Grace Blogs

So first she tasted the porridge of the Great, Huge Bear, and that was too hot for her; and she said a bad word about that. And then she tasted the porridge of the Middle Bear, and that was too cold for her; and she said a bad word about that too. And then she went to the porridge of the Little, Small, Wee Bear, and tasted that;and that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well she ate it all up…

Last week’s “God Question” about the existence of God got into some deep science that hopefully didn’t lose too many people. I wanted to follow up on that by

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Douglas Groothuis quotes evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin on the evolution-at-all-costs attitude present in much of modern science. Lewontin says,

We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes

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Yesterday’s “God Question” about the existence of God was certainly jam-packed, and I have one huge regret when it comes to points that didn’t make it into the discussion:

You start with the Gospel. You follow up with apologetics.

Here’s what I mean: giving people reasons to believe in God is great, but believing in God is not the same as following Christ. James 2:19 says that “Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

It is far better, then, to lead with the Gospel—that we are created by God and accountable to him; we have broken his laws and stand condemned; that God has made a way for our guilt to be paid for and our crimes forgiven through Jesus Christ; and

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This week’s “God Question” is “Why do you believe God even exists?” In a bit of good timing, Stand to Reason has started posting some of Greg Koukl’s podcast commentary as YouTube videos, and one of the first asks the question, “Can God’s Existence Be Proved?”

Skip down to the video if you’d like, but before diving into this question it’s worth establishing what is meant by “proof,” at least in a philosophical sense:

1. You must have at least two premises and a conclusion.
2. The conclusion must logically follow from the premises.
3. Each premise must be true, or at least, more probable than the opposite.

Accept the Argument, or Say Something Silly: Your Choice

The trick is that someone who really …

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One of the main points to remember about our “God Questions” series is that we are seeking to show that Christianity provides a coherent worldview that adequately answers the full range of life’s greatest questions.

It’s a clear sign that you need to rethink your position if you have to use one way of thinking to answer a certain set of questions, but then switch to a different way of thinking to answer others. Case in point: in 2006, Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) was asked about the consistency of his views as an atheist, and it looks like he knows his worldview doesn’t work:

Questioner: …You

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Prayer took much of the time and strength of Jesus, and a man or woman who does not spend much time in prayer cannot properly be called a follower of Jesus Christ.

—R. A. Torrey, How to Pray

I often get down on myself for not reading my Bible like I ought to. But recently, I’ve started to think my real problem is that I don’t pray like I ought to.

Frequency of Prayer

What is the “right” amount of prayer? For me, “more than I’m doing right now” will do for an answer, and I suspect few of us have people saying to us, “Praying again? You know, you really ought to cut down…”

In the first chapter of the book quoted above, …

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Here in the middle of our God Questions series, there is some timely news from the “Coming Soon” department: two new films highlight some inconvenient truths for those who claim to have the facts on their side and deploy them against the Christian worldview.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Ben Stein asks the question: what are Darwinists afraid of? Why is the so-called “Intelligent Design” hypothesis such an intolerable suggestion? And why are people losing their jobs if they dare to question Darwinism?

Richard Dawkins (The God Delusion) was so upset about this movie that he crashed a screening last month.

The Jesus Tomb Hoax

Last year,

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At the men’s Bible study this morning, I tried to pull a David Ennis on the guys and play the “other side” by challenging the case for the resurrection of Jesus. (In retrospect, let me say this: I know Dave Ennis. Dave Ennis is a friend of mine. And I’m no Dave Ennis. But I digress.)

Here’s how I tried to do it:

Miracles are the most improbable thing that could happen. The resurrection is presented as the most probable explanation for the empty tomb, the postmortem appearances of Jesus, and the changed lives of his followers. A resurrection is a miracle. Therefore, …

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On Easter, Dan pointed out the numerous accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and the hundreds of eyewitnesses who testified to the risen Christ. But why is this important? Shouldn’t we just believe because of the powerful experience we enjoy as Christians? Isn’t the Spirit of God testifying to our hearts enough?

Yes and no—that can get you started, but a mature follower of Christ needs to be able to demonstrate that he stands on solid ground. In fact, Jesus said that we should believe on the basis of evidence (John 10:22-40), and if we hold that the very words of Scripture were breathed out by God, then it seems to indicate that God wants us to be convinced

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I’ve heard about this video, but I’ve never seen it. Then it turns out that the production company has uploaded it to Google Video!

Of course, it would be a good thing to buy it and support the work of the people behind this video. Fighting established Darwinism is a costly project. Click the image below to buy it through Amazon.com:

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