “fool,” which includes “a person who has been tricked or deceived into appearing or acting silly or stupid.” Now, sometimes we trick ourselves and thereby make fools of ourselves. We might insist that a steady diet of fast food isn’t the reason that our…
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18Jul 2020 by Post

Why We Can’t Know If The Universe Created Itself

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, beginning of the universe, Christianity, Creation, God, Theology and Christian Apologetics, universe
By Al Serrato In the beginning, was… not the Word …. but the singularity event occurring in absolute nothingness and timelessness that spontaneously created all we see in the universe around us.  So said physicist Stephen Hawking anyway, in his popular book The Grand Design, where he explained that spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing. It is not necessary to invoke God; he concluded, “to light the fuse to set the universe going.” “All it takes is gravity and the existence of, well, multiple other universes.”  Soundbites like these can be disturbing for people of faith. More to the point, they can provide false comfort to those who prefer to suppress their innate knowledge of God. In a recent conversation with a skeptic who…
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13Jun 2020 by Post

What, Me Worry?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, Doubts, God, Gospel, Jesus, Question, salvation, Security, Sin, soul, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Alfred E. Neumann, the famous face of Mad Magazine for many decades, popularized this slogan. While he wasn’t referring to the question of salvation, this saying does seem to describe the way many people view that question today. Yes, there may be a God; they will concede. But “I’m not worried,” they say. “I’m a good person, after all, and God will judge me accordingly.” In my last post, I considered one of the ways to address this modern mindset, by making the point that expecting God to grade on a curve may not be a smart bet. This time, I’d like to explore a different approach, by examining what people mean when they say they are “good” and why a God they never bothered to get…
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09May 2020 by Post

When Is “Good” Good Enough?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, God's Holiness, Goodness, Gospel, men, Sin, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, To be good
By Al Serrato Your son walks in test paper in hand. You glance over and wince, seeing the big “60” in red ink at the top. “Don’t worry,” he says, “I did good on this test.” You ignore the faulty grammar. One problem at a time, you think, mulling over in your mind just how long you will ground him. “No, really,” he persists, “you should have seen the other scores. Mine was really good!” “Good,” you think out loud, “how can you call a sixty good?” “Check it out,” he calls out over his shoulder as he walks away, “you’ll see.” He’s seems confident, and he may have a point, so you call the teacher. After all, without knowing more about the class and the test, how can you…
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04Apr 2020 by Post

Infinite Punishment for Finite Crimes?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Bible, Christian Apologetics, Christianity, Finite Crimes, Gospel, Hell, Punishment, Sin, Sinner, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Trying to explain how a good God created Hell can be a daunting task for the Christian apologist. In my last post, I considered the challenge that God could not be “good” if he created a place of “torture.” I tried to make the case that there is a difference between torture – which implies intentional infliction of punishment for the pleasure of doing so – and torment, which is the necessary byproduct of God’s legitimate act of separating Himself from those who have rejected Him, who died while still in rebellion against Him. A related challenge often encountered when discussing the doctrine of Hell is the seeming unfairness in endless punishment for what appears to be brief – in some cases, extremely brief – temporal actions.…
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