The Aristophrenium

Proclaiming the truth of the gospel and the centrality of Christ in all things

Author Archive

Tuesday

19

February 2013

0

COMMENTS

God still justly punishes sinners

Written by , Posted in Soteriology, Theology

A week ago on February 13, Daniel Sinclair had published a blog article that confronted the question of whether or not it is just for God to punish those who had never heard the message of the gospel. If you believe that those who have never heard the gospel are going to face judgment for their sins, he asked, then how can you call God just? It seems unfair that some people have had a chance to hear the gospel and others have not. [1] Now, I do not for a moment think that Sinclair was asking that question for himself, that is, I do not believe he thinks the justice of God is a questionable matter. I believe he merely recognizes that such a question exists and tries to provide what he thinks is a sensible answer—see his “generational justice” toward the end—after first looking at some answers that [...]

Wednesday

13

February 2013

0

COMMENTS

God justly punishes sinners

Written by , Posted in Soteriology, Theology

NOTE: A week later (February 17) Daniel Sinclair substantially altered the text of his original article which I had responded to here; he did not leave the original text as it was and make an addition but instead rewrote it. My response below now may or may not make sense in light of his changes. See here for my new response. Over at his blog Daniel Sinclair posed a question about the justice of God with respect to those who have never heard the gospel, that is, “the unreached.” If you believe that those who have never heard the gospel are going to face judgment for their sins, he asks, then how can you call God just? Isn’t it unfair that some people have had a chance to hear the gospel and others have not? [1] He offers five unique “theodicies for defending the damnation of the unreached” and you [...]

Monday

11

February 2013

0

COMMENTS

Implications of divine revelation

Written by , Posted in Bibliology, Theology

I have been having a discussion today regarding the nature of Scripture and our relationship to it, a discussion sparked by a story about “a young Korean girl [who] claims that Jesus took her to hell, and told her to draw what she saw.” [1] I am sharing this because it strikes me as a rather important issue. (Names have been changed, except mine.) DAVID: Because it is given a religious gloss, the girl will probably not receive the psychological evaluation she possibly needs. Those were some disturbing notions and pictures. STEVEN: Wait, she’s crazy because she believes the Bible? DAVID: Well, let us perhaps first qualify that term. Since she claimed that the one and holy Son of God himself revealed to her these visions of hell, it follows that she must believe in an open canon—to which her vision must now be added, as it is also divine [...]

Monday

11

February 2013

10

COMMENTS

Evolution vs. evolutionism: One of these precludes a Savior.

Written by , Posted in Apologetics, Creation/Evolution, Origins of Life

Back in September of 2012 it was reported that Paul C. Broun, U.S. representative for the 10th congressional district in Georgia, had made a very curious claim during a campaign speech at the 2012 Sportsman’s Banquet in Hartwell, Georgia, a claim which garnered him a great deal of critical attention. “All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang theory,” Broun proclaimed, “all that is lies straight from the pit of hell.” And it’s lies to try to keep me, and all the folks who were taught that, from understanding that they need a Savior. You see, there are a lot of scientific data that I’ve found out as a scientist that actually show that this is really a young Earth. I don’t believe that the Earth’s but about 9,000 years old. I believe it was created in six days as we know them. That’s [...]

Monday

4

February 2013

0

COMMENTS

Friday

1

February 2013

1

COMMENTS

Putting the conflict in perspective

Written by , Posted in Apologetics, Creation/Evolution

The following is excerpted from Origins: Christian Perspectives On Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design, 2nd ed. (Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2011): Debate the Weather? To illustrate why the debate about origins isn’t simply a matter of science versus religion, imagine living in a culture where there is a similar debate about the weather. The Bible clearly teaches that God governs the weather. Many Bible passages proclaim that God causes rain and drought (see Deut. 11:14-17; 1 Kings 8:35-36; Job 5:10; 37:6; Jer. 14:22). Writers of Deuteronomy, the Psalms, and Jeremiah refer specifically to storehouses of rain and snow (see Deut. 28:12, 24; Ps. 135:7; Jer. 10:13). What causes the rain? Most of us were taught that water evaporates from the ground level, rises to where the air is cooler, and condenses into water droplets that form clouds. We learned how cold fronts and warm fronts and low pressure systems bring [...]

Tuesday

29

January 2013

0

COMMENTS

The unpaid bills of the church

Written by , Posted in Apologetics

I have to agree with Nick Peters. Like him, I too wish I had a nickel for every person I have met who said they used to be a Christian. And yes, a great many of these so-called ex-Christians constitute the main opponents I come across, too. “These people fight Christianity with a vengeance,” Peters observed, “and I suspect it’s because they think they were duped by their church and have a strong vendetta against it. “And in many cases, I think their church did dupe them.” You know what I often read from them? I get the message that they were told they should just have faith. They were denied the right to ask questions. They were told they needed to walk the line or get out. They were treated as if they were the problem. Very rarely do I hear the account of a minister who says “That’s [...]

Tuesday

22

January 2013

0

COMMENTS

A misguided attempt to critique Walton

Written by , Posted in Creation/Evolution, Origins of Life

So this is admittedly a bit late. I realize that. But it was not until just this afternoon that my attention was directed to this critical article by Casey Luskin of the Discovery Institute which I was led to believe addressed John Walton’s book The Lost World of Genesis One (IVP Academic, 2009). [1] Had I known about this article sooner I would have responded to it sooner. Better late than never? I suppose there is a sense in which Luskin did address Walton’s book, but that is only technically true. The fact of the matter is that Luskin admitted right from the first paragraph that since he has no expertise “in ancient Hebrew language or biblical hermeneutics” he therefore had “no intention of expressing an opinion on Walton’s basic thesis about how to interpret Genesis 1.” Fair enough, so what then was the purpose of his writing? Evidently it [...]

Sunday

20

January 2013

0

COMMENTS

Churches For Apologetics: A Petition.

Written by , Posted in Apologetics, Christian activism, Education, Witnessing

The leadership and overall community of the Christian Apologetics Alliance [1] are highly motivated to encourage and equip the church in defending the faith using the tools available through Christian apologetics. It is their desire to see local churches everywhere creating and fostering a safe environment of questioning and learning in which members of Christ’s body are enabled and empowered to confront the hard questions that target the faith and consequently grow in strength, knowledge, and confidence. Apologetics in the church is no less important and relevant today than it was over 150 years ago when Wilberforce noted the following: [2] In an age in which infidelity abounds, do we observe them [parents] carefully instructing their children in the principles of faith which they profess? Or do they furnish their children with arguments for the defense of that faith? They would blush on their child’s birth to think him inadequate [...]

Tuesday

20

November 2012

0

COMMENTS

God is sovereign, your life is not.

Written by , Posted in Anthropology, Eschatology

I am involved in a number of small Bible study groups with my local church during the week, one of which is about discipling men by the gospel to become spiritual leaders in the church and their own families, and obviously this involves taking a hard look at Paul’s epistles to Timothy and Titus. Sometimes the fruit of prayerful study is new insights being revealed by the Spirit of all grace, and one such insight hit me recently while reading from 1 Timothy, chapter 6, and verses 13 to 16: I charge you before God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who made his good confession before Pontius Pilate, to obey this command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ—whose appearing the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, will reveal at the right time. He alone [...]