Apologetics and Evidence

I am often confronted with many arguments for the idea that women should be in pastoral leadership. I hear that many women were leaders in the Bible from Deborah, to Anna, to Lydia, and I think we should look at each of these. It seems that the first thing we have to look at is what do we mean by leadership ? I think the question points to eldership (overseer). In other words, can a woman be an elder in the church? A pastor is an elder by office, and therefore, the question is ultimately, should a woman be a pastor (overseer) in the church? This is the question that this article ultimately seeks to answer. It seems that this is a good place for us to see what the scriptures say about women in leadership and then discuss them in turn. Following this examination of scriptures, I will list several arguments concerning the biblical stance, some in regard to the biblical female characters already mentioned. But first, let's look at how the family unit is supposed to operate. Let us ...

“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.” –C. S. Lewis The other day someone said to me that apologetics is a hobby. Is that correct? Is apologetics just a hobby? I have also had someone tell me once that apologetics is not necessary. This was after I had told him that I had a degree in apologetics. Did I spend ten + years of my life on something unnecessary? Many people have the assumption that apologetics is merely arguing with a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness or even a Buddhist . But realistically, when one thinks that, he or she is revealing his or her ignorance on apologetics. Apologetics (Ἀπολογία ) is the act of replying with a defense against charges presumed to be false. It is a branch of philosophy which seeks to defend the Christian faith. Some have borrowed the word apologetics in order to explain that they are defending their own religion, such as Islamic apologetics, etc., but we can all agree that apol...

The Bible presents a problem. It tells us that we have failed God on a moral level, and because of such, we fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). This is speaking to all people on Planet Earth. The Bible also presents a solution. It tells us that God became a man and came to earth and died for our sins (moral failures). Jesus took our place of punishment so that we might have eternal life. This is John 3:16 in a nutshell. But then the question becomes, how do we become saved? Is there anything we must do? The answer is found in Romans 10:9, which says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved.” So there is the basic problem and the basic solution that the Bible presents. Now the question is, How do people have their sins forgiven if they have never heard of Jesus? The Bible is even black and white on this: “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; No one comes to the Father b...

Is it Wrong to tell people About Jesus? I have recently discovered a Barna report which explains that some people find it to be morally wrong to evangelize. First of all, let me say why I think this is the case. Under the guise of postmodernism, people believe that truth is in the subject, rather than the object. Truth is relative, in other words. If your truth is different than my truth, then it would be a severe problem, nay, a moral trespass, to offer someone a different truth that would cause them to leave their own truth. It would be offensive, and morally wrong, if it were the case that truth is relative. For instance, if it were true for me that Mormonism was the way I saw reality, then to change my reality to biblical Christianity would be disastrous. It seems that harming one’s reality should be a reason for concern, but the problem is, what if the way someone views the world does not correspond to the truth? If the truth is not in us (the subject) bu...

There have been so many technological advancements in the last few centuries. I think of foam cement , plastic bottle houses, theological ideas, scientific debates, archaeological connections, not to mention electronic technology, etc. The industrial revolution, for instance, changed the way products are made and the mass production of widgets and Spacely Sprockets means that everyone can have one. The internet allows the lightning fast communication of not only news, but also ideas and technology. Every generation in the past has marveled at how they have noticed the pace of change in their own time, but myself growing up with the internet (late Gen X), I can honestly say that because of the internet, times are changing at a pace the world has never before experienced. The internet has reached the world with new Ideas and has made much of it act as though the world is only made up of first world culture. All this data that I absorb gets me thinking about Matthew 24 . As he ...