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…
Read More

Talking with Your Kids about Jesus with Natasha Crain

AFR, Apologetics, app, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Frank Turek, google play, iTunes, Kids, Natasha Crain, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, Uncategorized, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window Jesus of Nazareth is not only the most influential human being in history but God incarnate.  Do you know how to talk with your kids about Him?  You will after you hear this podcast because author and apologist Natasha Crain is Frank’s guest.  Natasha and Frank discuss: Is Jesus God? If Jesus us God, how could He die? Did ancient people believe in miracles because they were more gullible? What did Jesus teach about Hell? Didn’t Jesus tell us not to judge?  If so, how are we to make any decisions? What did Jesus teach about love?  Is it approval? What did the death of Jesus accomplish? Why does it matter if Jesus resurrected? Did the disciples lie about the resurrection story? How is the…
Read More
Genesis: Myth or History?

Genesis: Myth or History?

Apologetics
What do we mean by “myth”? German theologian Rudolf Bultmann popularized the notion that, in order to properly interpret the text, the New Testament must be stripped of those elements that appear to be “mythical,” specifically, its supernatural features.1 “Myth,” therefore, in theological circles refers to a traditional, non-literal story in a particular culture that manifests that culture’s worldview. The story serves as a vehicle to convey a truth, without necessarily being historically true. The Bible’s depictions of heaven, hell, demons, evil spirits, and Satan are viewed as symbols for deeper meanings rather than being literally existent. Many theologians, and now many Americans, insist that the Bible is a pre-scientific document that is riddled with the errors that accompanied early man’s quest for knowledge, making many of its claims “mythical.”…
Read More

Does Love Require Approval?

AFR, Apologetics, app, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Frank Turek, google play, iTunes, Love, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, Spotify, stitcher, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window The culture says, “To love me you must approve of what I do.”  Is that true?  Does love require approval? Many so-called Christians are claiming the answer is yes— that we must approve of what people want to do in order to love them.  Frank shows why that’s false and would make real love impossible.   The kind of love that Jesus demonstrated and commanded of us requires that we sacrificially seek the good of the other person, and that requires that we disapprove of harmful behaviors. If you’d like a visual version of this material, you can see a recent presentation by Frank on Facebook or YouTube. Subscribe on iTunes:  rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: Subscribe on Spotify: Subscribe on Stitcher: Free CrossExamined.org…
Read More

Why Religious Freedom Should Matter to Absolutely Everyone

Apologetics, ApologeticsGuy, Christianity, Culture, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Mikel del Rosario, Politics, Religious Freedom, society, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Mikel Del Rosario Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Society Why should religious freedom matter to everyone? Because the value we put on religious liberty shows how much we really care about freedom. If you’re going to be able to work for the common good—with people from all sorts of backgrounds—the law has got to protect your freedom to live by your convictions. But what is religious freedom? Religious freedom is a civil right that comes from God, not the government. Why should it matter even to people who aren’t religious? Because religious freedom upholds freedom of conscience for both religious and non-religious people. What is Religious Freedom? Religious freedom is a civil right that doesn’t ultimately come from the government. The founders of our nation knew this. All they…
Read More

EPS Panel Discussion On Divine Simplicity

Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Divine Simplicity, God, J. Brian Huffling, Richard Howe, Stephen Davis, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, william lane craig
By J. Brian Huffling In November of 2018, I was on a panel with Richard Howe, Stephen Davis, and William Lane Craig at an Evangelical Philosophical Society session hosted by the American Academy of Religion. The topic was “Divine Simplicity.” It can be viewed here. Howe argued for why it is true, Davis argued why it is not necessary, Craig leveled various critiques of it, and I defended it. (You can read this article for a discussion of what divine simplicity is.) Craig brought up the same basic objections in our panel as he did with Bishop Barron in January of 2018 on another panel on the same topic. I have addressed several of those objections in a previous post but would like to elaborate further on some of those objections, as well as address some of his points…
Read More

6 Ways Atheism Is A Science-Stopper

Apologetics, Atheism, Bible, Christianity, faith, Faithful Thinkers, God, Intellectual Faith, Luke Nix, Philosophy of Science, science, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Luke Nix Introduction: Science vs. Christianity? It is commonly claimed that Christianity is a science-stopper. What is usually put forth to justify this claim is that many Christians are content to look at nature and say, “God did it,” without looking further to discover how God did whatever “it” happens to be. For many Christians, questions about the origin and function of the natural world end with that answer. However, for many others, while they recognize that God did indeed do something, they seek diligently to discover how God did it. Christianity does not stop science, a lack of curiosity or concern (not necessarily a bad thing if those are not a person’s passion or pursuit) is what could stop science if no Christian exists who possesses that curiosity. Individual Christians can choose…
Read More

Philosophy is more Certain than Science

AFR, Apologetics, app, cross examined, cross examined official podcast, CrossExamined, crossexamined podcast, Frank Turek, google play, iTunes, philosophy, Podcast, podcasting, Radio, Radio Show, science, Spotify, stitcher, Weekly Podcast
Podcast: Play in new window How can philosophy be more certain than science?  How can morality be more certain than science?  That goes against the common wisdom.  Join Frank as he uses COVID 19, as an illustration, to show we know philosophy and morality at least as well if not better than we know scientific truths.  Since science is built on philosophy in at least nine ways, science is only as good as our philosophy.  Frank also addresses questions on why God created us knowing we would sin, and how to deal with doubts. Subscribe on iTunes:  rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: Subscribe on Spotify: Subscribe on Stitcher: Free CrossExamined.org Resource Get the first chapter of "Stealing From God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case" in…
Read More

Is Earth Just A Pale Blue Dot?

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, Atheism, atheist, beginning of the universe, Bible, Christianity, Creation, Does God Exists, earth, God, JesusIsNotAFakeNews, objections, Ryan Leasure, Skeptics, theology, universe
By Ryan Leasure  In his book Pale Blue Dot, the late astronomer Carl Sagan had this to say about the above photograph taken aboard Voyager I: Because of the reflection of sunlight… Earth seems to be sitting in a beam of light as if there were some special significance to this small world. But it’s just an accident of geometry and optics… Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. Sagan reiterates what is commonly known as the Copernican Principle, or the Principle of…
Read More

Better than God?

Apologetics
On February 13, 1989, John Morris and Frank Zindler met together for a one-hour debate over the Flood of Noah. John Morris affirmed that there was a global flood as the Bible records; atheist Frank Zindler denied that such was the case. Dick Wolfsie hosted the debate for the NBC affiliate channel 13 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The debate was heated, to say the least, and bounced around to various topics including fossilization, DNA similarities between humans and animals, geological formations, and a host of other subjects. During the debate, Zindler made a very shocking and telling statement regarding God. In their discussion of DNA, John Morris accused Zindler of claiming to have the mind of God, or be as smart as God. In reply, Zindler said: “Well, I'm better than…
Read More