J. Warner Wallace, author of God's Crime Scene, was interviewed by Bobby Conway (The One Minute Apologist) and discussed the appearance of fine-tuning in the universe. Can this fine-tuning be explained from physical necessity, random chance or any other "natural" explanation, or is a Divine Designer the most reasonable inference? (For more information related to Bobby's great ministry, visit: To see more training videos with J. Warner Wallace, visit the YouTube playlist.
"As it applies to Christianity," I persisted, "some of what we know about God can be inferred from observations. This is referred to as 'general revelation.' Consider what we see of the universe: it is spatially and temporally immense, beyond our ability to understand and grasp; it is well-ordered and predictable, with set laws such as logic and math, physics and chemistry, all operating flawlessly, consistently and seamlessly. It contains examples of breath-taking beauty, such as the inherent beauty of music and nature, and heart-pounding emotion, such as the joy of first love or the miracle of birth. But it is also quite deadly, or at the very least quite inhospitable to humans. Despite its immense size, it appears that we can live only in a sliver of air on a remote planet, and even there, most of the planet is exceedingly dangerous to us. You see, my ability to reason can lead me to some generalities: God must be immensely powerful and intelligent; he must be artistic and love order. He must be capable of great love. But is he … harsh ? Uncaring? Why is this creation so dangerous? And, most importantly, what comes next? Reason cannot lead us to any answers here.
Founded by @RCSproul to equip Christians to articulate what they believe & why they believe it. Reformed theology & God's holiness are central to our purpose.
A Liberty University professor and Christian apologetics expert has said there are plenty of reasons to believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a real historical event, noting that some atheists question it despite not doubting accounts that go further back, such as the life of Alexander the Great.
Now, it can be argued that Papias' description of Mark's collaboration with Peter in Rome is the earliest description available to us. In fact, skeptics have tried to argue that later Church sources are simply parroting Papias when they connect Mark to Peter. But there is no evidence to suggest that Papias is the sole source of information related to Peter and Mark, particularly when considering the slight variations in the subsequent attributions (such as Clement's version). The subtle differences suggest that the claims came from different original sources. In addition, Justin Martyr's tangential reference to the 'sons of thunder' strengthens the support for Peter's involvement coming from a source other than Papias (who never makes this connection). In essence, a claim of dependency on Papias lacks specific evidence, and even if this were the case, there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of Papias' original claim in the first place. The consistent record of history identifies Mark's Gospel as a memoir of Peter's life with Jesus.
Back in April we surveyed readers of desiringGod.org. 8,000 of you responded — thank you for the amazing response. Of those total responses, over 50% of those who have a smartphone admit to checking their phones within minutes of waking up in a typical morning. Among readers 18–29, that number is over 60%. Most of us know a pattern like this (checking email, texts, and social media on our phones immediately in the morning) is not healthy, but we do it anyway. Pastor John, why do you think grabbing for our phones in the morning is a default reaction for many Christians? And is there a better way forward?
Two-pore channels (TPCs) are organellar voltage-dependent ion channels that are widely expressed in both animals and plants. In mammals, TPC1 and TPC2 regulate the physiological functions of the endolysosomal system. Here, Youxing Jiang and colleagues report the structure of mouse TPC1, a sodium ion (Na + )-selective channel, in both its apo closed state and phospholipid-bound open state by cryo-electron microscopy. Along with functional studies, these data underlie the basis for the difference in selectivity and gating of mammalian TPCs compared to their plant homologues. They also provide information on the mechanisms of activation and regulation by lipid binding.
If you want to read another deconversion story that shows how a focus on feelings and experiences leads to atheism, check out the story of Dan Barker . I know so many people who were raised in the church by pastors who were anxious to "protect" Christian truth claims from being proved or disproved by evidence. They thought that their approach was more pious – how dare we let science and history stand in judgment over the Bible? When I look at Dan Barker and Bart Campolo, I can see where that fideism ended up. Piety is a cheap way of gaining respect without having done any work. We need to demand better from pastors. They ought to be able to show their work. They ought to be able to demonstrate what reasoning and evidence led them to their convictions. Not their feelings and experiences, but actual reasoning and evidence.
The biblical creation model proposes that the creator pre-programmed the capacity for change (even rapid change) within organisms. As suggested by this recent study, tandem repeats within different species may even enable them to adapt to a changing array of pathogens. Thus, variation of tandem repeats of segments within pre-existing genes fits within a biblical creation model. In contrast, this variation of repeats offers no insight into an evolutionary origin of any salivary gene and is simply an example of adaptive variation.
"Hillary wasn't merely allowed to delete 33,000 documents from her computer server three weeks after revelations that she had a private computer server, she was protected by the DOJ and the FBI, which allowed her personal attorney, Cheryl Mills — who was also under investigation — to invoke attorney-client privilege to stop the FBI from investigating Hillary's email scheme," wrote Shapiro.
The story of the New Testament canon is a fascinating one, with many twists and turns. There are books that were accepted very quickly, almost from the start (e.g., the four gospels), and there are other books that struggled to find a home (e.g., 2 Peter).
Advice To Young Aspiring Apologists.
Related to this, one should always seek to engage with the most respected and capable defenders of a given position. Richard Dawkins and other members of the 'New Atheist' community have often been criticized for criticizing the worst representatives of Christianity, and avoiding the best possible opposition. This is not a trait that you want to emulate. There is a time, of course, for critiquing poor defenders of a position, particularly if they are popular, so that the vacuousness of their argumentation may be exposed. It is unfortunate that the most popular apologists for atheism also happen to be the least intellectually sophisticated (e.g. Richard Dawkins, Peter Atkins, A.C. Grayling). Since these men are popular, they ought to be responded to. But your engagement shouldn't be limited to them. Likewise, so many Muslims listen to Zakir Naik and Ahmed Deedat that their arguments must be responded to, even if they are very unsophisticated. But try to engage Islam's more reflective apologists, such as Shabir Ally, as well. To quote Proverbs 26:4-5, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him.
But I do know Andy, and can tell you that he's the real deal. Not only is he the most diligent memorizer of Scripture I've ever known, he's also a genuinely godly man, a devoted husband (to Christine) and father (of five), a careful expositor of Scripture, and a faithful pastor. Since his graduation with a PhD. in church history from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998, he has been pastor of First Baptist Church of Durham, N.C. Before that, Andy served as an SBC International Mission Board church planter in Japan.
"What it's saying to me is that there is an awakening of the desire for [racial] justice that is coming from the heart of man and a desire for supernatural power that's in all of us. We are called to be reunited with Christ and His spirit and the move and the dynamic of the spirit of God and the gifts of the spirit are supernatural," he noted.
61 Does Calvinism Offer a Basis for the Assurance of Salvation?
78 How Much Theology Do I Have to Know to Be a Christian?
83 Is Political Agreement Necessary to Gospel Reconciliation?
89 How Do I Avoid the Pitfalls of Too Little Introspection and Too Much?