By Raymond J. VanArragon – There is no doubt that one of the most significant matters of human concern is the existence of God. If an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good being created the world and everything in it, that is a fact of enormous importance for how we understand ourselves and how we live our … Read More
by Steven B. Cowan – Many arguments for God’s existence appeal to objective features of the physical universe as their starting points. For example, the cosmological argument (the “where did-it-all-come-from” argument) begins with the existence of the universe and seeks an explanation for why something exists rather than nothing. The argument concludes that the existence … Read More
by Gregory E. Ganssle – Suppose someone has died and we think that a murder may have been committed. The detective examines the scene and begins a long investigation. She seeks to identify the responsible person by gathering facts at the scene and determining in which direction these facts point. Some of the evidence will … Read More
by Steven B. Cowan – As far back as human history has been recorded, people have expressed a hope in life after death. Every religion has some concept of human survival beyond the demise of the physical body. Christians, of course, have a confident faith in an afterlife due to our belief in the resurrection … Read More
by Craig Branch – A major concern of Christian apologists and pastors is the slow and subtle seduction of people toward anti-Christian ideas and values through the deadly influence of our culture. Some writers characterize the process as the “frog in the kettle” phenomenon. The bar of righteousness continues to gradually move downward, analogous to … Read More
by Clete Hux – Millions of Americans practice it every day. Some say it is just physical exercise. Others say it is a spiritual discipline. Some say it is a New Age “Trojan horse” from the East. And others say they practice “Western” yoga without accepting the Eastern mysticism attached to it. While many Americans … Read More
By Craig Branch – (The introduction article to The Aeropaus Journal Stretching the Truth Volume 4 Number 4, July-August 2004) This issue of Areopagus Journal is devoted to providing an understanding of yoga and the current yoga phenomena in our country. The most common questions on a popular level are, “Can a Christian practice yoga?”; … Read More
by Terry L. Wilder The subject of whether or not the Bible supports same-sex relationships is hotly disputed by many today. Since we are discussing in this Baptist context[1] what the New Testament says about homosexuality, please allow me to make a few remarks before proceeding with this presentation. First, I assume that I am … Read More
by Clete Hux Long before the temptation in the garden, Lucifer desired to be like God. Really he wanted to take God’s place. Scripture records him wanting to ascend into the heavens to be like the most high God (Isa. 14:13-14). We know the story and the pride manifested by Satan. Even after having been … Read More
by Steven B. Cowan One of the marks of a cult or pseudo-Christian religion is that its members believe in a false Jesus, a Jesus other than the Jesus revealed in the Bible. Jehovah’s Witnesses, for example, deny that Jesus is God, believing instead that he is a created being— the Archangel Michael. Mormons will … Read More
by Robert M. Bowman, Jr. One of the most controversial movements in Christianity today is a network of Pentecostal pastors and televangelists who are best known for their message of bodily health and financial prosperity through faith. If you believe—and if you confess, or say out loud, that you believe—these teachers assure us that you … Read More
by Steven B. Cowan – This is the apologetics question. Every other question that someone might ask regarding the defense of the faith is related in some way to this bottom-line query: How do we know that Christianity is true? Elsewhere in this issue, James Beilby and David Clark have outlined for us a general … Read More
by James Beilby and David K. Clark How can we know the world around us? How can we know God? How can we know anything at all? These are some of the questions of epistemology, the study of theories of knowledge. Epistemology has two main goals. First, we want to find as much truth as … Read More
by J. P. Moreland There is a very important cultural fact that Christians must face when they undertake the task of apologetics: There simply is no established, widely recognized body of ethical or religious knowledge now operative in the institutions of knowledge in our culture, e.g., the universities. Indeed, ethical and religious claims are frequently … Read More
by Rich Milne Animal rights is much in the news. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) protests against the furs Hollywood stars wear. There are new revelations about the conditions animals are kept in before they are slaughtered for food, or how rabbits have hair dye put into their eyes for days on … Read More