24Mar 2025 by Post

Is Guidance Control COMPATIBLE with Divine Determinism?

Apologetics, Christianity, compatibilism, determinism, Gospel, guidance control, john martin fischer, Libertarian Freedom, reasons responsiveness, regulative control, Theology and Christian Apologetics
STRATTON: Dear ChatGPT, Guidance control is a concept from philosophy, particularly in discussions of free will and moral responsibility. It refers to the capacity of an agent to guide their behavior in a way that reflects their reasons, values, and intentions. In the context of free will, guidance control is often contrasted with what is referred to as regulative control. Allow me to explain: Guidance control asserts the ability to guide one’s actions in accordance with one’s rational deliberation and decision-making process. It does not necessarily require alternative possibilities (understood as the ability to do otherwise). Regulative control, on the other hand, includes both the ability to guide actions and the ability to choose among alternative options (i.e., free will in the sense of having genuine alternatives and the ability…
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19Mar 2025 by Post

4 Good Things That Go Bad When They Are Idolized

Apologetics, Big Eva, big evangelical, Christianity, Church Life, Deconstruction, Deconversion, Ecclesiology, false gospel, Hillary Ferrer, idolatry, MamaBearApologetics.com, pastoral theology, pop Christianity, pop culture, popular heresies, Theology and Christian Apologetics
In recent years, Joshua Harris  announced that he and his wife are separating AND that he is no longer a Christian. In case you missed the whole I kissed Dating Goodbye craze in the late 1990’s, let me summarize: Joshua Harris was a prominent voice in purity culture (which Amy Davison has been blogging about here and here.)  In his early 20’s, he wrote a book advocating for “courtship” instead of “dating.” This change in perspective would supposedly allow young men and women to avoid emotional ties that would hinder their future marital happiness. There’s too much to go into here. In short, what started as one young man’s dating advice got turned into the 67th book of the Bible for many youth groups. People are desperate for answers. In the wake of Harris’ announcement, many are pointing…
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10Mar 2025 by Post

Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, Part 2

Apologetics, Arguments for God, Christianity, defend the faith, Doubt, Gospel, https://smartfaith.me, introduction to apologetics, Miguel Rodriguez, new believers, Skeptics, Theology and Christian Apologetics, young believers
[Editor’s Note: In “Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, part 1” Miguel Rodriguez raised the question of how should we handle our doubts. He proposes we do Christian apologetics. He then defines “apologetics,” and points out how doubt can be a sign of a living faith. Doubt can be healthy. In this second installment, Miguel offers more practical advice on how to turn your doubt and questions into learning and spiritual growth through Christian apologetics]. Some Arguments for the Truth of Christianity Today, like in Biblical times, apologist makes use of a multidisciplinary knowledge like cosmology, philosophy, ethics, biology, history and more. Some of those popular classical arguments are: The Kalam Cosmological Argument: Seeks to show that the universe is not eternal, that necessarily had to have a beginning. The…
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05Mar 2025 by Post

Gen Z, Atheism, and The Problem of Evil

Atheism, demographics, emotional doubt, evidential problem of evil, Generation Z, IsChristianityTrue.Wordpress.com, logical problem of evil, Problem of Evil, Steve Lee, Theology and Christian Apologetics, youth exodus
Generation Z is the generation born from 1999 to 2015. They are the successors of Gen X (born 1965-1980) and Gen Y, also known as Millennials (b. 1981-1998). The dates are approximations and arbitrary creations of sociologists and scholars studying generational trends. The Barna Group alongside the ministry Impact360 has conducted as study of Gen Z’ers called “Who Is Gen Z.” A short introductory video of their study can be viewed here. Jonathan Morrow, director of Cultural Engagement at Impact360, wrote an article titled “Why Gen Z Is Not Prepared To Follow Jesus In A Post-Everything World” and revealed that only 4% of Gen Z has a Biblical Worldview while atheism is on the rise amongst this generation. Gen Z and Atheism One of the things that has come to light in the Barna…
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03Mar 2025 by Post

Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Christian Faith

Apologetics, arguments for God Categories: Theology and Christian Apologetics, Christianity, defend the faith, Doubt, Gospel, https://smartfaith.me, introduction to apologetics, Miguel Rodriguez, new believers, Skeptics, Theology and Christian Apologetics, young believers
“Why is there evil and suffering in this world?” “No one naturally can resurrect from the dead after three days. It\’s impossible.” “The Bible was written by fallible men thousands of years ago, how can I be sure that what I have is what was written?” “How can I know that Christianity is the one true religion when there are thousands of other religions?” Odds are, you don’t have an answer to these sorts of questions, or worse, they seem persuasive . . . compelling. You feel some sort of shame to admit this. You have been a Christian for some time now but never knew the answers to these fundamental questions. Now you’re second guessing. And why not? You already tried to ask your parents, your pastor and/or Bible…
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26Feb 2025 by Post

Can Christianity Really Be The Only Means of Salvation Part II

Al Serrato, Coexist, Gospel, Jesus, Problem of Religious Exclusivism, Theology and Christian Apologetics, tolerance, universalism
Many skeptics believe that all religions are basically the same. If there is an afterlife, they surmise, all that will be required for admission is that you live a “good” life and be “sincere” about your beliefs. My last post offered reasons from the observation of nature that should cause the skeptic some concern. In short, it seems to me that a study of nature actually leads to the contrary conclusion: if nature is our guide to knowledge, then the Author of nature seems to be teaching that getting it right is what matters. Sincerely believing that you can defy gravity won’t count for much if you step off the side of a building, no matter how good a life you’ve lived up until then. Nature is Exclusive Nature provides…
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24Feb 2025 by Post

How to Raise Kids to Research Like a Pro

Amy Davison, Apologetics, Christianity, Discernment, Gospel, MamaBearApologetics.com, Parenting, Research, Theology and Christian Apologetics
If you hang around parents long enough you’ll find that there are certain “mommy moments” that we moms all share. Kid running down the street naked? Check (mostly for boy moms…). An embarrassing family secret shared with the entire elevator by your darling little chatterbox? You betcha. And it’s practically a Christian mom rite-of-passage that just when we’re about to switch out the light, your little Einstein suddenly goes final-jeopardy-mode with some obscure theological concept. Sure it’s probably a stalling technique, but one of the blessings we have as moms is pointing them back to the truth of Christ, even as we wrestle them into bed. The thing is, just giving answers is not enough. Someday they’re going to get hit with a challenge and we aren’t going to be there to…
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12Feb 2025 by Post

Why I Left The Word Of Faith Movement

Apologetics, Brian Huffling, BrianHuffling.com, charismatic movemement, Christianity, ClassicalTheology, Gospel, Health and Wealth, Televangelism, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Word Faith Movement
When I was about fourteen I started listening to teachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Jesse Duplantis, Jerry Savelle, and Creflo Dollar. I had grown up going to church, albeit a very liberal church, but these guys were different than what I was used to. They had passion, zeal, and spoke with power and authority. They taught very differently than what I had heard before, but they used Scripture to back everything up (well, and some direct revelation from God, so they said). They taught that Jesus had secured our physical healing for this life, that we had power over sickness and the devil, that we could transform our finances through our faith, and that we could even use faith the way God does—the God kind of faith. I really enjoyed…
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10Feb 2025 by Post

From Peter to the Christian Apologist

1 Peter 3:15-16, Apologetics, biblical apologetics, Christian Living, Christianity, Dan Hodges, Gospel, Isaiah, persecution, St. Peter, Theology and Christian Apologetics
To the Christian Apologist, 1 Peter 3:15-16 is a ‘mandate’ passage, used to demonstrate the reason we all study and become proficient with apologetics. “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV) The REAL Reason for doing Apologetics We tend to focus, however, on verses 15 and 16 and forget to consider the “lead in” context. The real reason we SHOULD do apologetics is actually shown in the second half of verse 14 and the first…
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29Jan 2025 by Post

What About the Crusades? Myths and Facts.

Apologetics, Christianity, Church History, Colonization, Crusades, Gospel, historical apologetics, history, https://ischristianitytrue.wordpress.com/, imperialism, Islam, Steve Lee, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Misinformation on the Crusades continues unabated in contemporary society. From former president Obama mentioning it in a prayer breakfast speech, to Trump’s nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, to Clinton’s 2001 speech at Georegetown University which blames the current increase of Islamic terrorist activity, such as 9/11, as fallout from the Crusades. I wrote a short article for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students over this topic.  Here is a small snippet from that piece.  Following that is a list of resources that are from historical experts on the Crusades that expose many of the myths surrounding the event. Excerpt from the Apologetics Study Bible for Students “Ask any individual about the Crusades and you will probably get an answer like, ‘They were wars of unprovoked aggression by Christians against a peaceful Muslim world which…
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