oddXian: Challenge the Consensus

Saw this over on the Thinking Christian site - I added a hyperlink - great piece of Christian skepticism: ...it is extremely difficult to engage on the same level with Harris, Dennett, and Dawkins. All of them think that religion is so great a menace that they do not have much disposition for dialogue. The battle flags they put into the wind are Voltaire's Ecrasez l'infame! Meanwhile, all three pretend that atheists "question everything" and "submit to relentless, almost tedious, self-criticism." Yet in these books there is not a shred of evidence that their authors have ever had any doubts whatever about the rightness of their own atheism. Self-questioning about their own scholarly indifference to their subject; about the horrific brutalities committed in the name of "scientific atheism" during the 20th century ; about the restless and mercurial dissatisfactions in atheist and secular movements during the past hundred years; and about the demogra...

It is remarkable... Just recently, in one of the discussion boards I used to frequent, an atheist lamented about the fact that, to paraphrase the words of Rodney Dangerfield, Christians "just don't give me any respect." This follows after the person in question related a fairly normal atheist tale. Grew up in a "religious" home, started investigating on his own at the age of 15, "studied" religion for about 4 years, and then concluded that it was all a load of bunk. Stories like that abound in non-believer circles. They then proceed to try and convince you that God does not exist, based on their years of study. Well, I'm sorry if I stand a tad skeptical towards these types of arguments. And if that is construed as a lack of respect, then you ain't gonna get any either. Because here are the problems with that type of argument: 1. Has the person in question examined all the evidence, everywhere? If the person claims that, I will venture that he i...

Elton John recently stated that religion produces discrimination, bias, hatred and spite. Referring to his position, he stated “From my point of view, I would ban religion completely. Organized religion doesn’t seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it is not really compassionate.” Has it ever occurred to you to ask the question, if organized religion is the source and produces all these things (discrimination, bias, hatred, spite, etc.), then where did Elton John get his? It never ceases to amaze me, how in either debating or listening to those who oppose the truth, how often they in laying charge to believers commit the very crimes they seek to lay at the feet of believers. It’s no wonder the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 2 to unbelievers that “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things…”, (only in the case o...

Hi, folks - I want to introduce the newest member of Team CS, Bob Vigneault. Bob is a Moderator (and some say, male model ) for the Puritan Board. He has a couple of cool blogs, a great wit and a heart for the glory of God, as well as being creative, funny and committed to the authority of Scripture and a theistic worldview. A perfect fit! For a little more insight take a look at some of his threads over on the PB and his profile there - which also links to his blogs. Greetings and welcome to the team, Bob!

Alan Roebuck’s latest essay for View from the Right takes the form of an open letter to an atheistic think tank called the Center for Inquiry, proceeded by an introduction. Introduction to the ideas in the letter Liberalism must be opposed fundamentally, because if you accept, even tacitly, your opponent’s premises, you will eventually be forced to accept his conclusions. And the philosophical foundation of liberalism is atheism, because atheism makes man the supreme being, and means that there are no absolutes. But nowadays, most apologists for atheism do not call themselves atheists. They say, “Atheism requires proving a universal negative, which is impossible. So I’m not an atheist. I just think there’s no reason to believe in a God, so I don’t. Call me a naturalist [or infidel, or freethinker, or agnostic.]” (But note that it is not impossible to prove a universal negative; mathematicians do it all the time.) More importantly, the atheistic apologist says, “Since my position does...

Make a declaration and it may seem like you have something to say, but just because declarations are made does not mean they are substantive, sufficient, or satisfying. It behooves a person to check them out before forming conclusions and accepting them. The following declarations are taken from a section of the American Atheists website entitled "Atheism" with my examination/responses. ATHEISM Atheism is a doctrine that states that nothing exists but natural phenomena (matter), that thought is a property or function of matter, and that death irreversibly and totally terminates individual organic units. This definition means that there are no forces, phenomena, or entities which exist outside of or apart from physical nature, or which transcend nature, or are “super” natural, nor can there be. Humankind is on its own. I love the phrase “nor can there be”. How do they know? How can they prove this? If man is continuing to find things even in physical nature they did not know b...

"Let me tell you about a most wonderful experience I had early Monday morning, March 19, 2007, a little after six o’clock. God actually spoke to me. " read more

Wisdom reveals that everything has a role - there are chairs for our sitting and legs for our stroll. And wisdom has shown it’s not a good goal – to confuse the two - to look to legs for our sitting or chairs for our stroll. So how foolish for man when by things of this world he attempts to satisfy his soul.

Ever wondered WHY it is so hard for non-believers to convert to Christianity? Ever wondered WHY non-believers struggle so much with Christianity and would prefer it to disappear or be destroyed? The answer is that idols not only control but demand one's allegience. I was reading a chapter last night from Alfred Poirier's book "The Peace Making Pastor" who I believe in addressing idolatrous desires in the lives of believers, also sheds light on the idolatry of unbelievers. He writes: "Moreover, this concept of idolatry sheds even more light on the dynamics of our desires. Idols are counterfeit gods. As gods, they direct and rule over us. And we, in turn, worship, fear, serve, love, trust, and obey them. Like God, our idols promise and threaten us. If they get what they want, they promise us happiness. If they do not get what they want, they curse us and threaten death. As counterfeit gods, idols are lawgivers. They command us. They shape our affections, direct our...

Watch this video all the way to the end...

www.godmen.org

What I am reading today over at Reformation 21... A Good Creed Seldom goes Unpunished By Carl Trueman I have a sneaking suspicion that the cry of `No creed but the Bible!’ has often meant rather `I have my creed, but I’m not going to tell you what it is so that you can’t know what it is and thus cannot criticize it or me for holding it.’ ..... I certainly regard scripture as uniquely authoritative and divinely inspired; but I also appreciate the help which the insights of others over the centuries gives me into scripture’s meaning and application; I also delight to identify myself with Christians through the ages who have worshipped the same God; and in this context I place a special premium on creeds and confessions for two very important reasons. First, the church is more than just a collection of individuals; it is the community of those united to Christ and the community of the Word and sacraments, and as such has a special place in God’s redemptive plan. Thus, I take much more ser...

Good thread over on the Puritan Board concerning fad cures, herbalism, chiropractic, etc...as a Christian Skeptic, we are to examine everything and keep the good - I think it is interesting how otherwise perfectly rational folk can be led into some strange stuff...

What Hath Geneva To Do with Nashville? This is a great article from Tom Ascol - Director of the Founders Ministry. As disjointed as the two worlds presented in the subtitle may appear to some, there is in reality a close and vital connection between them. The relationship between the two becomes apparent when some of the main features of the Southern Baptist family tree are traced. We Baptists look to the Scriptures to justify our existence, and that is just as it should be. We are a people of the Book. The Bible, and the Bible alone, is our authority. We look no further than the Scriptures to seek direction for our faith and practice. History is not our authority. Nevertheless, history can be our assistant as we try to learn from the biblical insights of those who have gone before us. Southern Baptists have a rich heritage, and it stretches back hundreds of years before our actual emergence as a denomination in 1845. Our roots extend all the way back to the fertile soil of the sixtee...

Oprah offers her doctrinal viewpoint that there are many ways to God - and is confronted by the truth. Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." ...and also shows why it is important to be ready with a defense! What about the native that has never heard the name of Christ? A good response from ComeReason.org : So, we realize that we don't measure up to perfection. This is universal. I know of no culture where people feel they have never erred. We even use the expression "You're only human" to show that perfection cannot be attained by the human race. What makes this so condemning is that all of mankind has the means necessary to know there is a God and that they fall short of His plan. Romans 1 states this when it says "that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His in...

We are studying this at our church as part of the Deacon training material our pastor is instituting. I am looking forward to reading and studying it. Praise God for men like John Piper! Wow - just started reading it and this pops right out at me (emphasis mine): John Piper says: I found myself at home in these amazing words of Adolf Schlatter as he defined what he believed scholarship (die Wissenschaft) should be. "I keep myself as free as possible from conjectures and avoid therefore the effort to overturn them. This does not seem like a fruitful business to me. For conjectures are not overturned by producing more of the same. They sink away when one sees that observation is more fruitful than conjecture . . . . I call Wissenschaft [scholarship] the observation of what exists (des Vorhandenen), not the attempt to imagine what is not visible. Perhaps one will object that the guesswork of conjecture excites and entertains while observation is a hard and difficult work . That’s ...

I was doing my daily blog reading and was reminded of the 9 Marks ministry - I think they have a great mission statement and a Scripture-bounded view of church development. Take a look... The Mission of 9Marks We believe the local church is the focal point of God's plan for displaying his glory to the nations. Our vision is simple: Churches that reflect the character of God. Our mission is to cultivate and encourage churches characterized by these nine marks: 1. Expositional Preaching This is preaching which expounds what Scripture says in a particular passage, carefully explaining its meaning and applying it to the congregation. It is a commitment to hearing God’s Word and to recovering the centrality of it in our worship. 2. Biblical Theology Paul charges Titus to "teach what is in accord with sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). Our concern should be not only with how we are taught, but with what we are taught. Biblical theology is a commitment to know the God o...

Saw this on my buddy's website (the Rurban Church) thought it was pretty funny... The Consumer Church Since much has been blogged about the institutional vs. missional church - and since the institutional church almost always manifests a consumer spirit - I thought I would give a stab at the logical manifestation of a sponsored worship service. (in a southern church!) The Pop Tart Pre-session Praise and Worship The Pepsi Opening Prayer Body Life (important events) by Nabisco Pringles Praise and Worship Set 1 Verizon Video Segment 1 The Craftsman Tool Testimony click here for more

W hile I've ceased being amazed at how often unbelievers argue against a gospel which is not the true gospel (which displays how great their fear and enmity against God is since they go to the extent of arguing against God through the fabrication and argument against their own strawmen), I'm still not amazed at how many different ways unbelievers will come up with in misunderstanding or misapplying the text of Scripture to try to argue against God. For example, John Loftus, in his recent post on "Debunking Christianity" entitled "Can Prayer Change the Past? One More Time" sets a challenge before Christians to "pick any event in the past, announce that they are praying to change it, and then watch what happens." His argument is that if God lies outside of time, but hears the prayers of believers, then God can change the past, events like "the Holocaust, the terrorist 9/11 attacks, or any tragic event reported in the daily newspaper." Bes...

Richard Pratt, Jr. in his book “Every Thought Captive” rightly makes the irrefutable claim that all unbelievers find themselves in the inescapable dilemma of continually living in the tension of uncertain certainty and certain uncertainty. In other words, any person seeking to claim absolute certainty on any matter, while turning from God and biblical presuppositions which provide both the foundation and confidence of knowledge and truth, while not possessing full and complete knowledge of all things is left to “uncertainty” concerning the very things they claim with absolute or total certainty. At the same time, any person who claims uncertainty, while denying God and those same biblical presuppositions, is left contradicting himself in making certain claims of uncertainty. Pratt shows this problem to be even greater when he explains that “when turning from God, the unbeliever asserts with absolute certainty that the biblical distinction between the Creator and His creature is false, ...