Contending with Christianity’s Critics

Several weeks ago, our church went to a conference hosted by Watermark Community Church, “Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Answering New Atheists and Other Objectors.” The audio and video from that conference is now available on Watermark’s website. You can download or view/listen online to all seven of the messages: “The Importance of Apologetics for Every […]

Grab bag

Some helpful articles from the last week: Chad Hall identifies “Three Reasons We Should Not Share the Gospel” — insecurity, arrogance, and narcissism. “What do all of these poor motivations have in common? Each one places the needs and interests of the evangelist ahead of the needs and interests of the other. Evangelism should always […]

Book blurbs

In the interest of “something is better than nothing,” here are a few blurbs and comments on some books I’ve recently completed reading: Title: Atheism Remix Author: R. Albert Mohler, Jr. Publisher: Crossway, 2008, 108 pp., $15.99 Recommendation (4-star scale): Summary: This book is based on a series of four messages that Mohler gave at […]

Christopher Hitchens vs. Douglas Wilson

One final post about Christopher Hitchens. A couple of years ago, he and Douglas Wilson had a series of debates about the goodness of God and Christianity. This film was produced about those debates. HT: Justin Taylor.

How to think about the death of an unbeliever

The death of Christopher Hitchens this week has prompted much discussion among Christians. Justin Taylor reflects on Hitchens’ life through a remembrance of his own “crisis of faith” while in college. Taylor ultimately moved towards Christ while Hitchens was adamant of his rejection of Christ: Hitchens suspected there would be rumors of a deathbed conversion—but […]

A reflection on Christopher Hitchens’ death

Christopher Hitchens, considered a leader in the “New Atheism” movement, has died. Pastor and theologian Douglas Wilson, who had a long-standing relationship that grew out of a series of debates with Hitchens (he commented one time, “if Christopher and I were not careful, we were in danger of becoming friends”), has written a compelling reflection […]

Grab bag

Found around the internet in the past week — C. J. Mahaney blogs about “The Pastor and Personal Criticism.” But it’s not just pastors who need to understand the role of criticism in their lives (to produce wisdom and maturity). We can all benefit from the criticism we receive: If we could mature in wisdom […]

Good without God? We can be better?

A few weeks ago, the city of Fort Worth created quite a stir when four city buses began carrying an advertisement from the Dallas-Fort Worth Coalition of Reason stating, “Millions of Americans are Good Without God.” [Fort Worth Star-Telegram.] Negative response to the advertising campaign led to the city quickly deciding that no buses would […]

Grab bag

A few things I’ve spotted around the internet lately: Can six seconds a day protect your marriage? Jani Ortlund says it can — if it’s a six-second kiss. Unbelieving pastors? Say it ain’t so. And yet there are some. Perhaps (probably?) the report by new-atheist proponent Daniel Dennett is biased, but if he could find […]

Religious theists and saving faith

Faith in God is not enough to save a man. Two related stories that came across my computer screen this morning authenticate that statement. The USA Today references this morning a survey by Lifeway Christian Resources about the so-called faith of young adults (age 18-29). In this study, among those who identified themselves as “Christian:” […]

Can an atheist give thanks tomorrow?

Thanksgiving is a deeply theological act, rightly understood. As a matter of fact, thankfulness is a theology in microcosm — a key to understanding what we really believe about God, ourselves, and the world we experience. A haunting question is this: How do atheists observe Thanksgiving? I can easily understand that an atheist or agnostic […]

Grab bag

Some random posts and articles that I’ve accumulated recently from around the ‘net: Charles Spurgeon meditates on walking with like Christ (this classic book, Morning and Evening can be downloaded in its entirety for reading at your leisure). Luther posts the 95 theses (if you’ve never really understood what the theses were all about…) Tim […]

Grab Bag

An assortment of miscellaneous articles and thoughts from around the web: Al Mohler, “Looking Back: TIME asks: ‘Is God Dead John Piper, “10 Reasons Why Believing in the Sovereignty of God Matters” A couple books that look interesting (I have not read these books and know nothing about them other than what you will read […]

What makes many atheists afraid of atheism

Many years ago, a friend loaned me a book and said, “I just picked this up — I think you would really appreciate it. Let me know what you think.” I was not long into the book, Henry Morris’s The Long War Against God, before I found myself fighting the urge to grab a highlighter […]

Nathan Busenitz – A New Kind of Fool

WHAT IS THE NEW ATHEISM? Term coined by Ronald Aronson — Wayne State Prof. Key books — Dawkins, Harris, etc. Mohler’s book, Atheism Remix very helpful The New Atheists are evangelistic in intent — see atheism as the only plausible world view for our times Simon Hooper, CNN — religion should not simply be tolerated, […]