by Andrew Corbett | Jul 23, 2018 | Apologetics
Professor Richard Dawkins has become the pin-up boy of western atheists. His latest offerings for his religiously devoted band of athiests includes his best-selling book, The God Delusion, and DVD- The Root of All Evil. His arguments are passionate, clear and simple. He appeals to the lack of intellectual rigour in any religious belief, the socially destructive nature of religion, and ability of mankind to live harmoniously and well without any reference at all to God.
His arguments are not new. Atheistic Philosophers have been making the same arguments for centuries. But intellectuals like Dawkins have become increasingly peturbed by the large numbers of intellectuals who are “crossing over” – now professing a belief in God and becoming “religious”. One of the most notable intellectuals to recently abandon atheism and embrace theism (a belief in God) was Professor Antony Flew. He was an ardent atheist who wrote and lectured prolifically on the reasons why atheism was rational and religion wasn’t. He would debate all-comers. And I’d like to begin this next sentence with- “Then one day…” but the change didn’t necessarily result from just one day. It was perhaps the result of Greg Habermas patiently debating and talking with Antony Flew for weeks, months and years that eventually made its impact. Professor Flew, previously acknowledged as the world’s leading atheist could no longer argue with any intellectual integrity for atheism. He cited the overwhelming “evidence” for abandoning his atheism and becoming a “theist” (a believer in God).
by Andrew Corbett | Jul 14, 2018 | Apologetics
Experts in Religious Studies will tell you that there are 11 “living” religions. Of these, there are 5 global religions including: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. Of these 5 global religions, 4 of them are missionary religions (Judaism is the exception). This article is in an introduction to how Christianity is different from these three other “missionary” religions.
FACTS ABOUT THE FOUR GLOBAL MISSIONARY RELIGIONS
It is estimated that there are 2.1 billion people who identify themselves as Christian. (Source: “Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents”. 2005. Retrieved 19 Jun 2010.)
WHAT IS A RELIGION?
Religion is generally considered to be (1) a system of worship which has a set of beliefs and rules expressed in certain rituals with varying degrees of devotion ranging from nominalism to devotee. Most usually, religion involves (2) worship of God and a set of beliefs about God and His will for mankind. It provides (3) a way of looking at life, mankind’s condition, God’s relationship to His creation, the appropriate way to respond to God, and how people should treat each other. This is called “worldview”.
by Andrew Corbett | Jul 13, 2018 | Apologetics
Miracles have become increasingly heard of in our culture. Our team is getting thrashed yet somehow in the final throes of the game they manage to win! The commentators describe their win as ‘a miracle’. Twelve young soccer players and their young coach end up trapped in a Thai cave system due to the rising waters of monsoonal rains. A team of 90 rescuers were able to rescue them over three days before the cave completely filled with water. Every reporter I heard described the rescue as ‘a miracle’. While these commentators and reporters may be correct, these are not the ‘miracles’ we are now dealing with. And while the ability of spiders to spin a web is also, according to Dr. Dorian, ‘a miracle’, neither is this what we are dealing with.
Simon was a conjurer had learned how to manipulate people. People who saw him perform his conjuring referred to him as, “The Great One”, and some even referred to him as “God”. Then one day, two apostles arrived in his Samaritan village and began performing miracles as ‘sign’ and ‘wonders’ for the message they were bringing about a resurrected Saviour. Simon the Sorcerer, as it appears he called himself, was gobsmacked. He couldn’t see how these former fishermen were doing it. They must have paid a lot of money to have learned how to manipulate people like this, he may have thought. Perhaps he wondered whether he had to baptised to be initiated into this secret society of magicians?
Truth be told, these charlatans probably knew that it was the power of God behind the extraordinary deeds of Moses and Aaron from their very first miraculous plague! Even today there are those who have made it their mission to debunk the genuine power of God by using mentalism and trickery to imitate the miraculous gifts of the Spirit. For example, Derren Brown in his 2015 stage show, MIRACLES, now available on Netflix as a TV show, admits from the outset that – “I happily admit cheating, as it’s all part of the game. I hope some of the fun for the viewer comes from not knowing what’s real and what isn’t. I am an entertainer first and foremost.” [Source] With this in mind, most viewers are immediately disarmed by the opening claim: “No stooges or actors are used in this show.” Yeah right!
by Andrew Corbett | Jul 10, 2018 | Philosophy
In her book, Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey tells a typical story occurring among many of today’s Christians. She writes about a young lady who got saved in a contemporary church and continued on with her education then career.
Although she was sincere about her conversion, she found herself living in three worlds. On Sundays she was in the Christian-world. On Mondays she was in her university science class world. On Sundays she would hear all kinds of helpful messages (and occasionally something from the Bible). But on Mondays she would move into her other world where things of the Bible are not only denied- they are ridiculed. Somehow she was able to live in her Christian world on Sundays by telling herself that what she knew to be true from her Monday science world was a different kind of truth from what she was now hearing. Therefore, when she entered her third world she saw no dilemma. That’s why she saw no problem in taking a job as a technician in an Abortion Clinic. She had done what many Christians are now doing. She had compartmentalised truth into different worldviews…
by Andrew Corbett | Jul 9, 2018 | Apologetics
Is there an intellectual basis for believing in God? Or is being religious just a matter of faith? Christianity invites scrutiny into its claims and its reasons for having faith and these deserve examination. And what’s at stake is the entire credibility of the Bible!
Some people feel that acceptance of God is entirely a matter of faith. But the Scriptures actually claim that it is the truth which is the basis for this faith (Rom. 10:17). Truth is only truth if it is objective truth, that is, it is true for everyone regardless of time or circumstances. Thus, God is either true (and there can be objective proofs to support this), or He is not true and only subjective ‘truth’ can be offered for ‘proof’.
