The Aristophrenium

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

Religion 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 [...]

Sunday

20

January 2013

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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 [...]

Sunday

25

November 2012

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COMMENTS

Taking Back the Season—For the Gospel

Written by , Posted in Christology, Religion, Theology, Witnessing

It is one month to go until Christmas. In preparation for that, I wrote this for my church’s December newsletter. I am reposting it here on The Aristophrenium for the benefit of all the brethren. Christians seem to have all sorts of attitudes when it comes to Christmas. Many lament the secularization and commercialization of the holiday, and do their best to “put Christ back in Christmas.” Others try to dissociate themselves from the holiday altogether, citing its association with non-Biblical traditions as reason for doing so. Others just want to go about celebrating the holiday as usual, singing Christmas hymns, buying presents for loved ones and taking time out to be with them. I will argue that the one thing that is missing from all of these perspectives is the missional focus. Christmas is a time when we remember God’s incarnation in the person of Jesus, as this coming [...]

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 [...]

Monday

12

November 2012

1

COMMENTS

God’s Chisel

Written by , Posted in Soteriology, Witnessing

Friend and occasional commenter on The Aristophrenium, Rick Baskett, had shared this skit via Facebook two or three years ago. This is a ‘remastered’ version. It’s a great clip and I still find it quite moving even to this day.

Tuesday

30

October 2012

6

COMMENTS

Answering Brent Riggs on annihilationism

Written by , Posted in Apologetics, Ecumenical Dialogue, Eschatology

G. Brent Riggs of Oklahoma City is a Christian author, itinerant speaker, and avid blogger who wants people to know that the doctrines of conditional immortality and annihilationism together gravely diminish “the scope and value of Christ’s atoning work” and introduce “a third option to salvation” (Riggs, 2009). Yes, for him this issue occupies the crucial position of essential doctrine, such that conditional immortality and annihilationism together result in a foreign gospel and must stand accursed (Galatians 1:7-8). That was the crucial claim that grabbed my attention when I read this particular 2009 article that a friend had directed my attention to recently. As a bible student and apologist I am accustomed to a familiar set of arguments that are deployed against conditionalism and annihilationism, and our brother Riggs touched upon a couple of them, but I had never heard anyone tie the issue so directly to Christ and the [...]

Monday

29

October 2012

2

COMMENTS

Fitrah and the Noetic Effects of Sin

Written by , Posted in Apologetics, Christian, Christology, Elenctic Apologetics, Religion, Theology

I have made a significant observation over my years of debating with Muslims on the nature of God. Most Muslims, when arguing for the Islamic concept of God over against the Christian concept of God, will make some variation or another of the following argument: “Leave aside all revelation for a moment, and imagine you lived in an island without any prior exposure to any religion. You would reasonably conclude that God exists, since creation is evidence for a Creator. You would also reasonably conclude based on the fact that you have a conscience that this God has set standards of good and evil, and will reward those who are good and punish those who are evil. Most importantly, you would conclude that this God is totally other than His creation, and cannot change, and because of these facts He cannot enter His creation the way you Christians believe He [...]

Friday

26

October 2012

0

COMMENTS

The Cost of Wrong Belief

Written by , Posted in Religion

It’s been quite a few years now, but the story I heard in church one Sunday morning of a fire that struck a small town, still stays with me. The guest Minister that day had explained that the fire struck his town when he was just a boy. His father, like most of the men, had gone off to fight the fire before it got to town. Next door to his house, an elderly lady who had lived in the town most of her life was convinced that the fire would not enter, so she refused to be evacuated. But the fire did enter and the house was burned to the ground with the elderly woman still inside. A similarly tragic story is told of an elderly man who lived near Mount St. Helens when it erupted on May 18, 1980. At the age of 84, Harry Truman refused to [...]