There's a passage in the Bible that has long stood out to me. When I was a Christian, I found it comforting; now, I just find it perplexing. In Acts 17 (beginning in verse 16), Paul is visiting Athens. Since it was a hub of philosophy and culture, it had temples and altars to a… Continue reading “Times of Ignorance”
Category: Salvation
Discussion: What Did Jesus Teach?
This post is not going to be in the standard format. Instead of laying out what I think about a particular issue and then possibly getting into a discussion afterward, I really just want to ask a series of questions that I hope readers will answer in the comment section. My background with Christianity is… Continue reading Discussion: What Did Jesus Teach?
The Historicity of Jesus
On a recent blog post, conversation turned toward the reliability of the New Testament, and more specifically, how much evidence we have for whether or not Jesus ever existed. Instead of continuing the discussion there (since it had already broken the 500th comment mark and this would have taken the conversation in a different direction),… Continue reading The Historicity of Jesus
3 Questions for Atheists — 3rd Question
The first post in this series is here. Here's the 3rd of unkleE's questions: 3. You live your life with some sense of purpose. But Richard Dawkins assures us that that purpose is illusory and the universe shows us just blind pitiless indifference, Professor William Provine, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, confidently asserts that… Continue reading 3 Questions for Atheists — 3rd Question
3 Questions for Atheists — 1st Question
A week or two ago, friend and fellow blogger unkleE posed some questions to atheists, and instead of getting into them in that thread, I decided to address them here. 1. Do humans have choice to change the course of events? If so, how does it work in a physicalist universe? If not, who is… Continue reading 3 Questions for Atheists — 1st Question
In Response to Some of the Comments from the Previous Post…
If you haven't read the previous posts and the subsequent comments, this will probably make no sense. You've been warned! 🙂 I'm not sure if my Dad's going to comment again or not, since it's been several days now. And I haven't come across any other members of the Church of Christ that want to… Continue reading In Response to Some of the Comments from the Previous Post…
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 5
Links: Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 I'm reaching a part of this story that's very difficult to write about. In my last post, I mentioned that my doubts about my faith had reached a point that I knew I needed to talk to my parents and my wife's parents… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 5
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 3
Links: Part 1 // Part 2 For most of 2009, I remained unsure of some of my beliefs. Doctrinally, I had a firm foundation -- I knew what I believed and why. But when it came to the subject of who would be saved and who wouldn't, I felt like I was at a loss.… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 3
How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 2
Part 1 can be found here. In studying the doctrine of Hell, I found some interesting things. First, Hell is not talked about in the Old Testament. The King James Version mentions "Hell" a number of times, but that's just a translation issue. The actual word used in the Old Testament is Sheol. Now, we… Continue reading How It Happened: My Deconversion Part 2
Can a True Christian Ever Lose Her Faith?
Many Christians believe in the doctrine of eternal security, which teaches that once someone is saved, they can never lose that salvation. It's a very comforting thought, but it's not without controversy. First of all, not all Christians believe in this doctrine, because the Bible gives very mixed signals about it. Secondly, most people who… Continue reading Can a True Christian Ever Lose Her Faith?
Finding Truth 