Dr Paul Allen

“All scientists —including agnostics and atheists—believe in God. They have to in order to do their work.” The dependable regularities and constants we observe in nature are the basis for all scientific inquiry and progress. Whatever their philosophical theory of these regularities might be, all scientists in practice depend on these laws to be a reliable guide to the external world . These natural laws or regularities are simply the providential speech of God upholding the world. Our beliefs about natural law are eerily similar to classical divine attributes . We assign to natural laws such properties as omnipresence (operating in all places), eternity (at all times), immutability (constant effects), immateriality (seen only in its effects), omnipotence (incapable of being broken), transcendence (applies generally), immanence (applies particularly), incomprehensibility (mystery as to why such laws work), goodness (natural laws are reliable), rectitude (consequences for breakin...

English: Ananias restoring the sight of Saint Paul (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel .” ( Philippians 1:17 )   Many Christians today decry the use of apologetics or evidences in Christian witnessing, feeling it is somehow dishonoring to the Lord or to the Scriptures to try to defend them.   But as our text indicates, the apostle Paul did not agree with this. The gospel does need defending, and he was set for its defense against the attacks of its adversaries. He also told his disciples that “in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” ( Philippians 1:7 ).   The Greek word translated “defense” is  apologia , from which we derive our English word “apologetics.” It is a legal term, meaning the case made by a defense attorney on behalf of a defendant under attack by a prosecutor. Thus, the apostle is saying: “I am set to give an apologetic for the...

We make a distinction between knowing it is true and showing it is true . We know Christianity is true primarily by the self-authenticating witness of God ’s Spirit. We show Christianity is true by demonstrating that it is systematically consistent. What, then, should be our approach in apologetics? It should be something like this: “My friend, I know Christianity is true because God’s Spirit lives in me and assures me that it is true. And you can know it is true, too, because God is knocking at the door of your heart, telling you the same thing.  If you are sincerely seeking God, then God will give you assurance that the gospel is true. Now to try to show you it’s true, I’ll share with you some arguments and evidence that I really find convincing. But should my arguments seem weak and unconvincing to you, that’s my fault, not God’s.  It only shows that I’m a poor apologist, not that the gospel is untrue. Whatever you think of my arguments, God still loves you and ...

English: Photo of Bart D. Ehrman taken following the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Many Christian apologists seem to think that the biggest threat to Christianity is aggressive atheism; or skeptics like (Dawkins, Harris, etc.) and the academic atheists like ( Bart Ehrman ).  Everyone who is in apologetics circles for any amount of time hears the scary numbers: 80% (or more) of kids that grow up in church leave the church when they get to college and most apologists think that the reason is a lack of apologetic instruction.   Those 80% of kids want to believe but their nasty philosophy or religious studies professors overwhelm them with arguments against Christianity and those kids, being unprepared, abandon the faith. But this whole paradigm is mistaken. Some Christian apologists seem to argue that the reason people disbelieve the scriptures is because of philosophical natura...

C.S. Lewis was a twentieth-century novelist, Christian apologist , and lay theologian. Today marks the 50th anniversary of his death. You can find more resources on C.S. Lewis here . November 22, 1963, the date of President Kennedy's assassination , was also the day C.S. Lewis died. Seven years earlier he had thus described death: "The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning." The metaphor inherent in these words is striking. It comes from the world of students and pupils, but only a teacher would employ it as a metaphor for death. The words (from The Last Battle) bring down the curtain — or perhaps better, close the wardrobe door — on Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. But they also open a window into who C.S. Lewis really was. The Student . Clive Staples Lewis ("Jack" to his friends) was born on 29 November 1898 in Belfast, Northern Ireland , the second son of Albert Lewis , a promising attorney and his wife, Florence (...

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 27:62–66 “So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard” ( v. 66 ). If we had any doubt that Pilate had Jesus executed to prevent a riot, rather than because Christ was guilty of attempting to overthrow Rome ( Matt. 27:11–26 ), the circumstances of our Lord’s burial prove that the governor believed Jesus was innocent as charged. Most crucified victims in ancient Rome were left on the cross even after they were dead, and the elements and the animals took care of the mess that was left. It was not unusual, however, for Roman authorities to grant the body of a crucified person to his friends or family, provided he was not guilty of high treason. Pilate evidently did not think Jesus was guilty, otherwise he would not have given Christ’s body to Joseph of Arimathea ( vv. 57–60 ). Like many other first-century Jerusalemites , Jesus was buried outside the city in a cave hewn in a limestone hi...

1993 reprint of Chafer's Systematic Theology (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The current issue of  Preaching  magazine has Albert Mohler ’s annual list of recommended books for pastors. There is a good mix of books here, though I suspect most pastors would take just about the whole year to get through the entire list! Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other  by Sherry Turkle Christian Apologetics: Past and Present, Vol. 2  by William Edgar & K. Scott Oliphant The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way  by Michael Horton Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine  by Gregg R. Allison Lost in Translation: The Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood  by Christian Smith, Kari Christofferson, Hilary Davidson , Patricia Snell Herzog A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New  by G.K. Beale The Next ...