Dr Paul Allen

Lot leaving Sodom, Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The West has been undergoing as dramatic a shift in its ways of thinking and living as at any point in history. Many describe this turned corner as the rise of postmodernism, which is replacing modernism as the contemporary worldview. That new standards of public morality, ethics, and law have been advanced is not surprising, given the downward spiral of appreciation for any outward role for religion in life. At least from the standpoint of culture and law, our society no longer tolerates public endorsement of Christianity; rather, the only acceptable public positions are distrust of, or outright antagonism toward, religion in general and Christianity in particular. Ethical issues that have become matters of public morality—such as abortion, state lotteries, euthanasia, and homosexuality—have become storm-centers of debate. Until recently, homosexuality referred to disgusting practices that brought ...

It is often assumed that the Holy Spirit ’s witness to a believer is not very helpful in a study of apologetics. After all, this testimony is given only to Christians and it is not verified or falsified by evidences. So does it follow that this witness is no more than a subjective conviction? In the few NT passages that address this subject, we are told that, at a minimum, the witness of the Holy Spirit is a personal word to believers that they are children of God (Rm 8:15–17). The Holy Spirit testifies to believers as family members (Gl 4:6–7). So the believer will experience the presence of the Holy Spirit ( Jn 14:16–17). This is one way to know that we are truly believers (1 Jn 3:24; 4:13). Since the unbeliever cannot understand things pertaining to salvation (Jn 14:17; 1 Co 2:14), one might question the value of the Holy Spirit’s witness in an apologetic context. But this seems to assume that dealing with unbelievers is the only purpose for defending the faith. Apologetics may...

Jesus’ death on the cross constitutes God ’s judgment on the sin of the world. This judgment is effective for sinners who repent and believe in Jesus as Israel ’s Messiah and Savior of the world . The day of judgment on which God will judge all human beings will take place at Jesus’ second coming. Jesus, Paul, and John agree on this “date” of the day of judgment. John’s description is complex. While he leaves no doubt that Jesus’ coming as Judge brings God’s judgment on the unrepentant, he refers to the judgment of the righteous only in connection with Jesus’ return and the one-thousand-year period in which the resurrected saints reign with Jesus Christ . John describes two judgment scenes, which are best interpreted as two different judgments: the judgment of the unrepentant on the day of judgment at Jesus’ second coming (Rev. 19:11–21) and the judgment of the dead before God’s great white throne at the end of the millennium (20:11–15). The unrepentant dead are judged again beca...

What right should students have to talk about God in homework, assemblies, club meetings, and graduation speeches? This is the question at stake in a new law in Tennessee and other states across the country. On Thursday, Governor Bill Haslam signed the Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act, which affirms that religious students should have the same free-speech rights as secular ones. At first, this might seem uncontroversial; religious expression has always been protected by the First Amendment. So why did two Republican state legislators feel the need to write the bill? "Christian conservative groups have for many years been frustrated by what they see as a hostile environment for religion in public schools," said Charles Haynes, the Director of the Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum. "They are convinced—with some justification—that there's a lot more that public schools can be doing to protect religious expression." In Tennessee, le...