The Way Matt Sees It

We’ve been looking at several philosophical arguments for God’s existence.   These arguments show through the laws of logic that God is the best explanation for things like the cause of the universe and the existence of objective moral values and duties. This time we’re examining this claim: God is the best explanation for the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. DEFINE “JESUS” The historical figure known as Jesus of Nazareth had an unprecedented sense of divine authority.   He claimed to have lived a sinless life (John 8:46-47), that he was the only way to God (John 14:6), shared glory with God Himself (John 17:5), that He could forgive sins (Luke 5:20-21), and claimed to be able to give everlasting life (John 11:25) among many others.   These claims were not simply statements he made, but were backed up with miracles and exorcisms.   The chief of these divine acts was his resurrection of the dead. If Jesus truly rose from the dead, this is a divine miracle that s

“I have decided to stick with love.  Hate is too great a burden to bear.”   –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. More people are rejoicing the death of Fred Phelps then there are people mourning it.   He was a man full of hatred who was intentional about letting people know.   Not only that, but he seemingly believed that God shared his sentiment. Was Fred Phelps wrong in what he taught?   Was there any truth in what he preached?   And how should we respond? THE GOD WHO HATES How can God hate anything?   Doesn’t God love everyone?   How could Fred Phelps and his church be so adamant about something that isn’t even in the Bible?  Well in a way, they are right by saying that God hates. God hates sin. God also loves people. What I believe Fred Phelps failed to do, and what American culture in general is unable to do, is separate sin from people .   Although it is true that God hates sin , sin is not the person.   Sin is contrary to God’s perfect and holy natur

That is the question. Why do some Christians observe Lent, while other Bible-believing Christians don’t?   What’s the deal?   Is it unbiblical?   Is it sinful?   Is it simply a matter of taste? WHAT IS LENT? What is Lent anyway?   Lent is the 40-day period of time between Ash Wednesday and Easter that many liturgical Christian churches observe.   Ash Wednesday is when ashes are placed on one’s forehead in the shape of a cross (usually ashes from the palm branches of the previous year’s Palm Sunday).   The idea comes from Jesus Himself; after He was baptized, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before starting His ministry. “The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement and self-denial.” –Wikipedia Lent is a time in which Christians heighten their sensitivity to what Jesus did on the cross.   In preparation for Easter (the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the d

We’ve been looking at several philosophical arguments for God’s existence.   In other words, for what reason should we believe in God ?   We’ve seen the Cosmological Argument (God is the best explanation for the cause of the universe) and the Moral Argument (God is the best explanation for the existence of objective moral values and duties) so far. Let’s instead ask this question: for what reason should we not believe in God? The Problem of Evil is perhaps the best philosophical argument the atheist can provide against God’s existence. Remember what we said about argumentation: a “good” argument is a series of statements, or premises, that lead to a conclusion.   These premises must be logically sound (the conclusion follows the premises by the rules of logic), and its premises are true.   Along with this, it must be shown that there is good reason to believe that what this argument is stating is true. Let’s take a look and see what it states: THE PROBLEM O