with John DeRosa
In part 1, we examined how to situate the problem of evil in conversation. While we can pray for the person and empathize when people face the emotional problem of evil, we want to have answers when they tackle the intellectual problem. Recall two subdivisions of the intellectual...
The problem of evil and suffering gives many believers pause. They are stumped when a popular atheist objects, “Anyone who walks into a children’s hospital knows there is no god.” Of course, that’s a false claim. But let’s fill in the missing premises of the argument. Anyone who walks...
Some popular atheists register this objection: You do not believe in 2999 other Gods like Zeus, Thor, or Krishna. You should be reasonable and take that logic one step further. I follow the pattern to it’s logical conclusion. I’m an atheist, and I believe in ONE LESS God than you do. ...
In part 1, I summarized the evidence against the anonymous Gospels hypothesis. It’s a strong case. But you might wonder, if the case is so strong, why do many scholars oppose it? For example, the NABRE introduction to all of the Gospels promotes the anonymous Gospel theory: From...
Many people subscribe to the anonymous Gospel theory. That theory says the Gospel authors wrote their works and circulated them anonymously. The New American Bible Revised Edition reports that the majority of scholars hold the following view: The ancient tradition that the author was the disciple and apostle...
Your worldview has problems. How do I know this? Because every worldview has problems. Our limited minds fail to grasp reality perfectly. This doesn’t mean that we can’t grasp some truths. And it doesn’t mean we can’t know any of the big things in life. But it does mean we...
Many atheists object: There is no evidence for God’s existence. How would you reply? It’s tempting to trot out evidence immediately. Have you ever heard of X, Y, and Z arguments for God? What about all of these intelligent believers A, B, and C!? There is definitely truth...
I don’t believe in God; I believe in science. Ever heard this one? Here’s another version. As someone enlightened by science and modern technology, I can’t bring myself to believe in God and old-fashioned superstition. People used to believe in gods that caused lightning and other natural phenomena...
“Aquinas has been thoroughly refuted.” Maybe your college friend said this. Perhaps even a professor. It’s not uncommon to hear such an assertion thrown out there. I’m using it here to illustrate this idea: you don’t need to rebut phantom arguments. A phantom argument lacks substance, specificity, and clarity....
People like compliments. They like to be praised. I always enjoyed receiving praise from my teachers. I like when my wife tells me I’ve done something well. As Christians, we fight the sin of pride and the urge to desire human praise in a way that leads to...
