Philosophy

Learning to Embrace the Tension Between the Finite and the Infinite

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Photo by Mohammad Ali Berenji on Unsplash Throughout life, I've often encountered ideas in theology which, to our finite human understanding, seems to be contradictory in some way. Yet, the Bible affirms both things as true. Here are two examples: The Trinity - 1 God, 3 PersonsThe Hypostatic Union - Jesus is both fully human and fully divine Of course, each of these topics involves a level of complexity far beyond what I can describe or flesh out here. As such, Christians can (rightly) feel a certain level of angst trying to explain and understand them. Because we are created in God's image, we seek to understand and learn about truth. This often involves making statements of an "either/or" nature, meaning "it can either be this or that, but not both." This allows us to make [Read more...]

What Should Be Considered Art?

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Recently, I got to substitute teach in an art class. The assignment left by the teacher was very interesting and discussed 4 different pieces of "art" and what makes it "art."  The first painting was called "The Chimpanzee Painter." It was a piece of art painted by a chimpanzee named Congo. The second piece of art was a picture of a piece of driftwood. The third was a picture of a man sitting in a street with a sign around his neck saying "I am art." The fourth was a pile of bricks which was displayed in a museum. It was contrasted with a similar pile of bricks being used for construction at a different location. The Chimpanzee PainterPhoto of a piece of driftwoodMan in the street saying, "I am art."Pile of Bricks The purpose of the exercise was to discuss what constitutes [Read more...]

What Does the Bible Say About Abortion?

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The topic of abortion is probably one of the most divisive and emotionally charged issues in our country today. How should a Christian view this controversial subject? On one hand, we want to be loving and compassionate to the women who are struggling with an unwanted pregnancy as a result of rape or perhaps whose lives are threatened by a pregnancy, but on the other hand, if the fetus is indeed a human life, then we don't want to allow the murder of an innocent life. When all things are considered, the issue of abortion boils down to one fundamental question: Is the fetus a human life? If it is a human life, then it has inherent worth and value and deserves all the legal protections that you or I are afforded. If it is not a human life and just a clump of cells, then the moral case [Read more...]

The Limitations of Knowing God Using Natural Theology

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Photo Credit: Amazon Introduction "Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?" (Job 11:7, KJV). Job raises a profound question: Is man, with his finite mind, able to probe into the mysteries of God, who lives on an eternal, infinite plane? Did God leave clues in creation that tell mankind of his existence and characteristics? In order to answer these questions, I will explore several topics. First, I will define what general revelation is and how it relates to natural theology. Following that, I will examine the ontological limitations of mankind in his ability to understand general revelation. Lastly, I will evaluate Scriptures pertaining to natural theology. What are General Revelation, Special Revelation, and Natural Theology? Any [Read more...]

The Problem of Evil

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If God is good, why does he allow evil to exist? The problem of evil is probably one of the most debated subjects in philosophy, as well as one of the most used arguments made by non-theists as a way to prove that God doesn't exist. When addressing a subject such as this, it often comes hidden with a lot of assumptions depending on who’s asking it. Is the person asking an atheist who’s looking for ways to disprove God? Did the person just loose a loved one or suffer some tragedy and is just trying to make sense of life? Every person who asks this question is coming into it with certain experiences that shape the way they approach the question and the way they will react to its answer. As a Christian, I must always make love my primary goal, and put the needs of the questioner above my [Read more...]

What Makes a Man Great?

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In the introduction to Eric Metaxas's book 7 Men and the Secret of Their Greatness, Metaxas wrestles with the ideas surrounding manhood, ultimately arising from the question, "What makes a man great?" What does it mean to be strong? Today, we live in a culture that has redefined these terms to mean something completely different from God's meaning of those terms. There are two false prevailing notions in culture about what manhood is. Metaxas describes them as the idea of being "macho," and the idea of being "emasculated." I call them the bully and the wimp. Interestingly, both stem from misconstrued ideas of strength. The bully feels insecure about his manhood and so abuses his strength to dominate and sometimes hurt others in order to prove to himself or others that he is strong. [Read more...]

Questioning Authority

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I have just started reading Eric Metaxas's book called 7 Men and the Secrets of their Greatness. In his introduction he starts by lamenting the fact that in our culture today, we have no role models to look up to, no heroes to emulate ourselves after, due to the fact that we tend to only focus on people's faults, rather than their strengths and goodness, all in the name of questioning authority. Take, for example, George Washington. Traditionally, he has been affectionately known as the "Father of Our Country" who led our country to independence while denying the opportunity to be made king, but is now instead being viewed as a wealthy landowner who hypocritically owned slaves. But is this really what questioning authority should really mean? Metaxas makes a very interesting point about [Read more...]