23Oct 2023 by Post

Where Rebellion Against God Leads

Al Serrato, Battlestar Galactica, Divine justice, eternal conscious torment, Hell, Problem of Hell, Punishment, rebellion, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Imagine a time in the not-too-distant future. Trying to compensate for a declining population, scientists use advanced technology to build a “race” of robots, giving them not only human appearance and abilities, but also increasing amounts of AI. Things work smoothly in the short run, as the robots’ nearly limitless energy for work transforms Earth into a near paradise. But the programmers, seeking to give their creation a chance at true relationship with their human masters, give the robots freedom of will, grafting it on to their ability to think independently. Chaos soon ensues, as the robots rebel and rise up against the human population… This is standard fare, of course, in science fiction circles. Shows like Battlestar Galactica explored the philosophical issues surrounding this scenario, and play out possible…
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16Oct 2023 by Post

The Danger of Promising Universal Salvation

4. Is the NT True?, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Heaven, Hell, One Minute Apologist, salvation, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, unversalism
If you’re going to contend that universalism is true, i.e., the belief that everyone will eventually end up in heaven, then you best beware of the consequences of doing so. Evacuating a Dying Planet To illustrate. Imagine you live on a planet called Elpis (in Greek this means “hope” or “expectation”). You have been tasked with evacuating your entire civilization to another planet because of a life-threatening emergency. Due to an increasing level of CO2 in the atmosphere, ELPIS has limited time before there’s not enough oxygen to sustain life. So, you are developing a plan to transfer your fellow residents, via spaceships, to a safer environment. You’ve chosen a planet called Earth as your destination and have already been in touch with the humans there. The earthlings are happy…
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15Aug 2023 by Post

Why God Can’t Be the Universe

2. Does God Exist?, eastern religion, Melissa Dougherty, mysticism, Panentheism, pantheism, Parmenides, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Thomas Aquinas, universe, World Religions
Most people believe in God. The question is, which God? Who is this God? Is He personal? Impersonal? An “it”? A vague source or amorphous energy? It’s important to think this through because if God exists, then there are spiritual ramifications for this. Christians understand God to be personal. They’re not pantheists or panentheists where God is equal or a part of His creation, but that He’s separate yet still personal with His creation. In other words, the Christian God is above His creation, not equal to it. There’s a difference between God and what He has created. Many Christian theologians and philosophers believe this isn’t only biblical but logical. Let’s look at a few of these arguments. It’s pronounced parh-MEN-i-deez Let’s start with Parmenides, a 6th-century Greek philosopher who’s…
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31Jul 2023 by Post

Why We Praise God

Al Serrato, awesome, Divine justice, divine perfection, eternal conscious torment, Hell, Holiness, Praise, Problem of Hell, Punishment, Theology and Christian Apologetics, worship
Christian apologists are accustomed to dealing with the “straw man” fallacy. This is where the skeptic paints a false picture of a theistic position, making it easier to ridicule or defeat, and then concludes, triumphantly, that his skeptical view prevails. But not every challenge that misstates our views is intentional. At times, the challenger simply fails to grasp what it is that Christianity holds. Take for instance the doctrine of Hell – the concept of eternal punishment. Many atheists take this doctrine as evidence that primitive men invented Christianity to control others by threat of eternal punishment. They then reject Christianity because they believe that any God who would punish someone for “failing to worship him properly” would be unworthy of worship. I have heard this argument presented a variety…
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03Jul 2023 by Post

A Trendy New Breathing and Meditation Technique… and it’s Odd.

cultural apologetics, Culture CrossExamined, idolatry, meditative breathing, Melissa Dougherty, mysticism, New Age, spirituality, Theology and Christian Apologetics, witality breathwork, World Religions
I was scrolling through the Gram one day, and since I look up a lot of New Age things, the almighty algorithm put in front of my face something it thought I would enjoy. My eyes fell upon people rolling around, screaming, laughing hysterically, crying, convulsing, and rocking back and forth. I, no kidding, thought I was watching something from a Holy Spirit night at Bethel Church or something. It took me a hot second to realize that I was looking at a growing trend called Witality Breathwork. Growing Trend As time went on, I saw this strange practice pop up all over America, including in my own hometown. Immediately, I wanted to investigate, so I looked into actually going to the conference to observe, so I emailed them asking…
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26Jun 2023 by Post

As Long as It Doesn’t Hurt Anyone Or does it?

Al Serrato, Christian Ethics, Culture CrossExamined, Divine command, Divine justice, Do no harm, ethics, morality, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Watching classic TV recently I ran across one of my favorite episodes of the Twilight Zone series. Fans of that show will probably remember the classic episode “To Serve Man.” In the story, aliens from a distant world come to Earth with they offer “to help.” Initially reluctant, the inhabitants of Earth are quickly convinced that the aliens mean them no harm; quite the contrary, alien technology helps to eliminate many of Earth’s struggles and problems, and the inhabitants of Earth are quickly seduced by the aliens’ promises. As the story progresses, the aliens offer to take people to their home world, which they promise is a veritable paradise. Many sign up and soon embark on the alien ships to begin their adventure. And why shouldn’t they? After all, everything…
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29May 2023 by Post

What Does it Mean That “God Won’t Let You Down?”

3. Are Miracles Possible?, cultural apologetics, does God always heal, existential problem of evil, God won't let you down, Melissa Dougherty, Problem of Evil, problem of suffering, Progressive Christianity, Suffering, Theology and Christian Apologetics
We often hear in popular Christian songs and from pulpits that “God is never gonna let me down!” or “God hasn’t failed me yet!” Besides the tragedy of grammar (I mean, how does God not fail you yet?), what does that mean? What does the Bible actually say about this? Does God actually make all things possible for you? What does it mean when people say that He won’t fail you (yet) or let you down? What DOESN’T it mean? First, I want to say what it isn’t. This does not mean that we expect or demand God to do what we think He should do. It doesn’t mean that God is required to give you what you’re having all the faith in the world for. This might be hard…
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22May 2023 by Post

How Much Punishment Is Enough?

Al Serrato, Divine justice, eternal conscious torment, Hell, Jesus Christ, Problem of Hell, Punishment, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Many people reject the possibility of an eternal Hell because they feel that “the punishment doesn’t fit the crime.” Some atheists focus on this perceived inequality between the sins we commit here on Earth and the unending punishment we face in the life to come. One skeptic framed the challenge this way: “God is perfectly just, and yet he sentences the imperfect humans he created to infinite suffering in hell for finite sins. Clearly, a limited offense does not warrant unlimited punishment. God’s sentencing of the imperfect humans to an eternity in hell for a mere mortal lifetime of sin is infinitely more unjust than this punishment. The absurd injustice of this infinite punishment is even greater when we consider that the ultimate source of human imperfection is the God…
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08May 2023 by Post

Is the God of the OT the Same God of the NT?

Apologetics, Atheism, biblical contradictions, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, NT God, One Minute Apologist, OT God, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
There’s no shortage of accusations claiming the Bible depicts a vision of two Gods: the grumpy, moody, and often volatile, curmudgeon like God of the Old Testament, and the mushy, judge free, glorified sugar daddy God of the New Testament. Is this the case? Does the Bible present a clash of the God’s? The malevolent God of the Old Testament and the benevolent God of the New Testament? Or does God suffer from a bad case of bi-bolar disorder, is he the first mental health patient, exhibiting fits of schizophrenia, or some sort of split personality disorder? Not quite. Progressive Revelation What the Bible presents is a God who reveals himself in both Testaments through progressive revelation. As the story unfolds, the revealed nature of God crystalizes, elucidating in greater…
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05Apr 2023 by Post

The Resurrection of Jesus: The Evidential Contribution of Luke-Acts

Apologetics, Christianity is True, Easter, Evidence for Christianity, evidence for the Resurrection, Jesus Christ, Jonathan McLatchie, Luke-Acts, Resurrection, Resurrection of Jesus, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By: Jonathan McLatchie Any discussion of the evidence for the resurrection must first ascertain what the original apostolic witnesses claimed and whether those claims are best explained by the resurrection, or by some alternative hypothesis. The contemporary discussion of the case for the resurrection has largely focused around 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, a text believed by many scholars to represent an ancient creedal tradition that Paul had received from the Jerusalem apostles and which he passed on to the believers in Corinth.[i]  Paul’s words in verse 11 (“Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed”) also suggest that the message Paul presented to the Corinthians is the same as that proclaimed by the Jerusalem apostles. A popular criticism of this line of argument is that…
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