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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Is it Hateful to Say Jesus is the Only Way?

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Exclusivism, Jesus Christ, Religious Pluralism, Ryan Leasure, RyanLeasure.com, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure Is it hateful or arrogant to claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation? Charles Templeton thought so. He argued: “Christians are a small minority in the world. Approximately four out of every five people on the face of the earth believe in gods other than the Christian God. The more than five billion people who live on earth revere or worship more than three hundred gods. If one includes the animist or tribal religions, the number rises to more than three thousand. Are we to believe that only Christians are right?”[1] What are we to make of Templeton’s claims? Is it presumptuous to say that Jesus is the one true way of salvation? Or even worse, are Christians guilty of committing “absurd religious chauvinism” as some…
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Is Hell An Eternal Restraining Order?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Atheism, Christianity, Cross, Hell, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Making sense of the existence of a place like Hell is a common struggle for the Christian apologist. Almost immediately, we are placed on the defensive, being asked to justify how a “loving” God could condemn any of his creation to a place of constant, and eternal, torment. I’ve often heard the challenge brought like this: “Isn’t God’s love for us like that of a parent? Can you imagine any loving parent ever wishing, or wanting, such extreme punishment for their own child?” The answer, of course, is no. No parent would delight in tormenting his children. And neither does God. But just as human parents must sometimes resort to court orders to keep their children away, so too does God employ the equivalent of an eternal…
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Scientism And Secularism

Apologetics, Christianity, Contradictions in the Gospels, Evidence for Christianity, Is the New Testament True?, Jonathan McLatchie, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Luke Nix All scientific research, discussion, and education is affected by a series of underlying beliefs that include what one grants as sources of knowledge. It is quite common in today’s culture for people to accept “scientism,” which limits sources of knowledge entirely to the sciences to the exclusion of any other claimed knowledge source or places all other sources of knowledge under the authority of the sciences.  Both of these philosophies stifle scientific discovery, places knowledge of anything outside of the natural realm beyond reach and erects seemingly impenetrable barriers in discussions about ultimate reality (including morality, beauty, and theology). This has serious implications in the sciences, education, politics, and basic everyday life. In his book “Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology” Christian philosopher…
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Are There Colossal Contradictions in the Gospels? A Reply to Rabbi Tovia Singer

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, Contradictions in the Gospels, Evidence for Christianity, Is the New Testament True?, Jonathan McLatchie, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Jonathan McLatchie Rabbi Tovia Singer is an orthodox Jewish rabbi and the founder and director of Outreach Judaism. He is widely known for his counter-missionary polemics and his criticism of the New Testament presentation of Jesus as the Hebrew Messiah (see his two volume set, Let’s Get Biblical: Why doesn’t Judaism accept the Christian Messiah? [i]). In a recent series of videos published on Rabbi Singer’s YouTube channel, he responds to remarks made by Professor R.L. Solberg following their recent debate in Nashville, Tennessee on whether Jesus is the promised Hebrew Messiah. In this and subsequent articles, I want to address some of the claims made by Rabbi Singer in this series of videos that I hold to be in error. In this article, I will address the most recent video in this series, which is provocatively titled,…
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He Gets Us, But Do We Get Him? The Case for Criticizing False Teachers

Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Dr. Frank Turek, False Teachers, he gets us, Natasha Crain, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
I once got an angry email from a lady who didn’t like the fact that I criticized a false teacher on our I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist podcast. “You shouldn’t criticize other Christians!” she scolded me. Do you see the problem with this? There she was criticizing me, another Christian, while claiming you ought not criticize other Christians. To paraphrase Elon Musk, if irony could kill, she’d be dead right now. Jesus Called Out False Teachers Apparently, she never considered that Jesus spent much of his time criticizing the false teachings and practices of the religious politicians known as the Pharisees whose hearts were far from God. He also warned people who led young believers astray, “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe…
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Conference to Explore Cosmic Mind and Divine Action

Biola University, Bradley Center, Center for Science & Culture, Charles Taliaferro, cosmic history, Discovery Institute, faith, Faith & Science, Intelligent Design, J.P. Moreland, Joshua Farris, Michael Egnor, philosophy, soul, Stephen Meyer, Stony Brook University, theology
In the first plenary, Stephen Meyer will argue for the existence of an intelligent and transcendent God who has also acted in the course of cosmic history. Source
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Trying to Make Sense of Evil and Suffering

answering objections to Christianity, Apologetics, Bellator Christi, Christianity, Evil and Suffering, Justin Angelos, objections to Christianity, the problem of evil, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By: Justin Angelos Have you ever been in the situation where you are trying to make sense of evil and suffering? At some point in a person’s life, there will be some sort of pain, or suffering, and some form of evil, either natural or moral evil. And then the question naturally arises, why? Why me? Why does God allow me to go through this? The question of evil and suffering can be a big stumbling block for people, in fact, this is why some people become atheists. In fact, atheists use evil and suffering as a weapon to discredit Christianity and say, there is no God. “How can an all-powerful all-loving God allow innocent people to suffer?” This is the type of question atheists will throw at theists. Trying…
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A Christian Apologist Responds to Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s Satanic Grammy Performance

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, Equip.org, Kim Petras, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, morality, Sam Smith, Satanic Grammy Performance, theology
By: John D. Ferrer If you watched the 2023 Grammys, then you probably saw Sam Smith and Kim Petras’s blasphemous pop hypnotic hit “Unholy.” This song has been buzzing. It has more than a hundred million views and earned a Grammy for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.” Musically, it feels a bit like R&B meets belly dancing. Its Middle Eastern lilt and thumping rhythm lend a dark allure, as the lyrics spin a sordid tale of excess and adultery. One philandering husband neglects his wife and kids at home, sneaking out to a gender-bending strip club — “Body Shop.” Sung from the perspectives of the club’s prostitutes, the story is laced with luxury name brands, product shots for condoms, and vivid descriptions of sexual deviance. Visually, the music video and live…
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