The terms Atheist and Atheism are derived from the same Greek words, a, of Alpha, the negative, and Theos, God. Thus we get the idea of a system which means without God. I shall not trouble the reader by placing before him the two leading hypothesis which prevailed among this class of unbelievers, but it may not be amiss to state, that one had its origin from Ocellus Lucanus, adopted and improved by Aristotle; and the other, from Epicurus...
Read MoreHistory teaches that a civilization’s greatest threat is from within. Inward decay is deadlier than outward aggression. One does not have to be a modern prophet of doom or a nervous alarmist to detect some of the rapidly multiplying symptoms of moral deterioration in our land. Individual character, the home, and society as God would have it are all being undercut and their foundations weakened by these symptoms.
Read MoreForty years ago this coming September, America was engaged in presidential debates prior to the general election of 1976. During that same time another debate, the Warren-Flew debate on the existence of God, occurred on the campus of a Texas university. Although the 1976 presidential debates, as always, were significant, a good case can be made that the Warren-Flew debate was even more significant. In fact, some have called it “the debate of the century.”
Read MoreHis mother was Madalyn Murray O’Hair. She won the landmark lawsuit filed on his behalf when he was fourteen years old, effectively banning prayer and Bible reading from public schools in America by an 8-1 Supreme Court decision, June 17, 1963. America’s schools have never recovered from this decision that long-time U. S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia described as somebody “tampering with America’s soul.”
Read MoreMinnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957) was a British writer, missions worker, London School of Economics student and teacher, and industrial welfare leader in the first half of the 20th century. In addition to her literary work as a poet and novelist, Haskins and Eleanor T. Kelly co-authoredFoundations of Industrial Welfare, a significant publication promoting a spirit of cooperation between worker and employer. However, it is a small collection of poetry published in 1908 that contains the obscure poem for which Minnie Haskins is best remembered. Originally published under the title “God Knows,” this poem is best known from its popular title “The Gate of the Year.”
Read MoreQuestions of origins are important if only because everyone has a beginning and may eventually question life’s purpose. Even the process of life in which we find ourselves seems to require an explanation. Understanding how humanity originated is important because its answer touches on one of the most fundamental of inquiries —the nature and authority of ethical thought.
Read MoreSociety is a mess. Perhaps, we can describe our society as living in chaos. It is scary when we contemplate the society in which we live.
Civil government is ordained of God to which all men are subject in order that good and safety may prevail and evil may be controlled (Romans 13:1-3). As such civil government is for our good—for all citizens. This creates a societal setting in which peace and security can be practiced and enjoyed (Romans 13:4-7).
Read MoreThe last fifty years have brought many advances in healthcare, but they have also brought challenging moral dilemmas. On one end of life, its beginning, people are pressed by American culture to accept what is described as “a woman’s right to choose” when for many Christians that seems an inappropriate response to life in the womb. At the other end of life people are offered the benefits of medical science that can resuscitate and sustain bodily functions through extraordinary means, even when there seems no hope of recovery. In between, people struggle with illness and disease needing someone to help. In this article I consider how Christians can and should help, whether they work in healthcare themselves or simply understand and support others who have such careers.
Read MoreThe Christian’s faith is not built on a blind faith, but is based on verifiable evidence. If a person believes when there is no evidence, his faith is a baseless faith. Adequate evidence is available to verify all that Christians believe.
“Now faith is the substance of things hope for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
We all believe in what we have not seen, and for good reasons, for there is evidence that what we have not seen exists.
Read MoreIn his book, A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken describes his friend and mentor, C. S. Lewis, as “a man who could so swiftly cut through anything that even approached fuzzy thinking.” Van (as he was called by Lewis) goes on to say that C. S. Lewis “in brilliance, in wit, and in incisiveness, could hold his own with any man that ever lived” (of course, excluding the God-Man, Jesus Christ).
Read MoreOne of the most frequently asked questions about Warren Apologetics Center is: “What is this ‘apologetics center’ about?” Answering this question in such a way that people have a clear understanding is extremely crucial to the overall success of this project. We have worked hard to do this, but we continue working harder attempting to do an even better job communicating what Warren Apologetics Center is all about.
Read MoreLess than ten years ago, the late Dr. Antony Flew, whom Professor Thomas B. Warren debated on the existence of God in 1976, announced that he (Flew) had given up atheism and embraced theism. The news sent shock waves through the philosophical world. Professor Flew’s “pilgrimage of reason” (as he described it) is chronicled in his 2007 book There Is A God. This former British atheist wrote that he had been influenced in recent years by the philosopher David Conway’s argument for God’s existence in Conway’s 2000 book The Rediscovery of Wisdom: From Here to Antiquity in Quest of Sophia.
Read MoreLife, and specifically human life, exists today. So far as I know, there have been only two explanations for the existence of this life advanced. Creation, the idea that a superior, intelligent and powerful being brought this life into being apart from natural laws; and Evolution, the idea that life began purely by natural law in a very primitive form and developed purely by natural law to the forms in which we find it now.
Read MoreThe words, “If a man dies, shall he live again” (Job 14:14) occur within the cycle of controversy with Zophar. Zophar, agreeing with Eliphaz and Bildad, claimed Job’s suffering was the result of Job sinning. Job replies to Zophar in chapters twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. The question of Job, “If a man dies, shall he live again?” is addressed to God.
Read MoreIf one word were chosen to describe the prevailing general attitude theologically, the most appropriate word would be “schizophrenic.” This is not merely to say that one theologian will radically contradict another, but to the fact that a theologian will hold views violently contradicted by other views he also holds. This situation is the rule rather than the exception.
Read MoreMany people are convinced that humans have evolved from lower life-forms. For years and years, researchers have done their best to produce the missing link between man and his supposed animal ancestors. To date, no proof has been found. The “Missing Link” is still missing. Generally speaking, the cycle goes something like this: 1) a unique fossil is found, 2) it is immediately hailed as the long awaited link to our past, 3) careful research is done by both creationists and naturalists, 4) the item is unanimously found to be either a fully formed animal or human – not a transitional being (or sometimes just discovered to be a complete hoax). So the cycle continues! The search must go on! The link must be found!
Read MoreA while back, President George W. Bush released his book of memoirs titled, Decision Points. Each chapter of the book concerns some point of major decision in his life or presidency. Borrowing from his terminology, I suggest that “Decision Point” sums up the basic message of a passage from the Old Testament prophet Joel which says, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14). The statement is located in the context of an announcement of the judgment of God in time, and at the end oftime. I believe Aebi to be correct in his conclusion that this “is [1] primarily descriptive of Pentecost, in which the gospel by which people are judged began to be preached; then [2] it is descriptive of the any judgments of God throughout the Christian era, and [3] finally descriptive of the day of judgment at the end of the world” (75).
Read MoreThe Bible, not the unaided intellectual powers of men, is the source of truth in religion. Clearly, some philosophy is in conflict with Christianity. Paul emphasizes this! But is everything that has to do with philosophic endeavor in such conflict? It seems clear that such is not the case.
Read MoreMoving forward with our historical narrative of the development and adoption of evolution by Western culture, an accounting for the secularization of science, not only in biology but also in astronomy, cosmology, geology, and other earth sciences must be given. Part three in this series examined a very small part of the history that led Western thought to doubt the Bible’s revelation of anything materialistic. This included the revelation of the origin of mankind, the planet, and generally anything found in the Genesis account of creation. Miraculous manifestations were considered mythological and humanism was replacing a reverence for God.
Read MoreA NEWSMAX article in late December 2012 stated: “Hardcore atheists are one of society’s fastest growing demographics and they are marching assertively into the public square” (18).
In their 2008 book—Religious America, Secular Europe?—three professors (Berger, Davie, and Fokas) address the growth and influence of secularistic thought, especially in the western world. Concerning America they write,