Apologetics and Evidence

Grizzly Bear track, Rocky Mountains, Montana. The Seventh Commandment tells us in Exodus chapter twenty to not commit adultery. “You shall not commit adultery” is verbatim in most popular translations. But what does this mean? It seems that sometimes it is thought that adultery only means unfaithful to one’s spouse. But other times Jesus says things like “ Even if you marry someone who has been married then you have committed adultery ” (paraphrase of Matthew 5:32). I think the best way to answer the question of adultery is to think one step further. I think we should answer biblically speaking, the grounds for remarriage . Reaching further would give the argument greater strength. Three Possible Situations It seems that the Bible defines three areas for remarriage, but we should continue to refine the standard from which to catapult. In 1 Timothy chapter three, we observe the qualifications of an overseer. In this, Paul says that one of the qualifications must be that he is t...

What is it that drives us as human beings? We view the world through a particular lens, some of us defining it as we search for truth and others seem to view the world without searching hard at all. What are the answers to the big questions: Where did we come from? What is my purpose in life? What happens when we die? It seems that the way Joseph Smith viewed the world can be answered by taking a peek into his short time here on earth. It appears that he had some strange beliefs about where we come from. Consider the following teaching about God: “We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see. These are incomprehensible ideas to some, but they are simple. It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God the Father of us all, dw...

Hugh Hefner died yesterday. A lot of men wanted to live the life that he did, but possibly a lot of men despised him for making it so easy for their addictions to take over their lives. I was talking with an older gentleman who said of him, something along the lines of, “I don’t know how a man could do such a thing with his life…” I immediately looked at him and said, “I bet if most men were given the chance, they would do the same thing.” The Bible Tells us about the Human Condition (See Romans 3:10-18 ). Think about this... If you had the ability to become invisible at your own command, what would you do with that ability? Many readers might think that probably nothing would change. Then the more you thought about it, the more fun you would have with the idea of it. I bet, if you were honest with yourself, you would come to admit that you would find yourself in the women’s locker rooms and National Banks after hours or on airplanes traveling the world free of charge, etc. Eve...

Finally. Mormons are admitting to the polygamous lifestyle of their founder, Joseph Smith. According to the NY Times, some of the members’ reaction to the news is very disturbing, revealing a loss of hope ( http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/us/its-official-mormon-founder-had-up-to-40-wives.html?smid=fb-share ). The “transparency” of the LDS in this case might just be the straw that broke the camels’ back for many Mormons across the globe. For many of the members of the LDS, they were unaware of the polygamous status that Smith had. It seems that the LDS has covered this up—well—from their members for several decades. Because of this, there are definitely a few questions that this “transparency” of the LDS will create. For one thing, what else will they admit about their history? Will they admit that Joseph Smith made up the language of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics? Will they admit that the wars in the Book of Mormon never took place since there is no real evidence archaeolog...

Often called helicopters , by children and adults alike, the fruit of the maple tree is actually called a Samara . It seems that adults would call samaras helicopters because that is what they called them since they were children. In any event, the samara has intrigued everyone who has watched one gently sink to the ground in the breeze of a spring day. This seed vehicle seems to only break off of the tree when there is, at minimum, a small gust of wind, or at least a slight breeze. What will separate the dead seed from the twig that it barely clutches to, but wind that fills the sail of the samara, or a squirrel or a bird disturbing the twig? Nevertheless, it is easily deduced that the sail of the samara is meant to carry the seed to a place away from the tree, probably for the freshly germinated sapling to have its own sunlight, and not be under the shade of the tree from which it fell. The maple tree is of such an arrangement that consistently brings glory to God. Aside from ...