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CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS | REASON FOR HOPE
Study this website if you are looking for any of the following:
- Christian Theology and Apologetics presented at a level characteristic of thinking adults rather than the usual sixth-grade level characteristic of Sermons and Sunday School.
- Christian Theology in the format of individual, stand alone, self-contained Sections or pages where each Section represents the distillation and integration of a particular and unique teaching set forth by one or more iconic Christian leaders; 233 such pages cover the breadth and depth of Christian Theology, meticulously referenced and judiciously cross-linked, and may be studied as stand-alone packets or as intramural groups of related concepts.
- Christian Apologetics framed by logic and reason and based on Scripture, personal experience and the great traditions of the Church of Jesus Christ.
- A structurally sound composite of Wesleyan/Arminian Apologetics and Theology embedded in a matrix of truth.
- Christian Apologetics constructed according to Wesley’s Quadrilateral.
- Populist renditions of Christian Theology faithful to the teachings of Arminius, Episcopius, Wesley, Watson, Wakefield, Pope, Miley, Wiley, and Chambers.
- Speculation about origins revealed by certain numbers encrypted in genesis.
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This website is dedicated to the hundreds of millions of Christians, worldwide, persecuted for their faith by evil without mercy and this website celebrates the 21st century, spiritual rebirth of Wesleyan Methodism subsequent to its 20th century, spiritual demise.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Transforming lives for the glory of God
THE NEXT DENOUEMENT
A theme that underlies the entire ministry of Jesus Christ is the apocalyptic assumption that God is battling Satan for all creation and the souls of all mankind. Jesus understood Himself to be the one in whom this battle was to be played out in a decisive way. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and establish God’s domain. This objective was accomplished when God the Son allowed Himself to be crucified (Heb 2:14) as the only possible sacrifice to generate the reconciliation, expiation and propitiation that took place between God and His creation and God and the souls of all mankind. The death of Jesus Christ occurred at a specific time and place (John 19:30); but the consequences of this substitutionary atonement instantly exploded throughout Heaven, Hell, and the universe, throughout all that has been, all that is and all that ever will be.
By the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, all creation was redeemed from the bondage of evil and each soul was offered redemption from the bondage of sin. But Satan was not a willing seller and is at war with God to retain possession. The outcome of the struggle was completely decided by the substitutionary atonement. Yet few would claim Jesus has set His corrupted creation free from the influence of Satan or set redeemed souls free from the influence of sin. Evil continues to rage; the world, at every level, is at war. Christians are on the front lines of this Great War between good and evil whether we like it or not. As we stand side by side with Jesus in this war, the suffering of the Christian soldier has a meaning and value to God commensurate with this titanic spiritual struggle of the ages.
God created the universe with such precision that the slightest change in any one of its properties would preclude our existence and God designed the earth as a home for man. God placed certain powerful angels in charge of His creation and instructed them to be good stewards. Some angels began to oppose God under the leadership of Satan, the most powerful and intelligent of all rebellious angels. Satan exercises a pervasive, structural and diabolical influence, on whatever he touches, which caused all creation to be captured by the bondage of evil. That which God created as good began to exhibit a pain-ridden, bloodthirsty, sinister and hostile demeanor. “Mother Nature,” became an inherently violent and terrifying system dominated by disease, suffering and death – a system red in tooth and claw. Man had not yet been created.
God set aside some real estate for the Garden of Eden and restored it to its condition prior to Satan’s diabolical influence. He then created Adam and Eve to live in this Garden. In full view of all the angels in Heaven, Satan demanded unrestricted access to Adam and Eve and, although they were created sinless, Satan won them over. Evil had taken up residence in the soul of man, that particular evil called sin. The will, intellect and heart of Adam and Eve had been possessed and permeated by sin. But what about us, the descendants of Adam and Eve?
God is just. God does not impute to us the individual sins of Adam and Eve. But He knew it would be pointless to allow the offspring of Adam and Eve to be born sinless. He knew they would follow exactly the same path as their created ancestors. So He allowed the generations of Adam and Eve’s offspring to be born with a sin nature. We are all born corrupt, averse to God and inclined to evil. However, for this depraved nature we are not responsible and no guilt or demerit attaches to it. We become responsible for this sin nature only after attaining the age of accountability and ratifying it as our own. The age of accountability is not the same for all persons and, for many, it may be very young indeed.
God knew, before the creation of the universe, that all this was going to happen. On one hand, God knew sin would prevent Him from fellowship with man; on the other hand, God knew He would love each individual unconditionally and would not want eternal separation to be the inevitable consequence of sin. But sin could not simply be overlooked; a price had to be paid for every crime. Unfortunately, if you and I paid the price for our own crimes, our souls would spend eternity in Hell. Before the universe began, God chose an incredible, astounding and magnificent solution to this dilemma.
Although God could have simply restored and repossessed His corrupted creation and the corrupted souls of mankind, His purity of wisdom, holiness, justice and truth demanded a punishment for every evil, particularly that evil called sin which resides in the human soul. Only one punishment, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, was great enough to redeem all creation from the bondage of evil and offer redemption from the bondage of sin to all mankind. But Satan will never acknowledge the efficacy of that punishment. He is battling God to retain possession of that which was given to him (Luke 4:5-7). The substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ began a new phase of warfare. It marked the denouement when God the Son redeemed all creation from the bondage of evil and began the process of setting creation free from the influence of Satan himself. That denouement also marked the instant when God the Son offered redemption from the bondage of sin to all mankind and began the process of setting redeemed souls free from the influence of sin itself. For a time and within limits, God continues to permit certain consequences of rampant rebellion and the brutal corruption of all life. But He expects His people to engage the enemy and be soldiers in His army.
In these last days, Satan is making a ferocious attempt to demean God, discredit man and destroy God’s relationship with man in full view of all the angels in Heaven! Satan’s all-consuming purpose is to drive an irremovable wedge between God and man, to affect an alienation that cannot be reconciled. Satan claims the concept of salvation by faith, the grace of God and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ is a sham. God the Father should not have attempted it, Jesus Christ could not have legitimately paid for it and you and I, driven by our sin nature, could never receive it. According to Satan, it’s all smoke and mirrors so that God can save his wretched humans without appearing to compromise His own character. The accusation, once raised, cannot be removed, not even by destroying the accuser. If the salvation offered to every man and woman can be exposed as a perversion of wisdom, holiness, justice and truth, then a chasm of alienation would stand between God and man that could not be bridged. Reconciliation would be unthinkable. God’s whole enterprise in creation would be radically and irrevocably flawed; He could only sweep it away in awful judgment as He nearly did once before (Gen 6:5-7).
As integral players in this Great War, the course of our Christian lives must never elicit the rulers and authorities in heavenly realms to question the manifold wisdom, holiness, justice and truth of God.
Christians eagerly anticipate the next denouement but the struggle is relentless!
ARE YOU LIVING IN BONDAGE TO SIN?
DOES YOUR HEART YEARN TO BE BORN AGAIN?
Pray this Prayer
Almighty God, I come into your presence
Confessing my sin nature and behavior,
Having remorse in my heart,
Wanting to repent,
Asking Your forgiveness,
Forgiving those who have sinned against me
And believing I am saved from eternal damnation
By faith, the grace of God and the Substitutionary Atonement of Jesus Christ
I pray that the Holy Spirit will
Occupy and purify my heart,
Make known to me the will of God,
Help me discern the truth,
Be Lord of my life
And keep me on the path of repentance, faith and obedience,
Continually reaffirmed and renewed.
Amen
INSTRUCTIONS FOR NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST
If you prayed this prayer to the depths of your soul,
You’re redeemed from the bondage of sin.
Serving God is now your primary goal,
He will work hard to make sure you win.
You are born again by the Spirit of God,
And baptized with His Spirit as well.
Your soul has transformed by His wink and His nod,
And you’re no longer headed for Hell.
Should you tell those who may not believe it?
Should you reveal what you know to be true?
How can you help them receive it?
Let God lead them to truth via you?
You must help the lost cross the finish line,
After God brings them one step away.
God says, “I want to possess what has always been mine.”
We must double our efforts today.
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WHAT RESOURCES FOR CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS WEBSITE?
This website is intended to serve the hundreds of millions of seekers worldwide who sense the Prevenient Grace of God calling them, awakening them, drawing them near and convicting their souls. These seekers want to know what the Bible teaches, why they should believe it and what they should do about it. They are faced with a plethora of barely understandable denominational Books of Discipline, Articles of Religion, Confessions, Decrees of God, Statements of Faith and Message and other documents claiming to codify what Christians believe (Theology). Additional documents must then be sought to explain why anyone should accept these beliefs as true (Apologetics). A straightforward take on Christian Theology and Christian Apologetics can be found at this website.
Seasoned Christians might also find this website useful for testing their own beliefs against the 233 stand-alone sections of Theology Corner and the 10 stand-alone chapters of Christian Handbook of Reason and Insight for Scientists and Technologists. If a reader rejects the contents of a particular presentation, then the reader must formulate counter arguments embracing reason (sequences of logical steps) based on Scripture, personal experience and history. Engaging in this exercise requires you to think about what you believe and why you believe it!
WHY NOT JUST WATCH TELEVISION?
Theology Corner reveals aspects of Christian Theology unlikely to be gleaned from church, television or internet. You are unlikely to encounter these ideas because alethophobic Christian expositors fear the revelation of truth might adversely affect their popularity. Were you born corrupt, averse to God and inclined to evil? Can you rid yourself of sin? Is Satan nearer than you think? Insightful expositors know most people don’t want to engage in this sort of theological vexation and they give you Just So stories instead! For example, classical Christianity teaches that:
Each person who responds to God's grace and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ by confession of sin, remorse, repentance, faith, and obedience receives the great gift of salvation. Each person who resists God's grace is condemned to everlasting punishment.
- Each person who responds to God's grace and the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ by
- confession of sin (Ps 32:3-5; 1 John 1:8-10),
- remorse (Ps 66:18; Luke 18:13),
- repentance (Mat 3:8; Rom 12:2, 13:14; Eph 4:23-24; Rev 2:5, 16, 3:3, 19),
- faith (John 6:29, 3:16-17; Acts 16:31; Eph 2:8-10) and
- obedience (Mat 28:20; Luke 11:28; John 14:15; Rom 1:5, 6:16; Heb 5:9)
- receives the great gift of salvation (Acts 4:12; Rom 1:16; 2 Cor 7:10; 1 Thes 5:9; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:9, 18-19).
- Each person who resists God's grace is condemned to everlasting punishment (Mat 25:46; 2 Thes 1:8-9).
Christian belief must be preceded by repentance and followed by obedience to qualify as faith. Faith is not just an intellectual exercise (Jam 2:19) or an emotional experience (Jer 17:9).
But many modern churches have developed a method for skipping over confession of sin, remorse, and repentance. They say, “Just invite Jesus into your heart and you will be saved.” This presumed short-cut to salvation requires no confession, no remorse and no repentance. Moreover, it can give a green light to continued substance abuse, promiscuity, and all kinds of sin. It may, however, cause consternation within a certain portion of the congregation. To maintain serenity, the pastor frequently attempts to solidify his theology by teaching that, “Jesus loves you just the way you are.” Confession of sin, remorse and repentance are of no importance to such a church. Furthermore, these purveyors of modern, sanitized, user-friendly, self-serving Christianity are reluctant to address the following questions:
- What Have Christians Always Believed?
- What are Some Doctrinal Errors?
- Will You Receive God's Gift?
- Will You Seek God's Holiness?
- Does Prayer Have Power Today?
- Is Healing Prayer for You?
- Is Life Afflicted with Uncertainty?
- Does the Bible Expose Evil?
- Is Satan Alive and Well?
- Is Church in Downward Spiral?
- Will You Give God Obedience?
- Can You Glimpse God's Attributes?
- Can Truth Free Your Heart?
- Is the Universe Exquisitely Old?
These questions designate the 14 Categories or major subdivisions in the Theology Corner portion of this website.
DO YOUR SPIRITUAL LEADERS EMBRACE FIDEISM?
The full scope of this website refutes fideism. Many Christian teachers are locked in the fraud of fideism and, consequently, advocate the belief that religious truth must be based solely on faith. They believe truth does not need the support of logic and reason based, in turn, on the evidence of Scripture, personal experience and the great traditions of the church. For such teachers, Christian Apologetics is a gratuitous exercise in foolishness.
IS A BIBLICAL PROCESS MORE IMPORTANT THAN A BIBLICAL OBJECTIVE?
Furthermore, this website shines a light on the difference between Biblical objectives, such as those listed below, and the processes by which these objectives are accomplished.
Great Commandment (Mat 22:36-40)
Love God and Worship Him
Love Your Neighbors and Minister to Them
Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20)
Evangelism
Enlarge the Fellowship of Believers
Discipleship
Restoration of Sick, Injured and Disabled (Luke 9:2, 10:9)
Simply stating objectives does not reveal anything about God’s processes for achieving them. Extraction of objectives from Scripture is easy; extraction of processes is hard. But why is that important? As unlikely as it may seem, following Biblical Processes may be even more valuable to God than accomplishing Biblical Objectives. As Oswald Chambers so aptly expressed:
“What we call the process, God calls the end…It is the process, not the end which is glorifying to God…If we realize that obedience is the end, then each moment as it comes is precious.”
Biblical processes include but are not limited to:
- Engaging in United Corporate Prayer
- Administering the Healing Activity
- Elucidating Truth
- Magnifying God in our Lives
The process of Elucidating Truth can be accomplished by you as an individual using classical logic based on the evidence of Scripture, tradition and personal experience. Truth should never be based on feelings, intuition and emotions or on blind faith in some authority figure. The process of Magnifying God in Our Lives can also be accomplished by you as an individual. But the processes of Engaging in United Corporate Prayer and Administering the Healing Activity require two or more persons, perhaps you and me.
The Theology Corner portion of this website encompasses 14 categories comprising the foundations of Christianity. Four of these categories provide insight into the four processes listed above:
- Does Prayer Have Power Today?
- Is Healing Prayer For You?
- Can Truth Free Your Heart?
- What Have Christians Always Believed?
Some websites are about Christian Theology.
This website is Christian Theology.
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WHAT RESOURCES FOR CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS WEBSITE?
The Book portion of this website (Christian Handbook of Reason and Insight for Scientists and Technologists) is aimed at Christian Apologetics and explains why Christians logically embrace their beliefs. Sadly, such explanations are wasted on many Americans in the Gen-X and Gen-Y (millennial) age range and most Americans in the Gen-Z age range. These individuals have been taught to think of themselves as sociological victims of a corrupt American culture and, consequently, they believe they must be entitled to special privilege and certainly not deserving of the judgement of an angry God! These are the self-appointed victims of a society actually torn asunder by their own hand but which is, they believe, the victim of phony religious values; they are highly offended by ‘intolerant’ Christian teaching.
Even as WOKE, uneducated professors rail, without logic or reason, against racism, patriarchy and heteronormativity, and demand diversity, equity and inclusion, a remnant of students retains the ability to think logically. They may be majoring in engineering, mathematics or information technology. But even this remnant will seldom use their analytical minds to think about what Christians believe and why they believe it. Here is why!
It is very difficult for students with analytical minds to think of themselves as having a heart, intellect and will, permeated by sin which, in truth, entitles them, not to special privilege, but to eternity in Hell! They are unable to receive the great gift of salvation because they are unable to confess their own sin nature and behavior; they are unable to feel remorse; they are unable to repent; they are unable to believe; they are unable to obey. Remember, even Satan is righteous in his own eyes. Without confession of sin, remorse, repentance, faith and obedience, there is no salvation from sin. To avoid dealing with this unpleasant situation, they simply avoid the evidence that demands a verdict. How do I know all these things? For the first 40 years of my life, I was one of them!
Some websites are about Christian Apologetics.
This website is Christian Apologetics.
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IS A PORTION OF THIS WEBSITE DEVOTED TO THEOLOGICAL SPECULATION?
The Encrypted in Genesis portion of this website falls under the category of theological speculation. It presents technical articles based on the Judeo-Christian tradition that God arranged the 304,805 character string of concatenated words in the Torah to reveal not only a spiritual message but also to encrypt fundamental information about the beginning of the universe and its development over time.
Some websites deny the possibility of hidden Biblical messages.
This website demonstrates that possibility.
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WHAT IS THE THEOLOGICAL DISPOSITION OF THIS WEBSITE?
It should be noted, at the outset, that Wesleyan/Arminian Theology as opposed to Reformed Theology provides structure for this website. The following theological positions are reflected throughout:
- Calvinism is not supported by Scripture taken in its entirety.
- Calvinism is not supported by logic and reason.
- Calvinism is blasphemy at its core.
Wesley himself delivered compassionate refutations and repudiations of Calvinism in such vehicles as: Sermon 128 delivered at Bristol in 1740 entitled Free Grace and his pamphlet entitled Serious Considerations on Absolute Predestination.
But why does Protestant Christianity find itself in this theological warfare? The short answer is that Luther and Calvin were attempting to alter the course of Christianity after centuries of Roman Catholic corruption (e.g. Luther’s 95 Theses) and, unfortunately, under the leadership of Calvin, they took the wrong fork in the road. They followed Augustine. In particular, Calvin unswervingly followed Augustine’s logic: the unconditional election by God of only a few to salvation, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ only for these elect individuals, the irresistible grace of God only for the elect and eternal security only for the elect. James Arminius, Simon Episcopius and their progeny were trying to make a course correction for the newly created Protestant Church and return to the theology of the Apostles and Apostolic Fathers.
Why does this have any relevance today? After all, we have many non-denominational, inter-denominational and even denominational churches who claim to be above such conflict. Perhaps the Five Points of the Remonstrance and the Five Points of the TULIP can be intermingled to synthesize a super theology – perhaps a 3-point Calvinist and a 2-point Arminian theology. Unfortunately, those who follow this path do not think clearly. Every Christian church must embrace either Arminian Theology (Wesleyan/Arminian) or Calvinist Theology (Reformed). The points of both theological systems cannot be changed, separated or mixed. The two sets are mutually exclusive. Also, this issue cannot be avoided by focusing on other matters as a distraction. The issue can only be avoided by keeping the congregation ignorant or following a path which essentially is not Christian.
Is this a fight which should be fought? What would Jesus do? Did Jesus and the apostles sacrifice truth on a glorified altar of peace and unity (Mat 10:34; 1 John 4:1-4; 2 Pet 2:1)? Is the history of the Christian church one of theological appeasement (1 Thes 5:21)? Did the church welcome the beliefs of the Gnostics, Docetists, Ebionites, Arians, Apollinarians, Nestorians, Eutychians and Sabellians in the name of peace and unity? When Marcion demanded that Polycarp recognize his teaching, did Polycarp embrace him in the name of peace and unity or did Polycarp respond, "I recognize you as the first-born of Satan?"
Some websites conceal their true theology by means of obfuscation and jargon.
This website unabashedly embraces Wesleyan/Arminian Theology.
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CAN THIS WEBSITE BE USED AS AN ADJUNCT RESOURCE FOR TEACHING?
Consult THE AUTHOR to investigate the possibility that this website could be used as an adjunct resource for teaching Christian Apologetics and Christian Theology. Educational resources described as non-denominational, inter-denominational, progressive or modern, or resources certified by a particular denomination may be laced with humanism.
SETTING THE STAGE
THERE IS A WAY THAT SEEMS RIGHT TO A MAN BUT THE END THEREOF LEADS TO DEATH
The fastest growing religious affiliation in America is “none” now comprising nearly one third of the adult population. In at least a dozen developed countries, including America, between twenty five and sixty five percent of the population reject the concept of “life after death.” By any statistical assessment, religiosity is declining and atheism is ascending in all but the poorest nations of the world.
For the first time since 1937, fewer than half of Americans (47%) belong to a church. Church membership remained steady (68-70%) for many decades until a precipitous decline began around the year 2000. The United States of America is no longer a Christian nation! It is, instead, a collection of loosely bound, humanistic groups that, on occasion, become mobs. A humanistic culture is one embracing the concept that men and women can begin from themselves and derive the standards by which to judge all things. There are, for such people, no fixed standards of behavior, no standards that cannot be eroded or replaced by what seems necessary, expedient or fashionable. The humanistic culture of the country is reflected by our leaders and particularly by our judges who hide their humanism behind black robes. But we, in America, have gone a step further than merely humanistic leadership. We have segregated ourselves into groups, or mobs, many of which hate our country, hate our constitution, hate our culture, hate our history, hate our institutions, hate our flag, hate God and yearn for anarchy followed by totalitarianism. These mobs spit on equality of opportunity and demand equality of outcomes. They want to cancel our culture and revise our history. We are lurching toward anarchy followed by socialism, communism and, ultimately, totalitarianism.
A Judeo-Christian world view dominated the West for centuries. Biblical doctrine was preached not as a truth but as the truth. This teaching formed not only the religious base of society but the cultural, legal and governmental bases as well. For example, people viewed human life as unique, to be protected and loved, because each individual is created in the image of God. We talked about the sanctity of human life. But now the consensus of our society no longer rests on a Judeo-Christian base, but rather on a humanistic one. Now the United States aborts about 3000 humans per day in the name of reproductive rights. Humanism makes man the measure of all things. It puts man rather than God at the center. The Christian Church has become part of this transition. Much of the church no longer holds that the Bible is the Word of God.
In a mere 240 years, the United States of America has been transformed from a Christian based society to a Godless, humanistic society and, when a nation abandons God, God abandons the nation. Mysteriously, this most recent sociological revolution has many trappings of a religion. Every American is placed in one of two categories which, for the purpose of illustration, can be called elect and reprobate. All reprobate Americans are afflicted with an original sin. Redemption from the bondage of this original sin is possible but only by following spiritual leaders called the woke. Most of the woke rely on a humanist foundation for their vast wisdom but the most influential derive their authority from a higher source which serves as their god. This higher source has not been clearly identified but there are some likely candidates (Eph 2:2, 6:11-12).
In the midst of this sociological transformation, the organized church has utterly failed the United States of America. Pastors and other powerful leaders, propped-up by Seminaries and Bible Colleges, either join the revolution or pretend it doesn’t exist. Those pastors who join the revolution are preoccupied with social justice, critical race theory, intersectionality and the implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion; they have little time for such anachronistic endeavors as evangelism and discipleship. Those pastors who pretend the revolution doesn’t exist believe their churches can function and flourish in a pretend 1950s time frame. Either way, evangelically minded Christians are unable to accomplish the assignments given to them long ago by Jesus Christ [Great Commandment (Mat 22:36-40), Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20), Healing (Luke 9:2, 10:9)].
Some evangelicals settle for ritual faithfulness because the organized church is stifling their Great Commission fruitfulness. This is a risky approach because the wealth of Jesus Christ comprises the sum total of all saved souls. Jesus expects Christians to increase His wealth by helping those who are being convicted of sin to make it across the finish line. If we refuse to use our great gift of salvation to help others cross the finish line, then we are no better than the wicked and slothful servant who hid his master's wealth in the ground (Mat 25:14-30). ‘Well done my good and faithful servant’ are the words each Christian hopes to hear from Jesus; but, someday, American Christians might hear instead, ‘My Church effectively died in America on your watch; I am holding you responsible.’
Could it be that traditional outreach practices (i.e. invite your neighbor to church, workplace evangelism, friendship evangelism, door to door witnessing, etc.) are marginally effective in 21st century America? Could it be that the motives of those who deliver the Christian message are frequently viewed with deep suspicion and mistrust? Perhaps Christians worldwide could rediscover an ancient approach unaffected by motives and independent of marketing strategies. That approach would be to advocate and implement the fundamental principles of Christian Theology and Christian Apologetics presented in this website.
ALWAYS BE READY TO GIVE A REASON FOR THE HOPE THAT IS IN YOU WITH HUMILITY AND RESPECT
Is Christianity grounded in the events of history, the facts of science, the rules of logic or any reasonable concept of truth? Supportive evidence has been available for decades but it was often concealed in a web of unsound science, false logic and personal truth. The book entitled Christian Handbook of Reason and Insight for Scientists and Technologists, available free from this website, places existing information in a framework of sound science, solid logic and absolute truth. Most of the references are 4 - 5 decades old suggesting the presentation may be new but the information is not.
Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." If this book motivates one non-Christian to "open the door," its primary purpose will have been accomplished. If one Christian becomes a stronger apologist, a secondary purpose will have been accomplished.
Ten questions are addressed with classical logic; supplementary material has been relegated to the references so the reader can focus entirely on the critical arguments. This book is not a source of original thought; instead, it is a compendium of critical arguments uncluttered by supplementary material and excessive personal opinion. The reader is challenged to refute these arguments. From a denominational vantage, the book fits all flavors except Young Earth (Theology Corner, Section 14.1).
EXAMINE EVERYTHING CAREFULLY; HOLD FAST TO THAT WHICH IS GOOD
In addition to a text on Christian Apologetics, this website contains the author's perspective on a variety of Christian issues including: The Illogical and Blasphemous Aspects of Calvinism; The True Source of Evil; The Meaning of Holiness; The Impending Death of the Protestant Church in America; Whether Satan is Alive and Well; The Core Beliefs of Christianity; The Purpose of Prayer and a Proper Christian Perspective on Healing. This commentary, located in "Theology Corner," is Wesleyan/Arminian with a Theodicy based on Satan and his minions. A concise defense of Wesleyan/Arminian Theology, together with a repudiation of Reformed Theology, is woven into Theology Corner. This stark comparison is not readily available from the web or contemporary literature. Furthermore, mainline Wesleyan/Arminian denominations (UMC, Nazarene, Wesleyan, etc.) have become so preoccupied with social activism, political correctness and the introverted pursuit of personal holiness that they no longer have the time or inclination to defend their historic beliefs. However, Traditional Southern Baptists have been standing in the gap by affirming the essence of Prevenient Grace and embracing all five points of the Remonstrance except the one denying eternal security.
Theology Corner is a completed work with 233 self-contained, stand-alone Sections or Chapters. Each Section represents a distillation and integration of important ideas set forth by iconic Christian teachers. A common theme is the great, ongoing war between good and evil with Christians standing side by side with Jesus Christ.
WHAT IS SEEN WAS NOT MADE OUT OF THINGS WHICH ARE VISIBLE
This website also presents technical articles based on the Judeo-Christian tradition that God arranged the 304,805 character string of concatenated words in the Torah to reveal not only a spiritual message but also to encrypt fundamental information about the beginning of the universe and its development over time including the entirety of physics, chemistry, biology and human history…a message within a message. These articles are located in Encrypted in Genesis and include:
Genesis of the Reciprocal Fine Structure Constant
Genesis of the Genetic Code for Life
Genesis of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Matrix
Genesis of the Countably Infinite Universe
Genesis of the Ecliptic Divide of the Cosmos
Genesis of Preferred Cosmic Directions
Genesis of the Golden Ratio
Genesis of Relative Atomic Mass for the Elements of Periods 1 and 2
A coincidence is a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection. Given sufficient evidence, however, the bridge between “remarkable concurrence of events” and “causal connection” must be crossed. Encrypted in Genesis may not motivate you to cross that bridge, but it might motivate you to put one foot on the bridge!
THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE
This is not a glitz and glamour website. It is primarily for those who want to think about Christianity to determine what they believe and why they believe it. It does not pander to bloggers, mesmerize you with clever graphics and social media apps, bank on name recognition, promote a particular denomination, seek your support or want your money. These activities may be intrinsically legitimate but they are not relevant to the primary objective of Christian Apologetics: "Always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you with humility and respect" (1 Pet 3:15). Christians are at war with the forces of evil and need to be armed with truth concerning their religious beliefs (Eph 6:14).
To put the apologetics portion of this website into perspective for millennials, by 1960, when I graduated high school, the victory of science over Christianity was nearly complete. Jesus Christ was a mythical crutch for ignorant, illogical, weak-willed, neurotic people who couldn't cope with life. In that era, intellectuals embraced the following:
- Although some evidence supports the idea that the universe had a beginning, the steady state theory is alive and well!
- The earth should be viewed as an insignificant, meaningless speck in a universe vast beyond comprehension.
- The moral law is a product of biological evolution or learned social behavior.
- Life appeared spontaneously by random chance from non-living matter (abiogenesis).
- The gradual evolution of complex life from primitive life can be explained by Survival of the Fittest (biological evolution).
But, by 1985, the evidence supported different views:
- The universe began at a definite point in time (The Big Bang).
- The universe appears to exist as a home for us since the slightest change in any one of its fundamental properties would preclude our existence (The Anthropic Principle).
- The moral law appears to have been written on our primitive consciousness.
- The spontaneous generation of first life from non-living matter cannot be explained by any known scientific process.
- Primitive life does not exist; the blueprint for any type of life is incredibly complex. Furthermore, the overall fitness of a creature can neither be measured nor computed since no paradigm exists for reducing the creature to a calculable whole.
Obstacles to Christianity based on physics, chemistry and biology were substantially neutered in less than a generation. During roughly the same time period, Freud's attack on Christianity, as a dangerous mental disorder which should be replaced by psychoanalysis, was also dismantled by evidence. In the absence of new arguments, intellectuals continue to attack Christianity using discredited concepts from the 1960's. But with actual barriers substantially removed, the truth seeker is free to evaluate Christianity based on classical logic, sound reason and the evidence of Scripture, personal experience and great traditions of the church.
To put the contents of Theology Corner into perspective for millennials, many of the several dozen chapters can be viewed as a response to the current death spiral of the Protestant Church in America and beyond. The church is currently in septic shock caused by a massive internal infection. Protestants are succumbing to abscesses deep within the Christian community. Serious infections in the church are generally caused by corrupt Christians and not by external influences. Satan knows the best way to cripple the church is from within; he does this most effectively by corruption of church leadership. Powerful personalities among the upper echelon elite of Christianity practice lawlessness, apostasy, heresy and blasphemy all under the guise of making the teachings of Jesus Christ more palatable in this modern age and more in tune with progressive thinking. Many pastors quickly learn to serve the ones who pay their salaries, control their careers and teach them about the importance of political correctness. Many pastors become entertainment directors for country club churches having such shallow content that every corner of their great edifice is infused with the pall of spiritual death. Most pastors promote congregational ignorance for fear of losing control; an ignorant congregation is a manageable congregation. Most pastors fail to stand firm against the evil sweeping over civilization like a tsunami. Unprincipled pastors and other powerful leaders, propped-up by Seminaries and Bible Colleges, are the root cause of the Protestant Church death spiral. Theology Corner calls them out. These pages outline several years’ worth of topical messages you will never hear in church; most preachers would be reluctant to raise these issues for fear of causing the congregation to think! Consequently, this website will always be considered a rogue outlier by the community of Christian apologists.
By classical logic, Christianity is either absolutely true or absolutely false; there is no in between. Truth is not personal, situational, relative or unknowable; it is absolute. Good hunting!
Copyright Notice
The book "Christian Handbook of Reason and Insight for Scientists and Technologists may be downloaded, printed, copied and freely distributed wholly or in part without charge or obligation. However, the book is the intellectual property of the author and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions and all other applicable national laws. The contents of the book can be changed only by the author. Finally, this book has not been reviewed, approved or sanctioned by any individuals or organizations; the author (Dr. Bruce D. McLaughlin , bruce@christianapologetic.org) is solely responsible for its contents.
