Month: May 2008

It’s not likely she’ll get to read this, but it’s Mother’s Day. This should be a special holiday for Christians as it’s Christianity that was a religion that really gave the family honor. If you read the Republic, you see the idea of Plato wanting to ship away children from their families. Our value of the family I believe is a result of having a Christianity that focused on the family.

So I’ll try to see if she can get this, but this is for my Mom on Mother’s Day.

Now I got her a gift, of course, which I don’t really want to go into now, but it really touched her heart and she was quite pleased with it. Mothers are something different. My roommate and I were discussing this when we had Mormon visitors Friday afternoon. I brought up the point first, which was agreed, that I can spend hours in a mall shopping for the “perfect” Mother’s Day gift, yet when Father’s Day rolls around, it’s five minutes and I’m done.

Is it because fathers are less? Not at all. My Dad and I are quite close, especially with Smallville! There’s just something different about Moms. I don’t know what it is, but most guys I know seem to want to make sure everything is absolutely perfect for their mothers.

This was a hard Mother’s Day for my Mom also. Normally, I’ve always been there, but this year, I’m a great distance away. It’s the first Mother’s Day she hasn’t got to see me. Naturally, I called and talked to her, but that was it, other than said earlier gift. I know it’s hard and if I could, I would have gone to see her, but it just wasn’t feasible this year.

I’d like to thank her though for helping me become the man I am today. I’d like to thank her for believing in me and encouraging me. There was that time I was preparing to move here and I really wasn’t in the mood to start packing in my apartment. Then she called and talked to me and said how she wants to see me be the next Ravi Zacharias and she wants to be there when I walk across the stage.

As soon as I got off the phone, you couldn’t keep me from packing.

Having a mother behind you that believes in you is everything.

Yes. My mother sometimes nags me and annoys me, but she means well and I have to realize that. She knows that she’s like this at times also. That’s when I tell her that she just needs to let go. It’s hard for her to realize, but her part is done now. She’s still there for me, but not in the same capacity. The bird has left the nest and must fly alone.

There was the time a photographer came to the place where she works and made a disparaging remark about her. My Dad had asked me to not call and say anything to the company this guy worked for.

Fat chance.

When my mother called, she was told, “Your husband and son have already called.” No one insults my mother and gets away with it.

My mother is also remarkably beautiful for her age.  My Dad has shown pictures of her and my sister together to new friends and said he has two daughters and then say “Actually, this one’s my wife.” No one can believe she’s her age because she looks nothing like it. Dick Clark will be asking her for her secret one day.

She’s thirty years older than I and yet one time when I lived in the same city as her, I was at the mall with her and she ran into an old friend. My Mom’s a divorcee who remarried and this friend said to her while seeing the two of us, “Is this your new husband?” Only with my mother could an event like that happen.

I’ve called her every night after class just to let her know how things are going. She always wants to hear about it. There are times when she asks what I’ve learned and I have to say “Mom. Do you really think you’d understand it?” I don’t mean that insulting. My Mom’s just not that type. She prefers Max Lucado. I prefer reading philosophy and theology.

At this point in my life, wherever I go, I believe my mother will be my biggest supporter. I try to treat her well which has led her to say that whenever I get married, my wife is going to be spoiled rotten. Supposedly, a man marries a woman that reminds him of his mother. In some ways, that concerns me, because I really want to get married and I’m not sure if there’s another lady out there quite like her.

Well Mom, Happy Mother’s Day. Maybe next year I’ll be able to see you. Hopefully though, you’ll be in town soon and I’ll see you then.

Love,

Your Son.

I had today off for graduation ceremonies at my Seminary. No. I’m just first semester so I’m not graduating. However, all students are required to attend. I had a really good time there and got to chat with my professors and the rest of the staff and congratulate some of my fellow classmates as well as getting to talk to students who are thinking about coming to give them the “hard sale” as it was.

So I get back and have to edit a paper. Not an easy task. My roommate is an English major and grammar isn’t my strong point so you can imagine how it looks. Some emotional side of me doesn’t take that well, but in the end, I stop and think that I have a roommate who’s willing to do such and I’m quite pleased with that. I’ve bragged about him a lot, and I won’t stop. He’s an awesome guy.

I figure I’ll reward myself. He doesn’t want to join me, but I decide I’ll go to the Y. I can’t swim and I’m terrified to go underwater, but I like to relax in the water. I get there and I’m all set to go in the pool and what do I see on the door but a sign saying the multi-purpose pool is closed and will re-open tomorrow. The other one doesn’t have stairs so I don’t use it. Great.

Well, I need to get my oil changed anyway before we go to the beach. Now’s a good time. So I head over to the place where it will happen and ask to get my tires rotated as well. While I’m waiting for that to happen, I get paged to come back to the automotive department. (This was at the Wal-Mart.) I go back there and they say I’ve been driving on a small nail in my passenger rear tire. I’m wondering when this happened and I’m not at all pleased with the price.

So hear I am an extra $80 out today. Now I’m normally a gloomy and pessimistic person who sees every silver cloud having a dark lining and can find a way to make something miserable out of anything. I think of those posts that I did reviewing John Loftus’s book and then start to think of how ridiculous it is to complain about such suffering.

The title of the blog comes from G.K. Chesterton. He said an adventure is an inconvenience rightly understood and an inconvenience is an adventure wrongly understood. I got to have the experience of learning more on making it on my own when an emergency comes up and got to have the excitement of driving around to new areas in a new town and learning more.

I also consider that while I consider this suffering, maybe it is for a good reason. Suppose that the tire would have leaked and my roommate and friend and I would have been stranded on the way to the beach, or worse, been killed or injured in a car accident. I then look back on the events and think about how that seemed to oddly connect together.

Had I not gone to the Y, I would have likely not thought about getting my oil changed. It wasn’t on my mind until on the way to the Y. However, once I got there and found out that I couldn’t get in my dip, I decided to go and get that oil change. I also couldn’t have had that happen probably if my roommate had decided to go with me. Now there’s a chance he might have not gone swimming since I couldn’t go, but I would have been just as pleased to let him enjoy himself while I went out to the car with my book.

Am I out some money now? Yeah. Big deal. It seems to keep coming in from somewhere. Maybe I need to do what I keep telling others. Stop looking so much from my finite perspective as the final authority. Can I prove providence in any way in this? No. I wouldn’t bother to try either. I just remember that God allows things to happen for a good reason and I have to trust him.

Inconvenience? Maybe. If that’s the case then, I should see it as an adventure.

Where I post regularly online, I’ve recently come across someone else dealing with doubt. This kind of thing seems to happen often and yet, 90% of the time when they are struggling with doubt, I don’t employ apologetics, as much as I love it. I instead seem to have to use analysis to see where they are at error in their current thinking.

Today, I encountered someone who said they were reading their Bible and praying and they seemed to get more and more doubts while their friends around them were telling them that if they seek, they will find.

This kind of stuff makes me sick.

Don’t get me wrong. I value prayer and I value Bible Study. I think those are good things. They’re things that I should do more of also. However, we have to remember that those things were designed for a purpose. Prayer is meant to glorify God, receive forgiveness, give thanks, and make requests. Bible Study is meant to help us understand the Bible better.

This gets us to the problem. The problem is that these are treated as if they were the remedy for the problem of doubt. I don’t see that at all. Now if you are dealing with a Bible contradiction that’s causing doubt, then Bible Study is a good thing. If not, then it might not be what’s best. This is a time to use sources external to the Bible.

Is it okay to say that? You bet it is! Scripture tells us the same thing. We are told that some were given to be teachers, for instance. Could it be that Scripture actually wants us to listen to people who are teachers and learn things? Could it be that we might be wrong about our interpretation of a passage or our holding of a doctrine and need correction? Yes.

We also have today counselors. We have people that are trained to listen to the hurts of others and help treat them. Even while they are not in a professional capacity, good friends are great for this as well. While I think I am able to help people when they are in doubt, there are many times when I’m in the position and it simply requires that I go to my friends.

At root of this often seems to be the need for a certain feeling. Do we really want the truth or do we want to feel like we have the truth? Do we really want certainty or do we want to feel like we have certainty? Do we really want the love of God or do we want to feel like we have the love of God. Now these might not be mutually exclusive at times, but you can have one without having the other. You could have the love of God without feeling it. You could also think you’re feeling the love of God when you’re not. (Ever got a testimony from a cultist?)

This is part of the problem when our Christian culture fled form the rational and went into the emotional side. Now, we have a generation growing up that places truth in the area of feelings. (Could the Emergent Church fall into this category?) I believe this is something that leads to the high divorce rate in America today. If you base marriage on feelings of love rather than the ability of two people to work together and complement one another and lead a family, then what happens when those feelings die?

It’s also a reason I get sick and tired of hearing sermons talk about doing what you feel led to do. Friends. I feel led to do a lot of things that I know I’d better not do. Is it any wonder so many of us can fall prey to ideas from those outside the faith? Mormons tell us that the burning in the bosom is confirmation that the BOM is true. Is it any wonder so many people join Mormonism based on that? (I say this with sadness as a Baptist, but the Mormon church claims to baptize a Baptist church every week.) The New Agers are telling us about their experiences of the divine. Should we believe them? No doubt, these people are experiencing something, but whether the content they derive from that event is true is another case altogether.

For those struggling with doubt, go to GaryHabermas.com and listen to the MP3s on emotional doubt and read the book there “Dealing with Doubt.” Any time I meet a doubter, I send them here. Note that this is for a doubter of course, and not for a skeptic. However, when dealing with skeptics, I always recommend being on the lookout for emotional signs.

We are to be people of truth. Feelings are great and fine, but they are not the basis for truth. It is better to have the truth without feelings than feelings without the truth.

I think I have just had two of the most awesome hours of my life. My roommate and I and another friend went to see the new Iron Man movie tonight. This is easily the most awesome superhero movie I have seen to date. (Expect the word “aweseome” to show up several times. I just can’t think of any other words to describe it.) If you’re a fan of superhero movies, you MUST see Iron Man. I took off my watch about halfway through it. Never looked at the time until the credits. (Stay after those also.) This one had my full attention.

Now I’m not a movie reviewer at all. Don’t expect anything that will be a spoiler, though I would certainly love to give some. I called my Dad as soon as I got back home and said “You must go see this movie” and I can’t wait for him to go see it so we can discuss our favorite lines in it. By the way, this is easily one of the most quotable movies ever.

I was a bit surprised when I first saw Robert Downey Jr. got the role of Iron Man, but my skepticism was soon overcome. He did an excellent job! Iron Man is, of course, Tony Stark, whose company makes weapons of war. When captured by the enemy, Tony Stark realizes that his weapons are doing more harm than good. Unfortunately, he got damaged severely in the process so he has a unit built to him that’s a “heart’ of sorts that keeps him alive. He builds to go with it an iron suit built with several gadgets and weapons to fight to prevent the evil he believes he’s caused.

Aside from that, Stark is a type who reminded me of Dr. House. (Another show I love dearly.) He’s blunt and sarcastic entirely and always says what you would not expect him to say. As for his love life, he does seem to use the women in his life regularly. Before he becomes Iron Man, he simply has a “look out for #1” attitude. Afterwards, he wants to look out for the good of the world.

Towards the end, I thought of the quote of St. Irenaeus. “The glory of God is man fully alive.” There is something about movies like Iron Man that resonate deeply in the heart of men especially. It’s my contention that when a man sees Iron Man flying around and busting up the bad guys and using the cool gadgetry he says, “I want to be doing that.”

There is something inside man that wants to be a warrior. Man wants to be the hero and fight for the greater good, and in essence, isn’t that what we are called to do? Are we not called to put on the armor of God and fight the fight? We may not have lasers on our hands, but we do have the power of God behind us and we have a far greater cause than Iron Man has.

In doing so, we are playing out the role of the one who came before us, being Christ of course. All heroes are heroic insofar as they imitate Christ. In reality, the ultimate superhero story is the gospel. It is the story of the greatest hero of all who came from Heaven to overcome the worst evil of all. The gospel is the true story of good vs. evil, and God, being a good author, is bringing about a good ending.

The world needs Iron Men. We need to have men fully alive for Christ out there fighting the battle. Imagine how it could be if we all stopped to realize that we are indeed in a spiritual battle. If we realized that eternity hangs in the balance each day. If we could just realize that yes, our actions do have an impact on the world and we can each make a difference.

Time to suit up men! The world needs us!

I’ve been dealing with someone lately who is using the argument of Bertrand Russell’s teapot.

“If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.”

Russell is right in one regards. To say that the assertion cannot be disproved does not mean that all are obliged to accept it and it is presumptions on human reason to doubt it. The problem is that this is a fallacy of leaping from a small minor to a huge major in which the only thing he is saying they have in common is that they cannot be falsified.

The problem with the teapot idea is that no one does take it seriously. Suppose that teapot is out there floating. I would just think “Well this is a bizarre universe we live in.” (Actually, come to think of it, it might show the design argument well if we could show that the teapot had not been designed by humans and accidentally somehow released into the atmosphere and just got locked in an orbit.) It’s nothing I’d change my life over though.

God is not like the teapot though. What moral doctrines do we base on the teapot? None. What epistemological ramifications do we have based on the teapot? None. What creative power are we ascribing to the teapot? None. What revelatory nature are we describing the teapot as the efficient cause of? None. What aesthetic value are we basing on the teapot? None.

It’s also assuming that both ideas are nonsense. None of us would probably think there really is such a teapot. We’re supposed to think on the same lines that there is no God. However, serious theists, whom Russell would have been wanting to convince, would not say that there is no evidence for the existence of God.

Now I’m of the position that it’s not necessary for me to give arguments for the existence of God, but I have several and I love to give them. Also, suppose that I gave all my arguments and an atheist managed to disprove each and every one of them. Has he necessarily disproved my conclusion that God exists? Not at all. He’s merely shown I believed for stupid reasons. The atheist must put forward his positive case as well that God does not exist. It is quite humorous to eliminate theism because it can’t be defended and then have no defense for your own view.

Russell had a point to make and in a sense, it was a valid point. I would not want a blind faith either. The differences are huge between a teapot and God though and that needs to be realized. If the teapot does or doesn’t exist, few worldviews are seriously affected. If God doesn’t exist though, then our worldviews are definitely affected.

Alright. The semester is wrapping down. I just had my last official class tonight (Although I am taking a modular next week) and I will have papers soon to turn in. I think I did very well on my final tonight and I was quite pleased to call home and tell my folks about it. This time though recently has made me really come to appreciate many things in life. I just wanted to sit down and say some things I’m thankful for.

The recent readership in my blog increasing brings me much joy. It’s good to know that one’s thoughts are appreciated and the back and forth exchange over ideas is quite pleasing.  Even though there is disagreement, I do enjoy the exchange. I enjoy being on the opposite end of the atheistic spectrum and facing it head-on. It’s also helped me see many of my friends and I’m pleased with how many of them argue well.

Let’s talk about them. I see many of the younger generation on here and I’m thankful for young minds devoted to the Christian faith. It shows me that there is hope for the upcoming generation. Tom Brokaw once wrote of the Greatest Generation. I think he had it wrong. If things continue this way, this generation of apologists growing up could be the greatest.

I’m thankful for the other ministries that have given me a chance. I think especially of Tektonics and TheologyWeb. There are also others though like Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Stand To Reason, For An Answer, and I remember speaking in the past at times on the Narrow Mind program that’s hosted by Gene Cook.

I’m thankful for my Seminary in that the president already has me in his good favor and I’m pleased I can consider him a friend. I’m honored by the way other students treat me and quite humbled and enjoy being around them and having the exchange of ideas. I’m pleased that I’m studying under the people I have long considered my heroes.

I’m also thankful then for the new friends I’ve made here. I’m not really keen on the social scene, but I’ve managed to fit in just fine. I have several friends from all over the spectrum of the student body and I have friends at my workplace as well. I don’t really like my job, but I am thankful that I do have some source of income.

I’m thankful for my roommate who has become such a dear friend of mine through thick and thin and one I would do anything to help out. He and I have had some great adventures since we’ve come here and we’ve had our confrontations with those outside the faith. In doing so, we’ve found we make an excellent team in person. I’m thankful for a true friend like him.

I’m thankful that my family raised me in such a way that I respect morality and have a belief in God and saw church as an integral part of my life. Though we are far away now physically, they did raise me so that now I am handling it. My family wasn’t perfect by any means and we had our squabbles, but overall, I am pleased with how they did.

I am thankful for the financial blessings I’ve had. Though I am a student, the money seems to be coming in somehow. We are getting set here to spend a day to drive to the beach and relax after this semester. My roommate and I took our tax refunds also and each of us used part of that money to buy a Wii and we’ve been thoroughly enjoying that.

That brings me to my books. I’m incredibly thankful for them and it seems I do have more money for books than I realize. I take great joy in showing visitors the library I’ve amassed and I take it as humility that God has enabled a guy like me to come from small origins and be allowed to have this kind of impact and be blessed materially, although my family is by no means rich. (Pray for them. They’re in quite bad financial straits now which is effecting everything else.)

I’m thankful God gave me a mind also and I’ve been allowed to sharpen it here. I am not athletic in any way and I am not a social being, but I am thankful that I do have intelligence. It is a gift from God and to quote Spider-Man as well, it is to be used for the good of mankind. I’m thankful for the exchange of ideas and the forums I have to do that in.

I’m also thankful, of course, for God revealing himself in Christ. It is because of him that I can eternally enjoy the good things and spend eternity in the presence of God. The thought of Heaven is mind-blowing to me and I look forward to it whenever I think about it. I have gone through a lot in my few years thus far, and I am thankful there is a place where even my sufferings will be redeemed for the greater good.

That’s my list, and much more could be added I’m sure, but I find it important from time to time to mention things like this that put life in perspective.

How about you?

Thursday night, I had kind of had a brain spasm and was talking with a friend on IM when my usual company came over for Thursday night Smallville. I set up an away and joined my friend and we chatted for awhile after Smallville and then I went back to internet stuff when he left. As I was wrapping up my evening, I looked and there was my away and a question from my friend.

I’d forgotten him completely!

So I send off an apology. I really hate it when I do something like that.

The next day he speaks to me and says “You worry too much.”

Indeed, I do. I’m sure many of my readers could be of the same personality type that I am and can relate. Every silver cloud has a dark lining. Whatever goes good in life, we will find a bad way to look at it.

Relate this to another situation. Many of us would be great if we could follow our own advice. I was thinking about this with another friend of mine who around a year or so ago had spoken to me concerned about their relationship with a third friend of ours. This first friend was so worried that they’d ruined the friendship with the second friend. I told them not to worry. We too often make temporal problems into eternal ones.

So I IM this first friend last night and ask “How are things between you and X?” And I get the reply of “Fine. Why? Is there something I should know about?” Then I remind this friend of the conversation we had so long ago.

Many of us seem to do this often. We worry and fret about something and then in a month or so, we realize that we were worrying about nothing. It all just passed away. However, at that moment, the emotions are high and we have to wait for our reason to kick back in again. The problem is not that we have emotions. The problem is when we let those emotions control our reason.

We worry too much then. We need the perspective of Heaven. Think about this. Whatever you are dealing with, it will seem like nothing in eternity when you are in the presence of God. What’s the difference? God is there!

Isn’t he here now?

You don’t see his manifest presence of course, but he’s here all the same. Isn’t his eternal perspective still the same? Yes. Isn’t he the one who tells us in Matthew 6:25-33 not to worry? Yes he is. Isn’t he the one who assures us that all things will work for our good in Romans 8? Yes he is.

Conclusion: We need to stop worrying. We do it too much. It never solves anything and it robs us of the joy of today.

Bart Ehrman recently came out with a book about Suffering being God’s Problem. I haven’t read it yet. It’s on my plans of books to purchase and read though. (I have so many books in my waiting list right now and my funds are tight and I’m about to begin a week modular class.) However, a fellow student and friend of mine is reading it and shared how he had it next to him and a professor came up and saw the title and said “Ah. God’s Problem. Bart Ehrman.”

Humorous? Indeed! However, I think there is a grain of truth to it. I think we could say Ehrman is God’s Problem. (Being gracious with my terminology as God doesn’t have problems like we do.) I have recently reviewed John Loftus’s book on here and I could say he’s God’s problem. The same goes for Richard Dawkins.

So I’m listing the atheists and agnostics as God’s problem?

Nope! I mentioned JP Holding of Tektonics on my last blog. He’s God’s problem. Alister McGrath has dealt well with Dawkins as has John Lennox. Each of them is God’s problem. The professor who joked about the book title is God’s problem. My friend who has the book is God’s problem. My roommate is God’s problem. To be even more clear, I’m God’s problem.

Does anybody see a pattern forming here?

Whoever you are, put your name in that line. Whatever human you can think of, put their name in that line. If God has a problem at all, I do not believe it is evil. I believe dealing with evil is not the primary goal in the mind of God. I would say the goal of God is to extend his love, truth, and beauty and he does that in the act of creation.

However, God wants something. He wants creatures who will love him freely. He also wants the creatures to be themselves. Finally, he wants the creatures to be like him. He knows some of them will choose evil and yet, he still thinks his goal is reachable. The topic of evil is still there, but there are secondary and primary aspects to it. God’s primary goal is not to make us happy. Oh that is one of his goals as there is a place called Heaven, but his main goal is to have us be ourselves and be like him and do so freely.

Yep. That sounds like a challenge or a “problem.”

Could it be that when we look at evil, we see the wrong problem? We think that the problem is suffering. What if it isn’t? We’re too quick to say all suffering is evil. Many of us will say much of the good we’ve had in life has come about because we had suffering. The same could be said for pain. I will assure the reader as one who has a steel rod on my spine and has even had panic attacks before, I am no stranger to pain. These events helped shape me in my life though.

What if the universe is not meant to make us happy as it is though? If that is the case, then we cannot say it is not meeting its goal. We cannot say the creation has gone awry if we do not know what the purpose of the creation is. This world was never meant to be a four-star hotel and as soon as we treat it as if it was meant to be, then we are criticizing the way it is for the wrong reasons. We might as well criticize a hammer for not being able to tighten screws.

I believe, and this will come out more when my paper on evil is put up here, that this universe is just fine for the purpose I think it was intended for. God has provided light and I believe just the right balance to see who really wants to come to the light. He has not given too little that we can’t see, but he has not given too much that all are blinded.

Is God reaching his goal? The Bible says we can be sure he is and based on the resurrection of Christ, I believe it’s reliable. The Bible has shown itself to me time and time again to be trustworthy and Revelation tells me of a great gathering that no man can number from every tribe, language, and nation on the Earth that will be in Heaven.

When we get there, we will proclaim that. Yes Lord. Your plan was perfect. Your ways were and are right. You have made us to be like you and made us to be ourselves. You have redeemed us from evil and conquered it by the blood of your Son. You have taken our scars and have turned them into monuments of your grace. How awesome you are.

What a day that will be. Until then, I thank God for doing what he can to deal with this “problem” writing now.

This is it. We’re finally wrapping things up. The last chapter is about what if Loftus is wrong. I could go to a full review, but I want to sum up everything for this aside from the Problem of Evil. I have told my readers that that is coming at a later date so just simply wait for it. One day you’ll come to my blog and see it there. I will also note that my readership has increased and for new readers of my blog, I hope you’ll stick around. One day when you do show up, the answer to the Problem of Evil with the focus on natural evil will be here.

It will be noted that Loftus blames his problem on God even. If God exists, he should have kept Loftus from apostasizing. This was a criticism that Geisler had in his review of Loftus’s book.  That review can be found in Volume 6, No. 1/Spring 2007 of the Christian Apologetics Journal. It is far shorter than this review has been, but quite excellent.

So let’s answer some questions.

Why’d I review this?

Loftus and I go way back. We’ve known each other for a few years through the medium of theologyweb. The first question I saw him ask was “Where is God in infinite space?” I’m not saying that was the first question he asked, but it was the first one that I saw. I later found out that JPH of Tektonics ministry had already dealt with him some, but I handle the philosophical issues. At that point began a back and forth battle.

And then hurricane Katrina hit.

Loftus loves the argument from evil and I challenged him on this point and at the reception of an insult from him, I challenged him to a debate. Members of theologyweb can read the debate here:

http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=61432

I will let the reader read and decide the outcome.

It has been going on from there and I’ve seen Loftus spiral more and more into a land of irrationality, which I saw in the book and I will explain more on that later on. I saw ideas that contradicted themselves such as the view of Jonah and prophecy and ideas that seemed to strike me as wishful thinking in “maybe this is the explanation” with the only basis being that it avoids theism. I have many times offered a chance for Loftus to come clean for I see his atheism as emotions hijacking his reason.

Some readers might wonder if I have animosity towards Loftus. I don’t really. It’s very very had for me to have that for anyone. If I develop it, it doesn’t last long at all. I keep remembering in my mind that there but for the grace of God go I. I give thanks for the blessings that I’ve had in my life thus far and especially my good friends, like my roommate who has been with me through so much already. I don’t hate Loftus. I actually feel sorry for him. I wonder if he ever saw me in person if he’d realize I’m quite different than the way he might think I am.

I’ve mentioned JPH here who I visited in the Summer of 2007 while in Florida for a friend’s wedding. JPH was gracious enough to let me stay at his place so I didn’t have to get a hotel room with my strapped budget and we had many a talk. Sometimes we did talk about Loftus. He could testify that I was often quite kind in my words. There is that great sorrow I do have.

What about the account of the apostasy at the start?

This has been mentioned some in the comments, but I chose to not go into it. Loftus knows what I am talking about as he reads this and he knows some of what I am going to say. It was sin and we both know it and that is not going to change. However, I also realize that while it was sin, that I’m hardly a saint myself and I’ve had my own mess-ups. I try to keep that in mind with people. I simply ask that they confess their sins and seek to go and sin no more. I treat sin as sin and I treat persons as persons.

However, something that did concern me was the way Pop Christianity played a role. Because a church could not agree, the Spirit wasn’t really leading them in their vote on a topic. To which I want to say “Duh.” The Holy Spirit’s role is not to help us on personal decision making. It never has been. Unfortunately, Pop Christianity has built up these false ideas of what Christianity is so apostasy is from a Christianity the Bible never taught.

As for the account of the fear that Loftus would take over his own cousin’s church, as someone outside the situation, I honestly think I can see his cousin’s point. One thing that I notice immediately about Loftus and everyone else is that he does have a huge ego and that kind of ego seeks to go to the top. I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with ambition, but there is if people think you’re willing to go through anyone else to get there. Was the situation handled well? No. I’m just saying I think I can see where his cousin was coming from.

I also do think there is something with the way fellow Christians were not there. We no longer are today any more. This was not an apologetic endeavor. This was an emotional one. I don’t think it’d have mattered if you were the best apologist in the world. The problem was centered not on the mind but on the will. When Job’s friends came to see him, they did something really great at the start. They were silent for 7 days and just there. Maybe if someone had been there, things would have turned out differently.

Did you like anything about the book?

I agree with much of what Geisler said. This is an honest account and as a sympathetic guy in some ways, I could look with sorrow at the first few chapters. However, the ball is ultimately in Loftus’s court and he made his decisions and he has to take the blame for his part in each of them. The actions of others cannot be controlled, but he can control himself.

I do think the objections raised while weak are still important and this is a blessing to others I think. When you go through a review like this, you examine each argument closer and you see more flaws than you do at first. It helps you sharpen your mettle. Take the advice of that great philosopher of our time, Conan the Barbarian. “Whatever does not kill you, only makes you stronger.”

I was pleased that at least Loftus does read some in philosophy and theology, which makes this quite different from reading something like “The God Delusion.” (Though Loftus does lose points for quoting that travesty.) However, that being said, the arguments just aren’t there. It seems some of the objections are based on things that Geisler calls “High School Apologetics.”

For an example, consider the idea on the problems of a God incarnate. The first one is that God is uncreated but humans are created. Therefore, Jesus is created and uncreated. This is a simple one that I did answer in my review. However, when I see a weak objection like that, it makes me get further conviction that one isn’t really thinking rationally here. Now some weaker Christian might be led astray by that, and that shows our failure in the church in training Christians in apologetics.

That’s another reason to review books like this and the God Delusion. It shows that there are answers to those in the faith who have just encountered opposition for the first time and don’t know how to handle it. C.S. Lewis spoke of how for some of our brethren who aren’t gifted in intellectual skill, we are their only line of defense.

I also agree with Loftus on the witness of the Holy Spirit that Dr. Craig uses as an argument. I have great respect for Dr. Craig, but I sincerely think he’s wrong on this one. I, as a Christian, will say that I do not have any such experience and it is not what I fall back on. I fall back on the case that I have for the truths of the Christian faith. Now I do think Craig could argue, for instance, the livability of the Christian faith or the effect that it can have to change one’s life, and that would be valid. I’d even like to see something like the argument from beauty, one that apologists sadly don’t use as they should today.

It does no good though to say that you have an inner experience testifying that what you believe is true to an atheist. For any Christian skeptical, consider this. When the Mormon knocks on your door and says he has an inner witness from the Holy Spirit that he received because he prayed about the BoM in accordance with Moroni 10:4-5, do you convert? No. You think his experience is false as I do. Why should an atheist think differently about your experience if you have one?

Sadly, it’s my understanding that when the five arguments are attacked, this is the one that gets hit the most. The weak arguments detract from the strong ones, and Craig definitely has strong arguments! I have no problem with evangelism in a debate or giving a gospel message. In fact, when I do a debate, I end it with a call to salvation for any who are reading and/or listening. I’d just like to see a better argument.

I do agree with Geisler that it’s good that Loftus shows us his emotions in this one, but I do still say that is where the problem lies. I counter the false arguments because that is what I do. I am an apologist. I want to show others the arguments are wrong so they can have the assurance of their faith and so that those who do look up to me can see a good presentation.

I take such a position seriously when I realize some people are looking up to me. I find it humbling. I take the advice of Glenn Miller to avoid a big head with compliments. Just enjoy it for the time and then say “We have work to do.” It gets me focused on my mission. I try not to deny the compliments, but it’s not all about me. If someone wants to learn, I’m willing to teach. There are many of my young friends that have answered in here and I’m quite proud of how they’ve done.

That wraps it up. What are my recommendations at this point? Pray first off. It’s something I need to do more of also. Pray for the hearts of those hardened to the faith. Pray for the hearts of those in the faith that they may speak as they ought and learn as they ought. Pray this for myself as well. It’s a hard battle and I can’t do it alone.

Where will we go with tomorrow’s blog? I guess you’ll have to tune in to find out.

We now come to the final part of this chapter. Loftus starts by saying that if his worldview is true, there is no ultimate meaning in life. It’s all we’ve got. If this is the case, then Christians who think they have a reasoned hope are living a delusion. I agree entirely. In fact, so did the apostle Paul. “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Cor. 15:19) Paul is even stronger. Not only are we deluded, we’re the most sorry cases of all in the universe.

That is, if Loftus is correct. I again agree with the apostle Paul though. Loftus is wrong and Paul is right. We have hope for this life because of the life of Christ. Since he lived, we too shall live. (John 14:19) If Loftus is right, then eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. Drown your sorrows that your life is ultimately meaningless.

However, it’s interesting that again, Loftus says Christians live under a load of guilt. How said this is! If we live under guilt, it is because we fail to recognize the truth of Scripture and who God is. For my part though, I don’t really. I know I’ve screwed up in the past, but what matters is how I’m living my life today. This moment in time is the closest moment I have to eternity.

If Loftus thinks I am wasting my life, he is wrong. It doesn’t come down to this at this point though. We have to look at the presuppositions. If Christianity is false, I am wasting my life. If it is true though, then for Loftus, the case is far more serious which is, in fact, the next chapter of his book. (And the last.) That will be looked at tomorrow, but let us finish today.

There is time spent reading the Bible. That is true. I am at the time though reading many other books and learning many great things. I spend time with movies and TV shows and the Wii my roommate and I recently got gets a lot of use around here. We don’t spend our time in only religious activities. There is a necessary time for play.

I do not get drunk, no. I do not want to. I like being in control of my mind. I do not know the love of the lady yet, but I am waiting and doing what I can to keep myself as pure as possible for the sure enjoyment of that, and my understanding is that the wait is well worth it. I know many other of my fellow single men are in the same boat and we all look forward to it.

I do evangelize others, that is true, but that does not mean time is not spent with family and friends. We are friendly terms with everyone we’ve evangelized for instance and I have a friend who comes over with me every Thursday night after class just to watch Smallville with me and we usually end up with some games and maybe some theological and apologetic and philosophical discussion because that is just what we enjoy doing. At the moment, some of us are planning a vacation day at the beach.

No. My life is quite good right now. I look at what I see in Loftus’s work and I don’t think I’m missing much. I’m getting an education, making friends and spending time with them, getting to live a life of adventure and wonder, and having fun doing it. It seems Loftus is simply wanting us Christians to spend time in guilt. It makes me wonder what kind of Christians he was really with. They sure aren’t the kinds I know and they don’t sound like the kinds I’d want to know.

Philip Yancey said that legalism fails at the very thing it’s designed to do, instill obedience. Only true grace leads to obedience. Legalism only hardens a heart.

I think we’ve all seen that.

Last chapter tomorrow.