Whole Reason

As we explore a biblical view of mankind, a significant starting place, perhaps foundation, may be found in the imago Dei (iD). The many scriptures that describe the structure and functions of mankind rarely suggest new attributes not found in some version of iD theology. For that reason, the iD is a good, if not comprehensive starting place to perform a survey of such structures and functions,…

In his 2011 book God On Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer, Peter Greig gives us a short outline of why God has legitimate reasons for not answering every prayer, or not immediately or affirmatively. I have a few (helpful) comments to make on this. 1. God’s World If God is in sovereign control of things, why does he not consistently intervene to stop evil? One reason is that if he…

Five Levels of Christian Nationalism

I think the term “Christian nation” is ambiguous and asking for a useless fight. The question is not a binary “should we apply Christianity in public life or not?” ; it is more of a spectrum of “how much and how should we apply our faith to public policy and life?” I have previously outlined how we move from our faith and values to public policy (Hint: not all Christian values are within the…

I can’t commit to a single denomination or church

I’ve lived long enough to realize that spirituality does not grow without attention. Not only that, it doesn’t grow in isolation – those who think that they can be “solo Christians” without being involved in a local church that is doing the work of God in serving and preaching the Gospel are kidding themselves. Of course, all churches are imperfect, and some are downright unhealthy. But looking…

How can you trust scripture if experts disagree?

One challenge to the life of Christian faith is trying to determine the best approach to understanding key Christian doctrines and scripture. The book of Genesis is one of the most debated, experts arguing over whether it is metaphorical, literal, or both. I’ve met skeptics who claim that if Christian experts can’t agree, why should anyone believe the Bible? Isn’t it poor communication on God’s…

Augustine: Three Types of Goodness and Evil

The problem of evil and suffering is the most significant challenge to the Christian view of an omnipotent (all powerful) and omnibenevolent (loving) God. One way to state the problem is thus: If God is all-powerful and loving, why did he allow death and suffering to enter creation, and why does He not do more to intervene in the evils in the world? Of course, the great Christian theologians have…

Why the biblical cosmology will be confirmed in biology

Albert Einstein & Edwin Hubble, Mount Wilson Observatory 1931 Until 1929, when Edwin Hubble and colleagues proved that the universe was expanding, the dominant view of the cosmos was that it was eternal and static. The Biblical view that time and space had a beginning and had expanded outward was mocked. But as the science improved, the Biblical model was essentially confirmed. The same will…

When and how to express outrage

This post is part of a series. There are good reasons for outrage, and constructive ways to express it. The Apostle Paul himself commended rightly guided anger when he wrote: Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:26-27) While this has been commonly understood as making up with your significant others before…

SERIES: Heaven Won’t Be Boring, You Dullards

This series, written in response to challenges from atheists on Facebook, contains the following articles: Heaven: Part 1 – The difficulty of conceiving of such beauty

Heaven: Part 1 – The difficulty of conceiving of such beauty

Imagine a world where there is no sorrow, no disease and no death. Imagine life without fear, and with the love of deep, unselfish, and pure relationships. Now imagine you’re talking to someone who tells you they would rather be dead than live that way for eternity because it would be repetitive and boring. Would that person be insane, or would they have a point? 1. Trying to Comprehend…

10 Reasons Why I Hate Arguing with Most Atheists

I am commonly on facebook groups seeking to test my ideas and engage with intellectual people on the topic of faith. Unfortunately, as we all know, civil and clear communication with people of good will is not the norm for online interactions. Perhaps we should be using Hedge’s Rules of Honorable Controversy. But here’s 10 reasons I am tempted to quit talking with atheists. The reasons I don’t? I…

Does God exist? Why empiricism must take a back seat to reason and intuition

FAITH: Authority as Primary Method When trying to prove or find the truth, most of us are used to the idea that the scientific method of experimentation and data is the best way to prove or disprove claims. But while such measureable, testable science (empirical) is very good for testing current conditions, it is less useful for testing past conditions. Historical sciences are forensic, in that…

If Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, where is the Kingdom?

My Dad was a Jew, and I am not deaf to the complaints of my Jewish family and friends who doubt that Jesus was the messiah. Like the original disciples and Jews of Jesus’ day, their main expectation was that the messiah would effect an overturning of the world powers and political systems, not die a suffering servant at the hands of the evil and domineering Roman government powers he was supposed…

True Belief: Using Reason to Validate Faith

One of the things which disourages me as an author is all of the great books that are forgotten or go unnoticed, often by people much smarter than myself. It reminds me of the wisdom of Solomon: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out. (Ecclesiastes 12:12) Richard Messer’s Does God’s Existence Need Proof? is one such volume. A wonderfully concise but detailed…

Three Types of People You Will Meet at the Final Judgment

Parable of the Talents In 2003, Mitch Albom released a popular book called Five People You Will Meet in Heaven. This emotional-psychological puff piece has helped many people release their emotions and confusion with the difficulty of life without really providing an answers – it’s chicken soup for the soul, but entirely fictional and not really grounded in any biblical reality. But Jesus once…

7 Characteristics of a Creator according to Philosophy

Philosophical Theology is a discipline that seeks to explore theological and religious concepts from a natural theology point of view, that is, without first considering any supposed divine revelation such as the Bible. The best two concepts with which to understand a possible generic God are creator and maximally great being (a.k.a. perfect being theology). Philosopher Thomas Morris calls these…

The Imago Dei and Tripartite Anthropology: Defining and Justifying Anthropological Trichotomy from Scripture Using the Principles of Augustine and Frame

Yes, that is the sesquipedalian title of my Master’s thesis, and what was funny is that our final paper’s title was read out loud at graduation. They told me I had to walk slowly across the stage during graduation so that i would not be off the stage before it was read. Enjoy. Abstract Support for the trichotomic model of human anthropology can be argued from exegetical, biblical, and historical…