Friday, August 31, 2012

Lecture: Can We Be Good Without God? by William Lane Craig


From Dr. Craig's website, Reasonable Faith:


School of Oriental and African Studies Christian Union, London, UK – October 18, 2011
Dr. Craig was invited by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Christian Union, London to give a lecture titled "Can We Be Good Without God?"
The lecture formed part of the Reasonable Faith Tour in October 2011. The Tour was sponsored by Damaris Trust, UCCF and Premier Christian Radio.
For those interested, you can also find Dr. Craig's article "Can We Be Good Without God?" here.
You can also checkout his articles, pod casts, debates and other resources here.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Resources to Answer Bad Arguments Against Intelligent Design


Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with someone who thinks they know everything there is to know about Intelligent Design (ID), but they really have little idea what they are talking about? 

Here are a few resources that will aid you in correcting common errors and false claims often raised against ID:



Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012

Tuesday, August 07, 2012

An Argument from Inherent Value for God's Existence

I recently had a discussion regarding inherent value and whether humans have it. If interested, that discussion can found here

While researching the topic for discussion a friend directed me to the following syllogism:

1. If God does not exist, then human life does not have any inherent value.
2. Human life does have inherent value.
3. Therefore, God exists.1

First, before the premises are examined, what is meant by inherent value needs to be explained.

In order for something to have inherent value, value must be a part of the thing. The value must be essential to it. In other words, the thing did not get the value from something else. How can this be? Before we can ask this question, however, we need to ask another:  How can something have value without someone ascribing value to it? Here, an important observation must be made. A 
thing, or object, cannot have inherent value. A person is required to ascribe value to a thing.

So we can focus our examination of inherent value as such:  In order for 
someone to have inherent value, value must be a part of that someone. Now, one might ask:  How is this possible? Answer this question with another question:  Can a person ever not have value? Of course not. So, we focus in even more:  A person has inherent value not because the value is essential to them, but because personhood is essential to them. Value necessarily follows from personhood.

Therefore, the definition of inherent value is as follows:  Inherent value is value a person has which flows necessarily from their personhood.

Since the definition of inherent value hinges on personhood, the above syllogism can be rewritten as follows:

1. If God does not exist, then no human life has personhood.
2. Every human life does have personhood.
3. Therefore, God exists.

Before this syllogism can be examined, personhood must be defined. Dr. William Lane Craig defines a person as a self-conscious moral agent.
2 This definition implies that humans, as persons, to an extent, transcend the material universe because we are self-aware and because of our moral decisions. With this definition in mind, let us now examine the syllogism.

Premise One

If God does not exist, then no human life has personhood. In order for this premise to fail it must be shown that personhood can develop by natural means (i.e. natural selection). How can the non-personal, non-moral, material process that is natural selection do this? How can natural selection transcend the material universe by bringing about self-conscious beings that make moral decisions? Until this is explained, it is perfectly rational to hold that an eternal, ultimate 
person, that transcends the material universe bestowing personhood upon a material human body, is the best explanation for mankind’s personhood.

Premise Two

Every human life does have personhood. In order for this premise to fail it must be demonstrated that there is at least one human life that does not possess personhood. Yet a human must be a 
person in order to make this determination. What is more, a human must be a person to initially question the premise. Finally, a human must be a person to question the first premise. The fact that each human life has personhood is self-evident.

So, with the above premises standing firm, the conclusion logically follows. God exists.

Stand firm in Christ,
Chase

Footnotes:



Monday, August 06, 2012

Jonathan Edwards on Truth and Reason


"All truth is given by revelation, either general or special, and it must be received by reason. Reason is the God-given means for discovering the truth that God discloses, whether in his world or his Word. While God wants to reach the heart with truth, he does not bypass the mind."

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Resource:

1. Jonathan Edwards, "The Mind" The Philosophy of Jonathan Edwards from His Private Notebooks, (Eugene: University of Oregon, 1955). 

Friday, August 03, 2012

Book Preview: The Ambassador's Guide to Mormonism by Brett Kunkle

"They believe in God.  They believe in Jesus. They read the Bible and attend church every week.  But are Mormons Christians?  It's time for some clear thinking on this question and The Ambassador’s Guide to Mormonism provides just that.  This little tool will clarify the key issues and help you engage your Mormon friends and family with the truth."


Get it here.





Courage and Godspeed,

Chad