Philosophy

/Category Archive for "Philosophy"

wrote in Philosophy, Q & A .

Question: This may require some speculation, but what do we know about how thought paradigms have affected beliefs about the Bible throughout history? For example, today people get tripped-up over things like how Noah got every animal on earth into the ark, which misses the moral point of the story, but would a first century […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: My son has a “logical” but non-Biblical idea.  He believes that God’s will is omnipotent, sovereign and therefore (because God is good) all obey His will and therefore are not responsible for what they do. Their actions are all predetermined.  How do you respond to this quandary? Answer: This may be the single most common […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: Once you allow the multiverse, is it not possible that life on earth just popped into existence kind of like Boltzmann brains? Answer: First of all, there is absolutely zero evidence for the multiverse.  This is utter speculation. This speculation only exists, in my opinion, because atheists need a fall-back argument against the FACT […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: What is the way to respond to this question? Can God make a rock so big, he can’t move it? Answer: This is one of the classic “challenges” to the idea of the Christian God that atheists and agnostics throw out there.   It is really a rather unsophisticated challenge, but for those who do […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: I want to ask you some questions about quantum mechanics, cause I know that’s your specialization. 1. I’ve read about the many-worlds interpretation and am wondering if it is true, and if it’s true then would this interpretation deny God’s existence? 2. I’ve also read about many-minds interpretation, but I am still confused about […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Philosophy, Q & A .

Question: I believe the Holy Spirit is a person and I believe Jesus was conceived through the Holy spirit, but someone who thinks the Holy Spirit is not a person could ask me this question and I cannot find an answer..please help me !  The reasoning is this: If the Holy Spirit is a person of […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A .

Question: I just came across your answer to a question about the origin of Yahweh and usage of the name. Your info is lacking. Yahweh originates out of Canaan though he is described [sic] concerning his theophany with Baal. Both are storm Gods. The Israelites are an offshoot of the Canaanites so it’s no surprise […]

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wrote in Creation, General, General Apologetics, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Philosophy, Q & A, Reliability of the Bible, Resurrection of Jesus, Science and the Bible .

Question: What would you say to an atheist who is a complete materialist (who believes in only the things he can see) to convince him that Jesus is the truth? Answer: That would depend on the person.  Not every materialist is the same.  If the person is even an iota open, I might do a […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: I read a few articles on your website about God being the uncaused cause. I’m aware that this is more of a philosophical argument, with scientific evidence supporting it.  However, if we just consider scientific evidence with philosophical thinking aside, can atheists argue then that the big bang itself is the uncaused cause?  I realize you […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: My first question is about John 3:1-8. I was sharing this scripture with a friend and he said the water here is the same living water referred to in Jeremiah 2:13. Therefore the water is not literal but being born again by God who is the living water. I believe the scripture in John […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: For a while I have been considering the relationship between man’s consciousness, free will, and his physical nature. This naturally brought me to questions regarding our free will. Namely, is there an intrinsic sense of randomness to our free will, an irrepeatable nature? Given the same circumstances repeatedly, would we make different choices or […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A, Social Issues .

Question: Are Richard Dawkins points valid in his response against faith as the only way to morality?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHoyTvyh4o       [note: in this youtube video Dawkins claims that secular humanists have created a better kind of morality than religion] Answer: As usual for Richard Dawkins, he resorts to pure rhetoric and chooses to simply […]

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wrote in Anthropology, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Is thinking a physical process, or is it spiritual? Answer: I believe that the answer is that thinking is both physical and “spiritual.” One thing we can be sure of is that thinking is a physical process.  This has been shown by experiment and our experience agrees with experiment.  MRI (magnetic resonsance imaging) experiments […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I watched a recent debate (online) between Theist Dr William lane Craig and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss.  Krauss’s favorite example seems to be the divine command in the Old Testament for the Israelites to exterminate the Canaanite men, women and children (Deuteronomy 20:7). I would say Krauss and most other atheists use this brilliantly to […]

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wrote in Anthropology, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: It is becoming a more and more accepted theory that humans have no ability to truly make “willful decisions.” Under this assumption, how can one come to salvation? Wouldn’t this render John 3:16 useless, because we cannot choose to believe in God?  I understand the argument that this just points to predestination, but as […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Uncategorized .

Question: One philisophical principle is that in a set of hypotheses, the one with less assumptions should be validated.  Most of my friends think that materialism is the worldview with the least assumptions since it only requires that we assume the physical world can be perceived, measured and understood by our human senses.  These materialist friends say […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I have a question for you that sparked while going through one of the lessons in the ARS Apologetics Certificate Program. In terms of suffering – I understand most of the arguments/material in terms of our sin, humans causing suffering, humans choosing to suffer, Joy existing because of suffering, etc; however, there is one thing […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

[Editor’s Note: I posted an article in response to a question about the philosophy/theology known as pandeism.  A blogger posted a critique of my article, and this is a rebuttal by me.  The critique is fairly long, and my response is below that.] Comment: From time to time, people do come along and write things […]

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wrote in Creation, General, General Apologetics, Miracles, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: One philisophical principle is that in a set of hypotheses, the one with less assumptions should be validated.  Most of my friends think that materialism is the worldview with the least assumptions since it only requires that we assume the physical world can be perceived, measured and understood by our human senses.  These materialist friends say […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Someone asked me “With all other religions in circulation why do you feel that only Christianity is the way?” How can you prove that it is the only way? I couldn’t prove this with scripture because this was a man who didn’t believe in scripture. So I ask how can a young man show […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Science and the Bible .

Question: I hope this email finds you well. I am a Christian and have a friend who is going through some unbelief, and he sent me this video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pOI2YvVuuE which illustrates his thought process. He doesn’t believe in God anymore, and doesn’t believe Christianity is any more right than any other religion.  My […]

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wrote in Church History, General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Practical Christianity, Social Issues, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: How does the view on suffering in Christianity differ from other religions?   Does Christianity have a better answer? Answer: A great question.  Before I describe the different worldviews and their view of suffering, let me note that individuals may not act according to the worldview that they appear to believe in.  Although atheists, […]

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wrote in Creation, General Apologetics, Philosophy, Science and the Bible .

Questions: 1. What relationship exists between science and religion? 2. Can science prove the existence of God? 3. Is there any evidence of proof (aside from the Big Bang Theory) that will prove beyond any reasonable doubt that God truly exist? 4. Do all scientists today still believe in the Holy Bible, especially in the […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I’ve been discussing different god and the bible with an atheist friend of mine and there were two points which I felt really unsure of. 1. The first was the problem of suffering; I explained the idea that creation was corrupted at the fall of man, but he pointed out that this in no […]

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wrote in Anthropology, General, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Hello, I have a couple of questions concerning our souls.  If consciousness can be determined to depend on the physical brain, does this mean our consciousness ceases to exist after death? Isn’t it obvious that if the brain is damaged in any way that it directly affects our consciousness immediately.  Also, if we have […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Supernatural, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I am finding it difficult to accept the concept that one could actually have an intimate relationship with God. God in His most simplistic definition is invisible and an immaterial being, additionally why would the very creator of the universe speak a human language. Isn’t that a hint the mankind has formed and molded […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Questions: I have a couple of general questions below I wanted to ask: 1.) How can Jesus be a Divine Person when He had a literal human body made of flesh. Wouldn’t His fleshly body violate His divine nature and status? 2.) Why did Jesus have to be a male in physical terms to begin […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Miracles, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Supernatural .

[Editor’s note: The comment and response below are a follow-up to an earlier question and answer in which some terminology produced a bit of a miscommunication.  For completeness, the original exchange is below this comment and response.] Comment: I was at a roundtable discussion that included Denis Lamoreaux.  I definitely aggree with his thinking on evolution.  But […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Supernatural .

Question: If evolution and abiogenesis have simply naturalistic explanations behind the origins and development of life itself, then wouldn’t this replace any need for a god? Abiogenesis for example gives forth purely scientific and naturalistic reasons behind how life came into existence, why at this point would there be a need for such a deity? Same […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Science and the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: I was so grateful for your sermon yesterday in the Cape Town church. I was wondering how you would assist someone who comes from the quantum physics background to believe the Bible.  In particular my friend adheres to the teachings of Bruce Lipton “The Biology of Belief”? Answer: Bruce Lipton is a well-qualified molecular […]

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wrote in General, Other Religions, Philosophy, Reliability of the Bible .

Question: Did the concept of punishment and judgement in Christianity originate from the teachings of Plato as expressed in this article? Thanks    http://www.bibleorigins.net/millenium.html Answer: The simple answer to this question is no, the concept of punishment and judgment in Christianity did not originate with Plato. This idea came to Christianity from God–the one who […]

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wrote in Creation, General, Historical and Messianic Prophecy, Miracles, Philosophy, Q & A, Supernatural, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Does god play dice?  Quantum events are random. So how can God know who is going to heaven? The Bible mentions that those who are saved have been written in the book of life before creation. You also mention the universe has a sort of free will so how does God know about events […]

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wrote in General, Philosophy, Q & A, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Is implicit knowledge of Christ saving? Specifically, is it necessary to have explicit knowledge of Christ or is it enough to have faith in God (belief in one leads to the other)? If explicit knowledge is necessary for salvation, what is the soteriological effect of being unable to adequately describe the nature of the […]

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wrote in Bible Interpretation, General, Philosophy, Q & A, Supposed Inconsistencies in the Bible, Theology and Doctrinal Questions .

Question: Can you explain how evil exists in the world without either compromising God’s goodness, His omnipotence, and/or implying dualism? For instance, in Isaiah it is written “I form light and create darkness, I make weal and create woe; I the Lord do all these things,” (45:7) willed into existence by God “I have spoken […]

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