ANSWERING OBJECTIONS FROM AN ATHEIST
© 2021, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. INTRODUCTION There are two problems with atheism. First, it is impossible, as logic and the laws of science show[1]. Second, it precludes any objective meaning to life (and objective values), beyond personal preferences. The latter problem does not, of course, disprove atheism, but the former does. We addressed problems with atheism in our “Atheism and the Meaning of Life” podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPTRID8ak94 …
IS JESUS OUR “KINSMAN-REDEEMER”? Christmas Follies from Creation Ministries International
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. Introduction While Creation Ministries International (CMI) is very good on their core competency – scientific creationism – when it comes to other matters, they are less than stellar. Their Christmas Eve article this year[1] contains four plain errors, of varying degrees of importance. We discuss them below. Quirinius and the Census One of the most common attacks on the historical reliability of …
DOES MARK CONTRADICT MATTHEW ON THE CURSING OF THE FIG TREE?
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. The Problem One alleged contradiction in the Gospel books that skeptics point to is the difference in Matthew’s and Mark’s accounts of Jesus’ cursing of the fig tree. The accounts are as follows: MATTHEW 21:10-22 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth …
ISAIAH 48:16 AS SUPPORT FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRIUNITY OF GOD: A Response to Unitarian Challenges
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. Introduction The doctrine of the Triunity of God, that the one true God exists eternally as three Personae – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is fully revealed in the New Testament, but there were certainly hints given of it in the Old Testament, particularly in the form of indications of plurality within the Godhead. Therefore, when it was fully revealed, people …
WHAT ABOUT POLYGAMY? A Response to “One Man and One Woman: Not the Only Biblical View” (American Atheist, 3rd Quarter, 2013)
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. In “One Man and One Woman: Not the Only Biblical View,” published in American Atheist (3rd Quarter, 2013)[1], Drs. Hector Avalos, Robert Cargill, and Kenneth Atkinson, who identify themselves as “academic biblical scholars,” claim that the biblical texts do not support the frequent claim that marriage between one man and one woman is the only type deemed acceptable by biblical authors. However, …
IS 1 CORINTHIANS 15:3-7 AN EARLY CHRISTIAN CREED TESTIFYING TO THE TRUTH OF THE RESURRECTION? Another Example of the Failure of Evangelical Scholarship
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at …
ACCORDING TO WHAT SCRIPTURES? Examining Paul’s References in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς καὶ …
THREE CHARGES AGAINST THE MAJORITY TEXT THEORY EXAMINED AND REFUTED
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. We have recently been contacted regarding three charges brought against the Majority Text theory[1] by advocates of the so-called “critical text.”[2] These charges may seem plausible at first glance, but upon examination they are found to have no substance. In the following we list the charges and refute them. 1) As we find new texts the majority can change the text so …
CHOOSING YOUR EPISTEMOLOGICAL MASTER: What Hugh Ross’ Latest Attack on Young-Earth Creationism Reveals about Old-Earth Creationists
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. Introduction “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24a) In His sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the truth that one cannot truly serve two masters, that each one who tries to do so will eventually choose one …
THE INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE: An Explanation and a Response to Creation Ministries International’s Problematic View
Creation Ministries International’s article “The inspiration of Scripture comes in various forms” contains problematic errors, including slavish adherence to the Masoretic text, uncritical acceptance of the claim that the Gospel books are of the bioi genre (an idea being used to destroy Biblical inerrancy), and the claim that the Pentateuch is the “final form” updated by multiple editors.
THREE GOOD REASONS TO LEARN NEW TESTAMENT GREEK
© 2020, by Sonya Tors. All Rights Reserved. Introduction There are many different translations of the Bible into English, some of which are very good (e.g. the KJV, NKJV, and EMTV).[1] What is better even than the best translation is the text in the original language.[2] You can, of course, gain an excellent understanding of the Bible by reading an English translation, but learning New Testament Greek does provide certain …
ON THE HISTORICAL RELIABILITY OF THE GOSPEL BOOKS: A Response to Ijaz Ahmad’s Comments on the John Tors-Shabir Ally Debate
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. Introduction On January 11 of this year, I debated Muslim scholar Dr. Shabir Ally; the debate topic was “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” Subsequently, the video of the debate was posted on YouTube,[1] and it elicited various comments from both Muslims and Christians. The lengthiest and most detailed were posted by one “Br. Ijaz” under the rubric “Calling Christians.” A quick …
THE EUTHYPHRO DILEMMA AND THE SOURCE OF GOD’S STANDARDS
© 2020, by John Tors. All Rights Reserved. The Problem The Euthyphro Dilemma is a philosophical conundrum posited by Plato in his dialogue Euthyphro. It asks, “Are pious things pious because the gods love them, or do the gods love them because they are pious?”[1] Eventually, that question was asked of the Christian God: Is something good because God approves it or does God approve it because it is good? …
HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH BOOKS BELONG IN THE BIBLE? The Question of Canonicity
We have certainty about the canonicity of the books in the Old Testament, which Jesus referred to as “all the Scriptures”, and those in the New Testament. Three crucial passages from the Bible itself indicate that books of the New Testament were already considered Scripture before the New Testament was even completed. Books of the New Testament were recognized as Scripture immediately upon publication because apostles themselves designated these books as Scripture.
DNA – Designed, Not Accidental
Over the many years since I graduated from medical school, the knowledge of how the complex and unique DNA molecule functions in the cell has increased greatly. Much of what is now basic knowledge of molecular genetics was only touched on when I was in high school and medical school. The human genome had not yet been fully decoded. The more I learn about this amazing molecule, the more convinced I am of the impossibility that it evolved by random chance under the guiding hand of natural selection.
HOW “PROVING” ONE OF DARWIN’S THEORIES ACTUALLY DISCREDITS THE THEORY
At this difficult time, a laugh is sorely needed, and one has been provided for us by evolutionary scientists at Cambridge University. The headlines are breathless and triumphant: One of Darwin’s evolution theories finally proved by Cambridge researcher (Phys Org)[1] Scientists ‘prove Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory’ (ITV)[2] One of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theories Has Been Proved by Scientists: ‘We Are Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ (Newsweek)[3]
DOES JESUS MISQUOTE THE OLD TESTAMENT? Creation Ministries International (CMI) Undermines Inerrancy Again
It is late in the year for a new, winning entrant into the “Most Ironic Statement of the Year” contest, but Creation Ministries International (CMI) duo of Lita Cosner and Robert Carter seem to have done it; it is difficult to imagine that anything in the last few days of 2019 will top this one: No one should be ridiculed for not being able to do good textual analysis—unless they claim to be doing good textual analysis.[1] We …
SALVATION BY GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ALONE: What about James 2:24?
Prima facie, James 2:24 seems to say that works are needed for salvation. However, careful exegesis of the original Greek text shows that James is not, in fact, saying “that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only,” but that a man is justified by acts of commitment, and not by intellectual belief alone.
THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER AND THE EVANGELICAL BETRAYAL OF THE BIBLE: Exposing the Major Weapons Levied Against the Trustworthiness of the Bible
The Bible has come under attack by liberal scholars using three main weapons: historical criticism, textual criticism, and Darwinism. The acceptance by evangelical scholars of the liberal paradigm assumptions has led to an erosion of belief in inerrancy and undermines the case for Christianity.
IS THE BYZANTINE TEXT THE RESULT OF “A LONG PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT AND STANDARDIZATION”? An Examination of Klaus Wachtel’s Text Critical Model
For a long time, that explanation was that the Byzantine text was a recension (i.e. a deliberately edited and altered version of the original New Testament)
WHY THERE IS AN ERROR IN MARK 1:2 IN YOUR BIBLE: Another Example of the Evangelical Betrayal of the Bible
The original reading of Mark 1:2 is not “in Isaiah the prophet”, which is an error that evangelical scholars who accept Griesbach’s canons unsuccessfully try to dodge. The reading “in the prophets” is found in the overwhelming majority of manuscripts and the earliest and best material, including the writings of Irenaeus.
CREATION MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL AND THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER: WHY THE MONSTER WINS
While CMI does excellent work in battling Darwinism, in the areas of historical criticism and textual criticism they readily defer to evangelical scholars such as James Patrick Holding, passing along liberal paradigm assumptions which undermine the credibility of the Bible and the doctrine of inerrancy.
FRAGMENTS OF ERROR: Creation Ministries International (CMI) Errs Yet Again on Textual Criticism
It is safe to assume that the various functionaries of Creation Ministries International (CMI) feel a great deal of frustration over the fact that their well reasoned arguments for young-earth creationism are not accepted by professing Christians who are supposed to view the Bible as the very word of God. Perhaps they are even more frustrated when such Christians do not even reject CMI’s arguments but ignore them completely, as if CMI were just whistling in the wind. If so, they can understand our frustration at CMI’s refusal to consider the facts …
SALVIFIC BELIEFS: Salvation by Grace Alone through Faith Alone
Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in the true Christ alone is a salvific belief. The verses adduced by those who teach the necessity of water baptism for salvation all align with salvation sola fide. The only baptism necessary for salvation is the baptism of the Spirit.
THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNTS: “Incompatible Contradictions” or Coherent History?
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have …
SHERMER’S ERROR AND THE MEANING OF LIFE: Another Failed Attempt to Find Meaning in an Atheistic Life
Every attempt by atheists to identify meaning in life ends up with them promoting views they personally prefer as if they were absolute and meaningful. Shermer utterly fails to show that evolution has bestowed morality or purpose-driven life on us.
“IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES” Creation Ministries International (CMI) Errs Again on Textual Criticism
Attacking the trustworthiness of the word of God remains in the forefront of Satan’s devices, and this is not surprising. While Christianity is at its heart about reconciliation with God through His Son Jesus Christ (e.g. 2 Corinthians 5:19), all the objective knowledge we have about Jesus Christ, about the Triune God, about sin and salvation and Godliness and eternal life comes from the Bible, so our view of its reliability is crucial.
“THAT’S JUST YOUR INTERPRETATION!”: A Response to Dr. Thomas Howe on Understanding the Bible
Univocal propositional statements cannot be “interpreted” to mean something other than what the words and syntactical construction convey. If we can understand such statements made by people even though we are not infallible, we can understand God’s propositional statements in the Bible.
WHAT ABOUT THE COMMA JOHANNEUM (1 JOHN 5:7b-8a)?
Although the absence of the Comma Johanneum in almost all Greek manuscripts strongly indicates it was not in the autograph, the Greek grammar indicates that it might indeed be part of the original autograph
IS CREATIONISM SUPPORT DROPPING? A Response to USA Today and a Warning to Creationists
Krattenmaker’s belief that a recent Gallup poll proves Americans are turning against young earth creationism is premature. He did not look at long-term data. Nevertheless, the poll results are significant for Christians. A wrong view of origins is a symptom of the real problem, erosion of belief in inerrancy.
FATAL PROBLEMS WITH REASONED ECLECTICISM TEXTUAL CRITICISM: Follow-up Comments on the Tors/Costa New Testament Text Debate (Part 2)
If the Alexandrian text type is closest to the original, how did the Byzantine text come to have such an overwhelming numerical majority?
TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND THE END OF BIBLICAL INERRANCY: Follow-up Comments on the Tors/Costa New Testament Text Debate (Part 1)
Every saying of a prophet recorded in a book of the Bible was first said and then written. Therefore, it is perfectly correct to describe any quote of any saying by any prophet as “as was spoken by the prophet.”
“WHAT SHALL I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?”: A Closer Look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan
The common interpretation of the Parable of the Good Samaritan is that it means everyone is your neighbour, love your neighbour by helping him. According to our understanding, the Samaritan is Jesus, the One who has mercy upon us, and He is the One we are to love and so inherit eternal life.
THE ASSAULT ON INERRANCY AND WHAT IS AT STAKE: A Final Word to Nick Peters
We have previously posted some rather pointed rebuttals of the claims of a certain Nick Peters, along with various scholars he champions, regarding the inerrancy of the Bible and, predictably, it was not well received by some.
DROWNING IN DEEPER WATERS: A Response to Nick Peters and Another Look at the Evangelical Betrayal of the Bible
The idea that the Bible is inerrant has de facto been discarded, and its authority has therefore been severely undermined.
MARK 1:2 REVISITED: A Response to James Patrick Holding
The lesson from this story ought to be clear: A wrong answer does not become right simply by being reasserted more loudly and more stridently.
DID JESUS DENY HIS OWN DEITY IN MARK 10:18? The Significance of Jesus’ Answers to the Rich Young Ruler
In telling the rich young ruler that there is only one "Good" Teacher who can give him the answer of how to inherit eternal life, God Himself, Jesus sets the stage for a revelation of His own Deity.
ARE THE EVENTS OF JESUS’ CAREER THE BEST ATTESTED FACTS OF ANCIENT HISTORY? A Comparison to the Attestation for Caesar’s Crossing of the Rubicon and for Spartacus
This article is a response to Richard Carrier’s claims that Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon River as an event and Spartacus as a person are better attested than Jesus. We have far better and more certain documentation for the events of the career of Jesus than there is for any other ancient personage.
TIME OUT: Fifty Years Later, Answering Time Magazine’s Question, “Is God Dead?”
Fifty years ago today, Time, “the weekly newsmagazine,” published what some consider its most controversial cover story ever.[1] Inside the usual red border of the cover there was nothing but a stark black background with, under the Time banner, a question in three large red letters: “Is God Dead?”[2] The implication, of course, was not that God, a living being, had met with some misfortune or old age and had died; the question suggested that the world was coming to the …
YES, JESUS REALLY DID EXIST: Refuting Maclean’s Magazine’s Latest Madness
The article is the same farrago of unsubstantiated allegations, bald assertions, and refusal to consider relevant evidence that always characterized this sort of article.
CAN WE BECOME GODS? An Examination of John 10:34
John 10:34 and Psalm 82 say, “I said, ‘You are gods.’” The Bible does not say that these people were actually gods, but only that the Psalmist made that comment to them. The following words, “But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes”, show that the comment was just a rhetorical device.
WHO IS FALLIBLE? Proper Exegesis and the Origins of the Earth
For those who are interested, there is plenty of scientific evidence that supports an earth that is no more than 10,000 years old. Why more Christians are not aware of these is a mystery.
DOES GENESIS 2:4-5 CONTRADICT SIX-DAY YOUNG-EARTH CREATIONISM? A Response to Meredith Kline
Meredith Kline, overlooking that Genesis 1 is full of miraculous acts, argues that Genesis 2:4-5 disproves six-day young-earth creationism, because if the divine providence was operating through normal processes, then, for example, plants could not have been created before the sun.
THE MUSTARD SEED REVISITED: A Look at a Critical Review
Our solution to the problem that Jesus supposedly erred in calling the mustard seed the smallest of all seeds is that γῆ means a “limited area of ground for agricultural use”, which is an attested meaning. Brad Cooper argues that σπέρμα here means “agricultural seed,” but this is not an attested meaning.
DID JESUS ERR ABOUT THE SIZE OF MUSTARD SEEDS? A Case Study in How to Do Serious Evangelical Apologetics
In Mark 4:31, Jesus apparently makes a scientific error by asserting that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. But in the original Greek, He did not say that. He said that a mustard seed, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground, not smaller than all seeds on earth.
IS LUKE WRONG ABOUT THE DATE OF JESUS’ BIRTH? A Case Study in How to Do Serious Evangelical Apologetics (Part 3)
Luke says Jesus was born while Quirinius was governing Syria, but Matthew says Jesus was born before Herod’s death. There is no contradiction. Herod died in 1 BC, not 4 BC. The only testimony that Quirinius began to govern Syria in AD 6 is from Josephus. Luke is by far the superior historian to Josephus.
IS LUKE WRONG ABOUT THE DATE OF JESUS’ BIRTH? A Case Study in How to Do Serious Evangelical Apologetics (Part 2)
Luke says Jesus was born while Quirinius was governing Syria, but Matthew says Jesus was born before Herod’s death. There is no contradiction. Herod died in 1 BC, not 4 BC. The only testimony that Quirinius began to govern Syria in AD 6 is from Josephus. Luke is by far the superior historian to Josephus.
IS LUKE WRONG ABOUT THE DATE OF JESUS’ BIRTH? A Case Study in How to Do Serious Evangelical Apologetics (Part 1)
Luke says Jesus was born while Quirinius was governing Syria, but Matthew says Jesus was born before Herod’s death. There is no contradiction. Herod died in 1 BC, not 4 BC. The only testimony that Quirinius began to govern Syria in AD 6 is from Josephus. Luke is by far the superior historian to Josephus.
OLIVER AND HARDY AND HAHN: Debunking Greg Hahn’s Attempt to Salvage His Attack on Complementarianism
Hahn’s conceit that “the question will bring down complementarianism” is a pipe-dream, without any hope of succeeding with anyone who thinks at all about the issue; his approach is even weaker than the usual egalitarian gambits.
WHICH EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES? A Response to Greg Hahn’s Attack on Complementarianism
Hahn’s argument against complementarianism has been examined and found to be wanting in every conceivable way. His statement that “Complementarianism is bankrupt because it has no coherent biblical foundation” has been shown to be fatuous.
THE “SONS OF GOD” AND THE “DAUGHTERS OF MEN”: A Case Study in the Importance of Careful Exegesis
The nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4 were not the offspring of angels and human females. Jesus proves His bodily resurrection by appeal to the fact that spirits do not have flesh and bone. This proof is destroyed if angels could conjure up physical bodies for themselves so they could have conjugal relations.
IS IT UNJUST OF GOD TO SEND PEOPLE TO HELL?
It is not unjust of God to send people to hell. God gives us life as a gift and has the right to end it. Jesus is the ticket of admission to heaven. Those who refuse this ticket cannot get into heaven. They cannot build their own eternal house and so can only live in a house God provides. “His house, his rules.”
IS A 4.6-BILLION YEAR-OLD EARTH COMPATIBLE WITH BIBLICAL INERRANCY? A Response to Norman Geisler
According to the Bible, the earth and all life originally on it were created by God in a span of six 24-hour days about six thousand years ago.
THE TESTIMONY OF JOSEPHUS: Powerful Evidence for the Truth of Christianity, or an Interpolated Fraud?
The Testimonium Flavianum in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews is an extra-biblical testimony to Jesus’ ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection. It is not a later interpolation. None of the arguments against its authenticity stands the test.
EXAMINING THE CLAIM THAT THE WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS OF JOHN 7:53-8:11 ARE MORE LUKAN THAN JOHANNINE
One of the best known stories about Jesus is His encounter with an adulteress whom He refused to condemn. The story, known in academic circles as the Pericope Adulterae, or Pericope de Adultera.
A CALL FOR SERIOUS EVANGELICAL APOLOGETICS: The Authenticity of John 7:53-8:11 as a Case Study
The evidence of the early versions, the Patristic writings, the attitude of early Christians towards altering the New Testament text, and Augustine’s testimony is consistent with, and in most cases points to, the authenticity of the Pericope Adulterae as part of the original Gospel of John.
CONTRADICTIONS IN THE GOSPEL BOOKS? Lessons from the World Junior Hockey Championships
There are a number of events in the ministry of Jesus that are documented by more than one Gospel author. Events that are documented by two authors (Matthew and Mark, Matthew and Luke, or Mark and Luke) are called the “double tradition.” Events that are described by three Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called the “triple tradition.”[1] One of the ways in which liberal skeptics attack the historical reliability of the Gospel books is to point out that there are differences in the double and triple tradition. Matthew’s description of …
GIGO: Unearthing a Decisive New Tipping Point for Textual Criticism
The earliest New Testament manuscripts available to us are corrupt and clearly not the best. Scholars have ignored the key issue of provenance. Virtually all the earliest papyri we have came out of a garbage dump, discarded by the Christians at Oxyrhynchus, because they thought them too corrupt to keep.
ECHOES IN THE MATH: More Non-Evidence for the Big Bang
An article in the 24 January 2015 issue of New Scientist has the misleading headline, “Ancient echoes speak to us from the big bang.” The echoes are just an idea from a from a calculation, and not something that has actually been found in the real world.
A PRIMER ON NEW TESTAMENT TEXTUAL CRITICISM (IN MANAGEABLE, BITE-SIZED CHUNKS)
After insisting that the Byzantine text was secondary and corrupt, Westcott and Hort tried to account for its creation and dominance by asserting that it had been put together in the 4th-century AD
NOT COUSINS: The Genetic Dissimilarity between Chimps and Men
The claim that we share almost 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees was made before the chimpanzee genome was sequenced. After this was done, it was found that humans and chimps may share less than 70% of their DNA.
NOTHING FROM NOTHING (Response to the National Post, Nov. 19, 2014)
Lawrence Krauss suggests that the universe might have arisen from Nothing as a spontaneous quantum fluctuation. But this requires a quantum field, which is not “Nothing.” Something coming out of nothing violates the First Law of Thermodynamics, which is on much firmer ground than “Hawking radiation.”
CAN CHRISTIANS DO YOGA? Do Not Be Bamboozled!
Christians should not practise yoga. The purpose of yoga is to yoke with the Hindu Brahman and achieve enlightenment by doing exercises and emptying the mind.
DOES AN ANCIENT TEXT PROVE THAT JESUS WAS MARRIED TO MARY MAGDALENE AND HAD CHILDREN? A Response to “The Lost Gospel” by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson
The claims of The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus’ Marriage to Mary Magdalene are a non-starter. The document is from the late 6th century AD, far too late to have credibility. It is a fictional story of Joseph and Asenath and says nothing about Jesus or Mary Magdalene.
FANTASIA 2014: A Response to Yuval Harari’s “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind”
Fantasia is, after all, a compendium of fairy tales, which is what the theory of evolution is. It has the same claim to reality as an anthropomorphic rodent casting magic spells, and a good deal less than dancing hippos.
A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN? An Assessment of “Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back”
The claim in Heaven is for Real that little Colton Burpo went to heaven is not credible. The evidence offered as proof is insufficient. The little boy’s descriptions of what he allegedly saw in heaven do not match what Scripture says, while they do match common images he could have seen here on earth.
JESUS OR THE BIBLE: Which is the “Word of God”?
If one asks an Evangelical Christian whether Jesus is “the Word of God,” the answer is usually an unqualified “yes.” If one then asks whether the Bible is “the Word of God,” the answer is also an unqualified “yes.”
THE IRREFUTABLE CASE FOR THE RESURRECTION: How David K. Clark’s Risible “Betting on Jesus: The Vanishing of the Christ” (Free Inquiry, April/May 2014) Strengthens the Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
David K. Clark’s Super New Argument Attempts to disprove the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ date back all the way to the very day of the resurrection itself, when the tomb guards who reported this event to the chief priests were told...
THE RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD JESUS AND THE TESTIMONY OF GOD IN OUR DAYS
Fact 1: Today the reader is a witness to the fact that a Christian Church exists Fact II: The Lord’s Day / The Christian Day of Worship – First Day of the Week (Sunday)Fact III: NT writings, over 5,800 Greek Manuscripts, Tens of Thousands of NT Manuscripts Other than Greek and …
DO APPARITIONS OF MARY UNDERMINE THE CASE FOR JESUS’ RESURRECTION? Debunking Hector Avalos’ “Living Laboratory”
Avalos tells us that he is “always looking for good living examples from around the world of phenomena that apologists for the resurrection deem to be not credible or comparable” and believes he has found such an example in the “Marian apparitions” from Medjugorje.
“A PLACE FOR THE CAMELS” (Genesis 24:31b): Refuting the Claim That There Were No Domesticated Camels in the Holy Land at the Time of the Patriarchs
Archaeologists claim radiocarbon dating shows camels were not in Israel until after the time of the patriarchs, meaning the Bible is not reliable as history. However, they have not disproven the account of a small number of camels in Canaan owned for a brief time by one family, Abraham and his descendants.
“NATIVITY LEGENDS” OR HISTORICAL FACTS? A Response to Free Inquiry
It’s that time of year again. Christmas is approaching, and with it a bevy of annual traditions: Christmas carols, decorations, coloured lights on houses, shopping for gifts – and, of course, the farrago of assaults by atheists and liberal scholars on the historical truth of the Gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus. The …
“THEY TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF MY MOUTH”: Does John 3:16-17 Record the Words of Jesus or of John the Evangelist?
One sometimes has to wonder if the raison d’être of Bible scholars is to “spen[d] their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing” (Acts 17:21). How else can we account for the bizarre idea championed by some of them that Jesus did not speak the words recorded in John 3:16-17 in His conversation with Nicodemus? How does one look at what seems to be a continuous speech of Jesus from John 3:10b-21 and conclude that vv.16-17 are not, in fact, part of this speech but …
THE HARBINGER AND “THE ISAIAH 9:10 EFFECT”: An Examination of the Claims of Jonathan Cahn
A sensational book has taken the evangelical community by storm. First published in January, 2012, it reached The New York Times bestseller list in its second week of release, and has remained there ever since.
AN IMPOSSIBLE ENTITY: A Refutation of “The Thinking Atheist’s” Unthinking Attack on Creationism
Simple logic shows that if there are two, and only two, possible explanations for a phenomenon then proving one false necessarily proves the other true.
EVIDENCE OF DIVINE AUTHORSHIP IN THE BIBLE: Job 26
An example of advanced scientific knowledge in the Bible is in Job 26, which states in verse 7, “He hangs the earth on nothing.” Job’s contemporaries all thought the earth must be resting on something. The “pillars of heaven” in verse 11 may refer to gas pillars such as the Cone Nebula or in the Eagle Nebula.
CAN A CHRISTIAN VOTE FOR A MORMON?
God has appointed governing authorities, who may or may not be Christians, for specific tasks. Citizens, including Christians, have the right and duty to vote for the best possible candidate to lead their nation, which could be a Mormon such as Mitt Romney.
GOLIATH WAS THE BAD GUY, REMEMBER? An Assessment of Henri Nouwen’s Teachings
According to the author, Stephen Bede Scharper, Nouwen was a “remarkably influential spiritual explorer” who remains “a spiritual goliath.” He had found “professorial landing sites” at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, and entered communities with Gustavo Guttierez, the founder of “liberation theology,”[2] and Jean Vanier of the L’Arche community.
SHOULD CHRISTIANS “EMPTY THEIR MINDS” THROUGH MEDITATION?
Many Christians who teach meditation as an element of “spiritual formation” insist that this has nothing to do with emptying the mind. But in fact, when one concentrates on or repeats a phrase, such as a line of Scripture, over and over again without rational thought, the brain tends to go into “neutral”. This is not meditation as it is meant in the Bible, which involves rational, logical cogitation with critical thinking.
WOMEN AND CHURCH LEADERSHIP: An Inquiry and a Response to Pastor Keith A. Smith’s “Can Christian Women be Pastors and Preachers?”
Pastor Keith A. Smith brings up most arguments adduced to allow women pastors and preachers. The key passages are in 1 Corinthians (the context of which is judging prophetic utterances) and in 1 Timothy. Smith confuses evangelism and prophesying with holding authoritative teaching roles.
“HENDERSON HAS SCORED FOR CANADA!” What the 40th Anniversary of the Canada/USSR Summit Series Can Tell Us about the Gospel Books
Today, September 28, 2012, is the fortieth anniversary of Game 8, the final and deciding game of the 1972 Canada/USSR hockey “Summit Series.” It was an event that captured the attention of Canadians as very few other things ever have. Hockey was our game, the one thing we did better than anyone else in the world, and the one thing that touched the lives of all Canadians from coast to coast. We were the best, no question. For a long time, other nations were no match even for our lowly amateurs[1]. But …
STILL WAITING FOR AN INTELLIGENT DEFENCE OF ATHEISM – The Latest Failure: Heather Mallick in the Toronto Star
One must wonder whether an intelligent defence of atheism is even possible. Most attempts are nothing more than bald assertions, usually sprinkled liberally with insults and couched in bad manners. Even the best attempts are invariably riddled with errors of fact and logic. If an intelligent defence of atheism has been made, I have yet to see it. The latest such buffoonery is Heather Mallick’s “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s atheism,” published in the Toronto Star on September 24, 2012 (p. A23). It begins with a bald assertion followed by …
DO “VIOLENT NAMES” PROVE ANIMAL DEATH PRIOR TO THE FALL?
Old-earth creationists say that the Hebrew names of some carnivores show that animals ate one another before the Fall. But the Hebrew words for violence, death, and predation may actually have been coined after the Fall based on the names of the animals that were now seen doing such actions.
THE KING JAMES VERSION VS. THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION: A Response to James L. Melton’s “The NKJV: A Deadly Translation”
This is a response to James L. Melton’s “The NKJV: A Deadly Translation”. Changes in the New King James Version update the KJV’s language and correct some of its errors. Translations are not wrong for disagreeing with the KJV, but must be assessed by comparison with the original languages.
NOT SO FAST: Why Fasting Is Unnecessary and Inappropriate for Christians
God did not command or even show approval of fasting. Fasting is a sign of mourning, an inappropriate demeanor for the Christian. “As long as they have [Jesus] with them they cannot fast … [Jesus] is with [them] always...” Fasting is not only unnecessary, it is inappropriate and sends the wrong message.
SHOULD CHRISTIANS PRACTISE MEDITATION?
It seems not long ago that the greatest perceived spiritual threat in the minds of Evangelicals was the New Age Movement, an amorphous constellation of beliefs and practices focused on developing the divine potential of human beings. In essence, it was the basic worldview and practices of the Eastern mystic religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism) packaged for a modern Western audience. The degree to which the different packages delved into the concept of attaining to godhood varied widely, with much of the offerings simply talking about mastering limitless power, which many Western consumers …
IS CREATIONISM NOT APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN? Exposing the Muddled Thinking of Bill Nye “the Science Guy”
Bill Nye, the mechanical engineer and well known host of the 1990s Disney/PBS educational show “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” is an ardent advocate of the theory of evolution. On August 23, a video was posted on YouTube titled “Bill Nye: Creationism Is Not Appropriate for Children.” It was designed to persuade people to stop teaching creationism to children and embrace evolution, yet for the thinking individual the video simply exposed the muddled thinking of Darwin’s disciples[1]. The purpose of this article is not to “reinvent the wheel” by again arguing the …
MARK 16:9-20: A Response to CMI
The Three-Headed Monster The historical era misnamed The Enlightenment, which began in the seventeenth century, was characterized by the exaltation of human reason as the means to determine truth, with the concomitant denigration of the concept of divine revelation. In particular, the credibility of the Bible came under sustained attack by Enlightenment scholars and philosophers who sought to portray the Bible not as the word of God, but as the product of mere human …
CHEATING THEMSELVES THROUGH PHILOSOPHY: A Demolition of “The Rights and Wrongs of Alan Dershowitz” in Claremont Review of Books (Fall, 2005)
As a salvo in the debate over natural law versus revelation, the article “The Rights and Wrongs of Alan Dershowitz” by Hadley Arkes, published in the Fall 2005 issue of Claremont Review of Books[1], is a noteworthy contribution. It is noteworthy, however, because it does such a good job of destroying its own argument for natural law. And it does it so thoroughly, albeit unintentionally, that it would seem to make it difficult to take such arguments seriously henceforth. There are two main parts to this article. The first, which takes up …
DO YOU HAVE TO STOP THINKING TO BE A CHRISTIAN? A Response to Charles Lewis (National Post, January 26, 2011)
In an opinion piece titled “Less God, more excuses” in this day’s National Post newspaper (p. A15), Charles Lewis writes the following: The most popular objection to religion is that it replaces thinking with sets of unproveable truths – and that the rules flowing out of those truths turn adherents into robots. Those who leave religion behind, we are led to understand, will begin to think for themselves and thereby exercise real freedom as responsible citizens. Lewis goes on to lament that this latter theory has not been fulfilled, but has instead …
HOW NOT TO DO HERMENEUTICS: A Response to Daniel Mann’s “Jesus: The ‘Begotten of the Father’” (Christian Research Journal 34(2), 2011, pp.8-9)
The writer to the Hebrews, in demonstrating the superiority of the Son of God to angels, quotes Psalm 2:7, saying For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? (Hebrews 1:5). In this CRJ article, Daniel Mann calls this a “controversial verse” and a “problem”, pointing out that this verse suggests to some that Jesus is ‘begotten’ in the sense of being created and having a beginning in time … Many cults understand this verse, and others like it, to affirm that …
WHAT IS FAITH?
We all have to have faith in many ways, including your atheist friend. The wise man will base his faith on facts and evidence. Faith in the Christian understanding is not believing Jesus blindly, but putting “complete trust and confidence” in Him because He has proven that He is God.
ON THE MERITS OF THE SEPTUAGINT: A Response to Floyd Nolen Jones’ “The Chronology of the Old Testament”
KJV-only advocates insist that the Masoretic text is perfect. But the Dead Sea Scrolls often side with the Septuagint. The strongest evidence in favour of the Septuagint is New Testament verses containing Old Testament quotes that match the Septuagint and not the Masoretic text. If the Masoretic text is correct and the Septuagint is wrong, then the New Testament and Jesus Himself are wrong. Thus, the Masoretic Text is errant and we must practice textual criticism of the OT.
ROMAN CATHOLICISM
When it comes to the question whether or not the Roman Catholic Church is part of the Body of Christ, we must carefully examine their teachings to see whether or not they have changed the gospel message that can be found in the Bible.
ATHEISM
Some atheists think that religious language, for example, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth", doesn't mean anything at all; therefore, there is no point in determining whether God exists
A SECOND CAINAN?
The dominant view among evangelicals seems to be that this Cainan does not belong in the genealogy, and is a scribal error introduced into Luke, probably accidentally reinserted from the legitimate Cainan in Luke 3:37.
A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON BIBLE TRANSLATION
Formal equivalence is the best approach to Bible translation. Good translations include the NKJV, KJV, and EMTV. The NIV is a dynamically equivalent translation based on a bad Greek text. The Message is not properly a translation, but a rewrite which often does not express the meaning of the original at all.
A PRIMER ON ENTROPY (THE SECOND LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS)
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is an insurmountable obstacle to the spontaneous formation of highly complex organic molecules. Evolutionists cannot explain away the problem by appealing to the earth being an open system. Inputting free energy into a system speeds up the rate of entropy increase.
PROBABILITY AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
Evolution is fundamentally dependent on chance. The probability of the simplest theoretical cell forming by chance is beyond the Universal Probability Bound, the absolute limit beyond which an event becomes impossible. Random chance, then, cannot explain the origin of life.
DEBUNKING SKY & TELESCOPE MAGAZINE’S ATTEMPT TO GET AROUND EVOLUTION’S THERMODYNAMIC PROBLEM
Evolutionists claim that the theory of chemical evolution does not violate the Second Law of Thermodynamics, appealing to the effects of energy. But the earth being an open system simply means free energy is being inputted into it, which makes the increase in entropy faster; it does not reverse it.
THE NEED FOR ADEQUACY AS WELL AS ACCURACY
The purpose of this section of the website, then, is to offer full disclosure of all the facts relevant to the issue of origins and evolution. Here you will read the information that your professor, teacher, and newspaper won't tell you and are hoping you don't hear about.
THE NATURE OF SCIENCE
A law is a statement of what is always seen to happen, and never seen to be violated. It is the most fundamental and certain knowledge provided by science. A theory is an attempt to explain why something happens. Any theory that requires the violation of a law is wrong and must be discarded.
