A few weeks ago my recent apologetics book The Swedish Atheist, the Scuba Diver and Other Apologetic Rabbit Trails was reviewed by Randy Hardman at The Bara Initiative (barainitiative.com). You can read the review here. I think the best part of the review is when Hardman rates the “Enjoyment Level” as “Oh yes!” Hardman concludes the review: “There are […]
Archives for January 2013
David Haitel’s testimony
The tradition of sharing one’s testimony, of telling what God has done in one’s life, is deeply rooted in the Protestant tradition. My own apologetic interest in testimonies is found in the presence of elements like documented healings and cases of synchronicity (or what are colloquially called “God moments” or “God winks; in my own published […]
Is Christian-atheist dialogue worthwhile? A commentary on the Dawkins-Kenny-Williams Debate (Part 2)
As the dialogue continued Dawkins eventually worked around to discuss the sense in which he is an atheist. At this point he referenced the seven point scale he introduced in The God Delusion where a 7 is being absolutely certain that God doesn’t exist. On this scale Dawkins stated that he was about a 6, though he […]
Does theology make progress? A response to Jerry Coyne
I was asked to provide a response to Jerry Coyne’s essay “A sophisticated theologian explains why theology doesn’t progress.” In the essay Coyne focuses on mocking J.P. Moreland for a book he wrote back in 1989 on the reconciliation of theology and science. Coyne is not a charitable reader. Indeed, he is one who wears […]
Is Christian-atheist dialogue worthwhile? A commentary on the Dawkins-Kenny-Williams debate (Part 1)
Last year Oxford University sponsored what was billed as a “debate” (though it really was a collegial dialogue) between Richard Dawkins and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. The discussion spanned a range of topics concerning the uniqueness of human beings, the existence of God, and the meaning of life. In addition it was moderated by […]
Reformed Rap comes of Age: Shai Linne on The Hypostatic Union
I am not a big fan of rap, hip hop, or any combination thereof. But I’ve long respected the work of Shai Linne. This brother backs more theology into a four minute rap song than most evangelical pastors fit into a four week sermon series. His latest single, called “The Hypostatic Union,” includes clever and theologically loaded lyrics […]
What is a cheat? Lance Armstrong vs. Travis Tygart
Yesterday I watched the latest salvo in the ongoing battle between Lance Armstrong (disgraced demi-god) and Travis Tygart (head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency). The context was Tygart’s latest interview on 60 Minutes. Kudos to the man. Despite the fact that Tygart had received repeated threats for going after Lance (including death threats) he had persisted […]
Mystery, magic, divinity: The miracle of human gestation
Some people have an idea that science disenchants the world, it removes the magic, it flattens everything out. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, science re-enchants the world as it deepens the mystery around us. This truth exists all the way down to the quantum world of subatomic particles and all the […]
The ethics of playing Subway Surfers
I’m not a big fan of video games. But occasionally I do find a game app for my smart phone that manages to occupy my attention for a spell. The most recent game to join this elite company is the popular new game “Subway Surfers”. But that’s where the problems arise. The game always starts out with a police officer […]
William Lane Craig, God and Evolution
Earlier this week T’sinadree asked me to respond to William Lane Craig’s response to a question about evolution at “Reasonable Faith.” You can read the question and Craig’s response here. The question comes in the form of a challenge from Michel of Germany who argues that God would not have created through evolutionary processes. Michel’s […]
Does Jesus’ vision of a good person make sense?
In “The most sinful man in the room” I quoted Harry Blamires’ observation that from a Christian perspective the person with the most admirable public persona may be the most evil or wicked person based on the interior condition of his heart. R0c1 found this notion perplexing. As he put it: “I’m trying to think […]
The most sinful man in the room
Back in the early 1960s many people considered Harrry Blamires, a budding Anglican theologian and literary critic, to be a younger C.S. Lewis. In his incisive book The Christian Mind (1963) Blamires explores the question of how one’s Christian convictions ought to change the way one thinks. Like all great books, The Christian Mind has aged gracefully and its […]
The Oprah Gospel tastes sweet, but is it lethal?
Oprah Winfrey visited Edmonton the other day to give an inspirational evening of Oprah-speak. Apparently Oprah has a lot of inspiration to share. (I would too if I was making the money she makes for public appearances.) Incidentally, this is a picture of Oprah arriving at Edmonton’s airport when the temperature was about -20 c. […]
If homosexuals are “sodomites” what does that make the rest of us?
Our story begins this past Saturday when I published an article called “Why do conservative Christians think everything is getting worse?” In the article I pointed out that the data is, at best, ambiguous and that much of it indicates broad societal improvement over the last two centuries and more. Alan Kurschner took issue with […]
