Yesterday while I was doing the Run for the Cure I listened to Krista Tippett’s interview with author and pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber. While the whole conversation is worth a listen, I was particularly intrigued by Bolz-Weber’s comment about the corporate nature of prayer and faith. In this excerpt she begins by noting that the call to […]
doubt
Doubters and Questioners
Today I was reading through Cormac McCarthy’s Sunset Limited: A Novel in Dramatic Form, (New York: Dramatists Play Service, 2006). It’s a simple play that features a conversation between two individuals, “White” and “Black” pondering the great questions of existence. It’s a short play that can be read in a couple hours and it’s well worth your […]
On the Use of People to Benefit Other People: A response to Jason Thibodeau
In my review of John L. Schellenberg’s book The Hiddenness Argument I offered the following scenario as a possible reason why God would choose to defer the initiation of personal relationship with a non-resistant nonbeliever: “It is possible that in the decade during which she is an atheist, Liz will bring many resistant nonbelievers to a greater understanding of absolute […]
Thoughts on Certainty: The Evangelical Leader and the Liberal Bishop (Part 2)
In my opening installment of this series I cited Dave Tomlinson’s parable of the evangelical leader and liberal bishop. I’m now going to begin offering some critical response to it. I’ve already observed how the parable is intended to be provocative and paint our two leaders in stark tones. And because it is aimed at […]
Read Chapter 1 of Is the Atheist My Neighbor?
It’s been awhile since I talked about my book Is the Atheist My Neighbor? That’s the same book that received this stellar endorsement from J.L. Schellenberg who is perhaps the leading atheist philosopher of religion in the world today. Schellenberg wrote: “There are some whose way of following the first of the great commandments has, […]
Are atheists rebelling against God? Greg Koukl says “No Duh!”
In a new 3 minute video Greg Koukl, Christian apologist from “Stand to Reason”, answers the question “Are atheists just suppressing the truth in unrighteousness?” by replying: “No duh!” Fortunately, Koukl then proceeds to explain why he believes this is a “No duh!” question based on the standard Rebellion Thesis reading of Romans 1 (i.e. all […]
Atheist tweets on faith: A response to Justin Schieber
The other day I came across this tweet from Justin Schieber in my twitter feed: First off, let me say that this is a good tweet: pithy and provocative, so much so that it’s apparently worth two blog posts. That’s right, two! So let’s get started. And let’s make that start on a positive note […]
Belief and Doubt in the 21st Century
On March 8, 2015 I sat down with Justin Schieber for an evening of discussion on “Belief and Doubt in the 21st Century.” The event was hosted by Dr. Ralph Korner and Taylor Seminary. I’ve included the video below and an audio version just below that for those who prefer an mp3. As an added […]
Belief and Doubt in the Twenty-First Century is Coming! (March 8th)
Here’s the poster for my upcoming dialogue with Justin Schieber on March 8th. Thanks to Justin for putting this fine poster together.
Belief and Doubt in the Twenty-First Century: A Christian-Atheist Dialogue
First the bad news: my upcoming Calgary debate with Justin Schieber (scheduled for March 8th) has been cancelled. (Fear not, the March 7th debate in Edmonton is still very much a go.) This leaves us with a free Sunday to fill. As a result, currently Justin and I are planning a second event for Sunday, […]
Then We Shall See Face to Face: Some reasons for divine hiddenness
In this article I pick up the thread of a conversation with philosopher Jason Thibodeau in response to my podcast “The 59-Second Apologist: The Argument from Divine Hiddenness. First, the background. Jason began by outlining what he called a “reciprocal affection tendency” (henceforth RAT): “Suppose, then, that a significant percentage of humans have reciprocal affection […]
A faith once lost is hard to find again
One of my readers, blank slate, offered a skeptical response to my essay “Why a perfect God might have hardened Pharaoh’s heart“. In reply, Mr. slate wrote: “The corresponding passage in Romans (which, after all, gives the “inspired” interpretation of God hardening Pharaoh’s heart) speaks of vessels of wrath destined for destruction — it can’t be plausibly argued that […]
He is risen, isn’t he?
The other day I visited a church where the pastor gave a brief promo for the course “Christianity Explored“. He described the course as “a non-judgmental place” to explore the “big questions”. The description caught my attention for the implicit (and presumably unintentional) admission that once you get beyond the narrow confines of “Christianity Explored”, asking questions […]
Big Questions … No Easy Answers: A Discussion Series
In May/June 2013 I delivered a series of talks at Urban Bridge Church in Edmonton, AB. Urban Bridge is a special place where they welcome questions and open-ended discussions and so it was the perfect venue for these kinds of talks. The three-part series, which I’ve called “Big Questions … No Easy Answers,” is available […]
