Texas Weather Postpones Dallas Science and Faith Conference
William Dembski: Why I’m Returning to the Front Lines of Intelligent Design
Video: Making Sense of the Ravi Zacharias Scandal
Video: Josh McDowell Shares His Heart about the Ravi Zacharias Scandal
RZIM halts fundraising efforts amid fallout over report exposing sexual misconduct
Tim Tebow retires from baseball, feels 'called in other directions'
Voddie Baucham Shares Update on Health: ‘Pray Our Faith Holds Up’
Died: Carman, Christian Showman Who Topped Charts with Triumphant Faith
Why Capitalism is Good: A Conversation with Dr. Jay Richards
COVID Vaccines and Fetal Cells: What’s Ethical and What Isn’t?
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Our last edition is here.
Truthbomb Apologetics
Welcome! Truthbomb Apologetics strives to offer apologetics resources to encourage and challenge both believer and unbeliever.
Saturday, February 20, 2021
Monday, February 15, 2021
3 Reasons Relativism is Untenable
Relativism, broadly defined, is the view that truth is relative to each individual and that there is no objective truth. According to this type of thinking, objective truth is not attainable, and therefore, all truth claims are equally valid. Thankfully, among serious thinkers, this view seems to have fallen out of favor. However, relativistic thinking is still quite common in everyday conversations. This type of thinking manifests itself when someone says something like, "That may be true for you, but it's not true for me."1
In his book 5 Minute Apologist, Rick Cornish points out 3 reasons why relativism is, at the end of the day, untenable. He writes:
"First, it defeats itself. The relativist believes the statement, 'All truth is relative.' But if all truth is relative, then relativism falls into that category and cannot claim to be...true. Why, then, should we believe it?
Second, relativism is untenable because it entails that opposites are true. For example, some might assert that it can be true for one person that God exists, but true for another that He does not exist. Those two concepts, however, are mutually exclusive. It cannot be the case that God both exists and does not exist. Either He does or does not.
Third, the relativist view renders knowledge impossible. Gaining knowledge presupposes moving from a state of no-knowledge to a state of knowledge. If relativism is true, however, neither state truly exists, and learning is rendered impossible."2
Cornish concludes:
"Despite the recent popularity of relativism, it lacks intellectual, philosophical and biblical integrity. As Christians we must recognize and understand it. We swim in its waters, and should be able to refute it as we engage our culture with the gospel of Christ. The One who said, 'I am the way the truth and the life' (John 14:6, emphasis added), requires that we know the nature of truth and communicate it well."3
I wholeheartedly concur.
For those who want to learn more about the challenge of relativism and be better equipped to combat it, I recommend Francis Beckwith and Greg Koukl's book Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Footnotes:
1. Which is just a fancy way of saying, "Nothing is true for everybody. And that is true...for everybody!"
2. Rick Cornish, 5 Minute Apologist, p. 31.
3. Ibid., p. 32.
Related Posts
Seven Things You Can't Do As A Relativist by Greg Koukl
Relativism by Greg Koukl MP3 Audio
Saturday, February 13, 2021
Worldview and Apologetics in the News
Open Letter from the International Board of Directors of RZIM on the Investigation of Ravi Zacharias
Christian leaders call for repentance, overhaul following Ravi Zacharias sexual abuse report
Watch: Scientists Who Affirm Intelligent Design
Video: Stephen Meyer Shatters The Myth Of The Multiverse
Video: The Kalam Cosmological Argument - Part 2: Philosophical
Tim Keller shares cancer update: 'God has worked through your prayers and chemotherapy'
Chemist James Tour Offers A YouTube Series On Abiogenesis, Treated As A Form Of Magic
William Dembski on ID, Church Fathers, and a Problem for Atheists
For Your Consideration - Voddie Baucham's Medical Expense Fund
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Our last edition is here.
Monday, February 08, 2021
Debate Video - Is Christianity Dangerous? Michael Jones (Inspiring Philosophy) vs. Dr. Michael Shermer
This is simply the best debate I have heard on this topic. The next time someone tries to convince you that Christianity is dangerous or that Christianity has negative consequences, this is the debate to share with them!
Further, both men were charitable, kind and knowledgable. We need more debates like this one.
Enjoy!
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Related Posts
Debate Video: Michael Shermer vs. Frank Turek- What Best Explains Reality- Theism or Atheism?
Featured Resource: Inspiring Philosophy YouTube Channel
Video: The Ontological Argument (The Introduction)Debate Video: Michael Shermer vs. Frank Turek- What Best Explains Reality- Theism or Atheism?
Featured Resource: Inspiring Philosophy YouTube Channel
Saturday, January 30, 2021
Worldview and Apologetics in the News
Joe Biden Signs Executive Order Forcing Americans to Fund Planned Parenthood Abortion Biz
Podcast: Casey Luskin Returns, Teases a New Book, Celebrates ID 3.0
Podcast: Outgrowing God? with Peter S. Williams
Sewell: Top Five Evidences for Intelligent Design
Twitter suspends Christian magazine for saying Biden’s trans nominee is a man, not a woman
Victim of alleged sexual misconduct asks to be released from NDA with Ravi Zacharias
‘Christian’ Antisemitism Raises Its Head Again
Baylor University Newspaper Apologizes After Calling Professor ‘Transphobic’
New ‘Students for Life’ Poll Finds Younger Generation Could be Most Pro-Life Ever
Tolkien Fans Hope to Make Oxford Home a ‘Rivendell’ for Writers
A Different Kind of March for Life
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Here is our last edition.
Monday, January 25, 2021
Christians and Conspiracy Theories: Have We Lost our Minds?
Shortly after the attack on the US Capital, a close friend sent me the following text:
"Not sure if you are experiencing similar things with people (mostly Christian), but it seems like there is a lot of hysteria and conspiracy theories being tossed around about what is going to happen over the next week or so. I am honestly finding it very frustrating because it just seems people are taking things and running with them as if they are true, without really taking the time to check sources or see if it makes sense."
My friend's frustration is certainly understandable when one considers that Christians are supposed to be proclaimers and lovers of truth and abstain from falsehoods.1 But if this is indeed the case, then why are so many Christians taken in by conspiracies? I fear that what we are witnessing is the rotten fruit of anti-intellectualism within the evangelical church.
In his book Love God with all Your Mind, philosopher J.P. Moreland explains that "it is safe to say that from the arrival of the Pilgrims to the middle of the nineteenth century, American believers prized the intellectual life for its contribution to the Christian journey. The Puritans were highly educated people (the literacy rate for men in early Massachusetts and Connecticut was between 89 and 95 percent) who founded colleges, taught their children to read and write before the age of six, and studied art, science, philosophy, and other fields as a way of loving God with the mind. Scholars like Jonathan Edwards were activists who sought to be scholarly and well informed in a variety of disciplines. The minister was an intellectual, as well as spiritual, authority in the community."2. However, this is clearly no longer the case. To a large degree, American evangelicalism has strayed from the Scriptures, church history, common sense and its rich intellectual heritage.
In his book Love God with all Your Mind, philosopher J.P. Moreland explains that "it is safe to say that from the arrival of the Pilgrims to the middle of the nineteenth century, American believers prized the intellectual life for its contribution to the Christian journey. The Puritans were highly educated people (the literacy rate for men in early Massachusetts and Connecticut was between 89 and 95 percent) who founded colleges, taught their children to read and write before the age of six, and studied art, science, philosophy, and other fields as a way of loving God with the mind. Scholars like Jonathan Edwards were activists who sought to be scholarly and well informed in a variety of disciplines. The minister was an intellectual, as well as spiritual, authority in the community."2. However, this is clearly no longer the case. To a large degree, American evangelicalism has strayed from the Scriptures, church history, common sense and its rich intellectual heritage.
So, how did we get here? How have we gone from being a thoughtful, intellectually vibrant people to those who are sometimes quick to believe conspiracies and falsehoods? Moreland explains that "[i]n the middle 1800s...things began to change dramatically, though the seeds for the change had already been planted in the popularized, rhetorically powerful, and emotionally directed preaching of George Whitefield in the the First Great Awakening in the United States from the 1730s to the 1750s. During the middle 1800s, three awakenings broke out in the United States: the Second Great Awakening (1800-1820), the revivals of Charles Finney (1824-1837), and the Layman's Prayer Revival (1856-1858). Much good came from these movements. But their overall effect was to overemphasize immediate personal conversion to Christ instead of a studied period of reflection and conviction; emotional, simple, popular preaching instead of intellectually careful and doctrinally precise sermons; and personal feelings and relationship to Christ instead of a deep grasp of the nature of Christian teaching and ideas. Sadly, as historian George Marsden notes, 'anti-intellectualism was a feature of American revivalism."3. And, while Moreland is clear that there was nothing wrong with emphasizing personal conversion, he argues that the emphasis on personal feelings and emotions resulted in an "intellectually shallow, theologically illiterate form of Christianity."4
When the church as whole walks away from its rich intellectual heritage, and begins to emphasis emotions and personal experience over the life of the mind (Matt. 22:37) and intellectually careful and precise sermons, the result is what we are seeing today. And a people who do not value evidence-based beliefs will quickly be taken in by falsehoods.
We must find our way back. Dr. Moreland argues that the evangelical church must "move toward a clearer, more biblical understanding of the Christian mind and how Christ Himself wants to shape our thinking...As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must ask how we can become the kind of people we need to be to bring honor to Christ, to help turn the culture toward Him, and to be lights in the midst of darkness for our families, friends, churches and communities...We must rededicate ourselves to being deeply spiritual of whom it can truly be said that 'Christ is formed in you' (Galatians 4:19). And, given the times in which we live, we must also obey Jesus' admonition to be as 'wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16, KJV)."5
Surely the reasons people are quick to believe conspiracy theories are multi-faceted and my goal is not to oversimplify, but to perhaps identify one of the root problems. While this post may not offer a complete answer, hopefully it serves as the beginning of one.
I am encouraged by the many Christians I know that represent a studying, learning community that values the life of the mind. But we have a long way to go. We must learn to think well again. We must return to our rich intellectual heritage and take seriously the words of the Apostle Paul:
"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor..." (Ephesians 4:25).
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Footnote:
1. John 4:24, 1 Cor. 13:4-6, Ephesians 4:15; 4:25
2. J.P. Moreland, Love Your God with All Your Mind: Revised and Updated, p. 16,
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid., 16-17.
5. Ibid., 19; 40.
Related Posts
Video: Loving God with All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland
What Are the Laws of Logic? by J.P. Moreland
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Worldview and Apologetics in the News
Joe Biden Sworn in as America’s 46th President – Here’s His Address to the Nation
Sasse on Anniversary of Roe v. Wade: "Love Is Stronger Than Power"
Grappling with abortion trauma
God ‘didn’t give us this land,’ Jen Hatmaker says in apology for controversial inaugural prayer
Video: Demonetized by YouTube
The Return of Casey Luskin
Two Pastors Join Albert Mohler in the Southern Baptist Convention Presidential Race
The Real Cost of President Biden’s Radical Transgender Activism
An Evangelical Leader’s Open Letter to President Biden
The Pro-Life Project Has a Playbook: Racial Justice History
The 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus in 2021
Failed Trump Prophecies Offer a Lesson in Humility
Why the atheist church is failing
Why Euthanasia is Not the Answer: A Conversation with Stephanie Gray Connors
What Does the Bible Say About “End Times”? 3 Historic Perspectives
One Word Curiously Absent from Biden’s Statement on Roe v. Wade Anniversary
Hank Aaron, the Faith-Filled MLB Star Who Broke Babe Ruth’s Home-Run Record, Has Died
Head of U.S. Catholic Bishops Rebukes Joe Biden's Policies Advancing 'Moral Evils'
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Our last edition is here.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Book Preview: Return of the God Hypothesis by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer
About the Author
Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2013), Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2009), which was named a Book of the Year by the Times (of London) Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis (HarperOne, 2021).
About the Book
The New York Times bestselling author of Darwin’s Doubt and Intelligent Design scholar presents groundbreaking scientific evidence of the existence of God, based on breakthroughs in physics, cosmology, and biology.
In 2004, Stephen C. Meyer, one of the preeminent scientists studying the origins of life, ignited a firestorm of media and scientific controversy when a biology journal at the Smithsonian Institution published his peer-reviewed article advancing the theory of Intelligent Design. Then, in his two bestselling books, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, he helped unravel a mystery that Charles Darwin did not address: how did life begin? and offered further scientific proof to bolster his arguments on the history of life and our origins, concluding that life was designed.
In those previous books, Meyer purposely refrained from attempting to answer questions about “who” might have designed life. Now, in The Return of the God Hypothesis, he brings his ideas full circle, providing a reasoned and evidence-based answer to the ultimate mystery of the universe, drawn from recent scientific discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biology.
Meyer uses three scientific points to refute popular arguments put forward by the “New Atheists” against the existence of God:
- The evidence from cosmology showing that the material universe had a beginning.
- The evidence from physics showing that, from the beginning, the universe was been “finely tuned” to allow for the possibility of life.
- The evidence from biology showing that since the universe came into being, large amounts of genetic information present in DNA must have arisen to make life possible.
In analyzing the evidence from these three fields, Meyer reveals how the data support not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind—but the existence of a theistic creator.
To learn more about Dr. Meyer's forthcoming book, and take advantage of the Preorder Special Offer, go here.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Related Posts
What is Intelligent Design? by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer
Ben Shapiro Interviews Dr. Stephen Meyer
Video: Theistic Evolution by Stephen Meyer
Stephen C. Meyer received his Ph.D. in the philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. A former geophysicist and college professor, he now directs Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture in Seattle. He has authored the New York Times best seller Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2013), Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design (HarperOne, 2009), which was named a Book of the Year by the Times (of London) Literary Supplement in 2009, and now, The Return of the God Hypothesis (HarperOne, 2021).
About the Book
The New York Times bestselling author of Darwin’s Doubt and Intelligent Design scholar presents groundbreaking scientific evidence of the existence of God, based on breakthroughs in physics, cosmology, and biology.
In 2004, Stephen C. Meyer, one of the preeminent scientists studying the origins of life, ignited a firestorm of media and scientific controversy when a biology journal at the Smithsonian Institution published his peer-reviewed article advancing the theory of Intelligent Design. Then, in his two bestselling books, Signature in the Cell and Darwin’s Doubt, he helped unravel a mystery that Charles Darwin did not address: how did life begin? and offered further scientific proof to bolster his arguments on the history of life and our origins, concluding that life was designed.
In those previous books, Meyer purposely refrained from attempting to answer questions about “who” might have designed life. Now, in The Return of the God Hypothesis, he brings his ideas full circle, providing a reasoned and evidence-based answer to the ultimate mystery of the universe, drawn from recent scientific discoveries in physics, cosmology, and biology.
Meyer uses three scientific points to refute popular arguments put forward by the “New Atheists” against the existence of God:
- The evidence from cosmology showing that the material universe had a beginning.
- The evidence from physics showing that, from the beginning, the universe was been “finely tuned” to allow for the possibility of life.
- The evidence from biology showing that since the universe came into being, large amounts of genetic information present in DNA must have arisen to make life possible.
In analyzing the evidence from these three fields, Meyer reveals how the data support not just the existence of an intelligent designer of some kind—but the existence of a theistic creator.
To learn more about Dr. Meyer's forthcoming book, and take advantage of the Preorder Special Offer, go here.
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Related Posts
What is Intelligent Design? by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer
Ben Shapiro Interviews Dr. Stephen Meyer
Video: Theistic Evolution by Stephen Meyer
Saturday, January 09, 2021
Worldview and Apologetics in the News
A Response To Vincent Torley On The Virgin Birth
Dance floor where John the Baptist was condemned to death discovered, archaeologist says
Unbelievable? JRR Tolkien, Jesus and Lord of the Rings - Holly Ordway & Michael Jahosky
Is It a Boy or a Girl?
The Emperor’s Ugly Clothes: Western Cultural Imperialism Dressed Up in a Liberal Congressional Prayer
Trump supporters storm US Capitol, tear gas deployed; DC mayor issues curfew
COVID has killed her hundreds of thousands, but abortion has killed her tens of millions
Dance floor where John the Baptist was condemned to death discovered, archaeologist says
Unbelievable? JRR Tolkien, Jesus and Lord of the Rings - Holly Ordway & Michael Jahosky
Is It a Boy or a Girl?
The Briefing with Albert Mohler - January 7, 2021
Wednesday’s warning
CNN’s Chris Cuomo Mocks Marco Rubio’s Christian Faith, Calls Him ‘Bible Boy’
Christian Women Are Being Murdered and Dumped in Sewers in Pakistan
Untold Stories from J.P. Moreland: A Behind the Scenes Look at His Life and Ministry
Inside RZIM, Staff Push Leaders to Take Responsibility for Scandal
Courage and Godspeed,
Wednesday’s warning
CNN’s Chris Cuomo Mocks Marco Rubio’s Christian Faith, Calls Him ‘Bible Boy’
Christian Women Are Being Murdered and Dumped in Sewers in Pakistan
Untold Stories from J.P. Moreland: A Behind the Scenes Look at His Life and Ministry
Inside RZIM, Staff Push Leaders to Take Responsibility for Scandal
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Our last edition is here.
Tuesday, January 05, 2021
Philosopher Richard Swinburne on the Multi-verse
"To postulate a trillion-trillion other universes, rather than one God, in order to explain the orderliness of our universe, seems the height of irrationality."1
Courage and Godspeed,
Chad
Footnote:
1. Richard Swinburne, Is There a God?, p. 68 as quoted by Peter S. Williams in Outgrowing God?
Related Posts
Article: Can Multiverse Theories Explain the Appearance of Fine Tuning in the Universe? by J. Warner Wallace
Video: Origins of the Universe- Has Hawking Eliminated God? with Dr. William Lane Craig and Dr. Rodney Holder
Labels:
Existence of God,
multi-verse,
Philosophy,
Richard Swinburne
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