I’ve read that, while there are many questions hard for an atheist to answer, there is really only tough one for a Christian apologist — but’s it’s a doozy: Why do bad things happen to good people on this earth? Here’s a possible elevator answer: It depends. (1) Sometimes it’s because God has given us … [Read more…]
The three scientists in this video interview recently posted on National Review Online are philosopher of science Stephen Meyer, mathematician John Lennox, and chemist James Tour. The interview is summarized this way: Moving from the Big Bang and the discovery of cosmic beginnings, to the fine-tuning of the physical constants that make life possible, to … [Read more…]
Our pastor has used the arresting metaphor of a man lost in an airport, who has misplaced his itinerary and is now trying desperately to find the right gate to board his plane home. The pastor then asks the congregation, How helpful is it if he is told, “Don’t worry about it: Any of the … [Read more…]
He is risen! Happy Easter! And to sweeten your celebration, here is a six-minute clip from Gary Habermas on the historicity of the Resurrection. For more on Dr. Habermas’s “minimal facts” approach, see my blogpost here. That blogpost reviews a book coauthored by him, which I summarize this way (thus, this is also a fair … [Read more…]
At this point in my life, I think just about all my activities fall into one of these five baskets: God, family, country, friends, and health. A few observations about my choice of those five. First, I do think that four of them probably ought to be on nearly everyone’s short list: God, of course; … [Read more…]
I recently ran across this nicely presented chiasm for Hebrews 12:1-2 (page 207 of David Alan Black’s Learn To Read New Testament Greek): A [H]aving SEATED around us such a great cloud of witnesses >>B SETTING ASIDE every weight and clinging sin >>>>C with PATIENT ENDURANCE >>>>>>D let us run the race THAT IS SET … [Read more…]
Here’s a happy thought I had this spring as I drank my morning coffee: What is the natural sound people most often hear — that is, the sound people most often hear that is not manmade? The answer is birds singing, is it not? And that is a very pleasant sound, is it not? The … [Read more…]
I’ve noted before that a prayer of confession is part of my daily routine, and I’ll take this opportunity to elaborate on it a bit. We’re coming up on Lent next week, a serious time, and a brief daily prayer of confession fits in with that. Now, needless to say, your sins are not my … [Read more…]
A book review on the last day of 2024 in the Wall Street Journal has a wonderful and surprising final paragraph. The reviewer is Maxwell Carter, who is vice chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art at Christie’s in New York, and the book is The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: An Extraordinary New Journey … [Read more…]
What better topic than sin as you draw up your New Year’s resolutions? When trying to avoid sin, it seems to me that two problems commonly arise that are not quite the same thing: They are close but distinct. First, we might wonder whether the Bible labels an action sinful at all. Second, we might … [Read more…]