Changing Minds...

 "My objective is to change people's minds. I gave up a long time ago trying to get people to do things, and decided instead to help them think things through and come to a different view of matters. My main goal is to help them come to a correct understanding of who they are and where they are, and then they, together with the Lord, can begin to participate in the right kinds of activities." Dallas Willard, Called to Business, 2018.

Why Worry about Words, How Grammar Leads us to God

 

The Argument from Desire

Does God exist and can we Know it? An Argument from Desire. 

THINK About Such Things

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable...if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, THINK about such things!" 

Phillippians 4:8 

Have you ever considered that the Bible commands us to study Philosophy? :)

Though the statement might sound somewhat self-serving for a philosophy professor to claim, notice in the passage above the elements we should ponder. True things fall into the category of Epistemology (the study of knowledge and truth), Noble things are Virtue theory (a subset of Ethics), Right things are explored in the study of Ethics and indeed in the study of Logic, Pure things are studied in Metaphysics (what does it mean to exist, what is pure existence, etc.),  Aesthetics is the study of things that are Lovely, and Admirable things again fall into the category of Ethics and the larger pursuit of Wisdom. All of these are elements of the study of Philosophy! What is more, all these things are excellent and praiseworthy as creations of our perfectly excellent and praiseworthy God. 

So...what does the Bible teach? Go forth and study Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Logic, and Aesthetics...Go forth and study Philosophy! 

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Beauty Points to God?

 Here is the Video link to a webinar I gave on the topic of Beauty as an Evidence for God. 

https://vimeo.com/789574520/84db421305

Nostalgia as an Argument for God

 Nostalgia as an Argument for God

Darrell Dooyema, May 2022

What is that deep feeling, somewhat sweet, somewhat sad, a longing for years gone by?  Why do we have such feelings as human beings?  Could there be any evolutionary benefit to having feelings of nostalgia?  Or, conversely, could they point us toward an eternal reality for which we have been attuned?  

What is nostalgia?  When that specific song plays (yes, that one), or that smell (you know the aroma) hits your nostrils, or you taste again the spice you enjoyed as a youth (or your mother’s recipe)…you are transported in an instant to another time, another place.  It is not too strong of a word to say that in this moment you yearn for something, but for what?  Is there an instinctual desire for something that could aid in your survival here?  Do you yearn for longer life, stronger existence, or reproductive advantage?  No, nostalgia is a longing for the past, a desire to remember, to feel, to taste again, to return to the sweetness of the past, and it seems quite unconcerned with current strength of existence.  A dying patient can experience nostalgia, just as strongly as a vigorously alive individual…a young person just as sure as an aging one.     

Dangerous Bible?

 Video of presentation from Skeptic Week Bergen, Norway

"Er Bibelen Farlig?" or "Is the Bible Dangerous?"

See here on Youtube:  https://youtu.be/61j3PaoFBPI Is the Bible Dangerous?

Bible Contradictions?

A friend recently asked me the following question. "How can God regret His decisions?" He had been discussing 1 Samuel 15 where God says to the prophet Samuel, "I regret that I have made Saul king." (1 Sam 15:11)    

 Here is how I answered: 

Q & A

Click here for the Q & A session from Tough Questions 2016.

Asking & Answering Tough Questions

Full Audio Message of training on Asking & Answering Tough Questions.

Need of the Hour

What is the need of the hour?

What the world desperately needs are young believers, committed to the Word of God to live out their faith into their profession, into their relationships, into their politics, into their world with conviction, courage and the ability to give a reason why. 

True Believers can't be Trusted?

Recently, a student explained to me that he was looking for sources on New Testament that were not connected to any seminary.  His professor had scoffed at the perspective of "insiders" and disallowed their comments from the academic discussion of the historicity of the NT.  This kind of reasoning is both preposterous and hopelessly prejudicial.  It would be akin to disallowing any work by an historian of Abraham Lincoln if the scholar believed what Lincoln said was true.  Or for that matter, no person of color would be allowed to comment on the history of Martin Luther King.  Why would one rule out any argument put forth by a believer?  The professor has merely shown his own cards that are prejudiced toward unbelief.  This is an unfair, unscholarly, and unseemly way to limit academic discourse.

Questions on Time and Foreknowledge

 1) If God exists in and out of our linear concept of time, he theoretically knew that Adam and Eve would eat of the tree and fall to original sin etc; if that was so bad why would he knowingly create the serpent or any entity that would tempt them to do so?

Religious Experience

A student recently asked me about the meaning of Religious Experience for Christians.  Here is my reply...

On religious experience: 

Many people have waxed eloquent on the meaning of RE from lots of religious perspectives, but if I understand you correctly, you would like to talk a bit about how the Christian specifically would look at RE.  I think there are a few important things to keep in view here: 

Scientism

"The Grand Story (of physicalist scientism) is constituted by event causality and eschews both irreducible teleology and agent causation in which the first relatum of the causal relation is in the category of substance and not event." JP Moreland

Put simply, to believe that everything in the universe is material is to believe that freedom of choice is impossible.

Nietzsche Alive on Campus

Nietzsche was right.  Remove the absolute and you are left with a universe that has no borders, no horizon, no way of measuring location or value.  In this deconstructed universe, no one knows which way is up or down, or which direction they are headed or how far they have come.  I just returned from a panel discussion on Gender Identity, Cross-Dressing, and Drag.  A keynote speaker of the panel described gender in terms of the stars in the galaxy saying, "there are as many ways to imagine and construct one's gender as there are stars in the universe."  He recommended this view in opposition to the idea that there are two poles of gender:  male and female.  These "entrenched and policed" ideas (of male and female) are restrictive and mere social inventions, he argued.  Further, he passionately remarked, there are no hierarchical relationships between any of these "stars."  Which way is up?  We have no idea.

Missions: Cultural Oppression?

Last night I was asked to respond to this idea:  Christian missions merely represents cultural oppression, in which the Western missionary swoops in to suppress the natives, import Western values, and in effect ruin the native culture.  Isn't this just a form of new colonialism?

Here are three thoughts I gave in response:

Short Answers, Tough Questions

Many questions require "time in the woodshed" as my seminary professor used to say. Significant time spent thinking through the aspects of the question, looking into potential answers, reading through the documented attempts and criticisms is vastly important and even necessary. Yet, when all the research is done, a simple answer (as Ockham recommended) is best. Your friend who sincerely wants to know, will probably not remember all the details of your complex theory, nor will they be willing (or able) to read all the books and articles you have read on the topic. Formulating your thinking in such a way to answer questions directly, simply, and even with wit will benefit you most.

What is more, consider the way Jesus interacted with others...many times He was the one asking questions. Go and do likewise. ;)

Historical Reliability of the NT

If you are interested in a rather comprehensive (29 page) article by Craig Blomberg on the historical reliability of the NT, I have given you the link here. http://tgc-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/cci/Blomberg.pdf

Blomberg teaches at Denver Seminary and is the recognized expert in this field.

Suffice to say, that the Da Vinci Code myth (that the Bible was put together by people in power and excluded other legitimate ideas about Jesus) is completely false. The article outlines also how the Bible was put together, the textual evidence for its trustworthy transmission of the events of the life of Jesus. Notice as well the conclusion of the article: making the "leap of faith" to trust in Jesus is actually the most reasonable response to the evidence we have!

Are All Religions One?

Do all roads lead to Rome? Do all religions lead to the same destination? Can't we all just get along? :)

Short Answer: The road to Los Angeles does not lead to Paris.

Long Answer: God requires faith in response to His calling and the revelation of the Gospel.  When one hears about Jesus, they are given the choice to believe and obey, or to go their own way (see Romans 10 for study).  A response of "I'll go my own way thanks," is a statement of unbelief.

What about those who never have the chance to hear about Jesus?  Is this a stumbling block for God?  No.   He determines the content of one's faith (see Romans 4). When Abraham, who did not know the name of Jesus, responded to God's revelation in faith, God considered him righteous.  Thus, the method, belief, and knowledge His revelation is up to Him. One thing is clear from the Bible:  we don't get to determine our own way to heaven. A response of FAITH means believing what He tells us and living accordingly.

If God wants to call someone to eternity, He is not bound by geography, time, mental ability, age, or knowledge...He asks only that we respond in faith to His calling, believing what He reveals to us and living accordingly.

So: What has God said to you? Do you believe Him and live accordingly?