When I was a Christian, one of the biggest reasons I had for believing the Bible was that it contained actual prophecy -- or so I thought. I mean, if a book gave specific, detailed prophecies that no one could have guessed, and then they came true, wouldn't that be good reason for believing that… Continue reading Does the Bible Contain True Prophecies?
Tag: agnosticism
Why Some People Believe the Bible (And Why the Reasons Aren’t Good Enough)
I'm writing this post in response to something a fellow blogger has written about why the Bible is trustworthy (though I've lost the link to the post). He and I come down on different sides of this issue, and I thought the best way to tackle this would be to respond to each of his… Continue reading Why Some People Believe the Bible (And Why the Reasons Aren’t Good Enough)
Is Color Objective or Subjective?
Do you see red the same way that I do? I suppose there's not really a way to know. Even if we could agree on seeing the subtle differences between fire engine red and candy apple red, how do we know that we're seeing those differences in the same way? You could get an objective… Continue reading Is Color Objective or Subjective?
Kindergartner Told Not To Pray At School
This morning, as I checked my email, I saw a headline similar to the one that leads this post and inwardly groaned. It has all the markers of the kind of modern-day Christian persecution story that people love to rally behind, just like this one: http://youtu.be/bMjo5f9eiX8 But how believable are these stories? As one of… Continue reading Kindergartner Told Not To Pray At School
Fine-Tuning
There was a time when I found the fine-tuning argument alone to be sufficient for belief in god. I still think it's a pretty good one, though it doesn't get you anywhere close to the personal god that most religious people believe in. That said, I've reached a point where I no longer find it… Continue reading Fine-Tuning
Some Questions for my Fellow Nonbelievers
I was having a discussion with a friend of mine the other day, and it started me on a certain train of thought about two topics in particular. I think they're often points of misunderstanding between those who are religious and those who aren't. I have my own thoughts about these two issues, but I'd… Continue reading Some Questions for my Fellow Nonbelievers
Love and Compulsion
I'm currently reading a book where the author said that God remains hidden from us today so that we may freely choose to love him or not. You can't generate love through compulsion, he argued. And he's right about that. As an illustration, he gave Kierkegaard's story about a king in disguise: Once upon a… Continue reading Love and Compulsion
Paul: An Assessment
In the last post, we took a deep look at Romans 9, and I was quite critical of what Paul had to say. However, in many ways, I actually feel sorry for Paul. Let me start by saying I'm no scholar, so my assessment of Paul and his motivations is likely way off. But I… Continue reading Paul: An Assessment
Romans 9: A Divine and Fickle Dictator
It had been a while since I'd read Romans 9, but an email correspondence that I keep with a Christian caused me to read it last night. When I was a Christian, this chapter had always been difficult for me, but that's because I was trying to fit it within my own theology. Last night,… Continue reading Romans 9: A Divine and Fickle Dictator
Have a Little Faith
I spent a long time as a Christian. I'm able to look back on much of that time very fondly. I loved my fellow brethren, and I truly wanted to learn more about God's will and do my best to follow it. But there was also a deep fear tied to my belief. I think… Continue reading Have a Little Faith
Finding Truth 