Apologetics and Evidence

There has been a greater push in how to reference Mormons and Mormonism in recent times ever since former Mormon President Nelson said that Mormons should be called Christians instead of Mormons. [1]     “We worship the same Jesus!” “’Jesus Christ’ is literally in our name!” “There is only one Jesus!”    These and other arguments have been made by Mormons to argue that they should be called Christians, which I will address these throughout this article, but I do want to look at the last one in this short list above first, since it is biblically evidenced. [2]  2 Corinthians 11:4 says,    “For if someone comes and proclaims  another Jesus  than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” [3]   Here, Paul is telling the Corinthians that when another Jesus is preached to them, they erroneously accept ...

Many words have been spoken over whether or not Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr. It has seemed to me from the beginning that Kirk was a Christian martyr, and I knew that people would be divided on the subject. So, after several of my own discussions, nine days after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I crafted a philosophical argument. The Truth of the Matter, Philosophically Speaking   1. If Charlie Kirk’s values were built on the foundation of Christ (P), then the truths that he taught from these values were the reason he was murdered (Q). 2. If the truths he taught from these values were the reason he was murdered (Q), then Charlie kirk is a martyr (R). 3. Charlie Kirk’s values were built on the foundation of Christ (P). 4. If Charlie Kirk’s values were built on the foundation of Christ (P), then Charlie Kirk is a martyr (R). 5. Charlie Kirk is a Christian Martyr (R).   (Hypothetical syllogism 1,2) (Modus ponens 3,4)   For a frame of reference, see these two passages bel...

I think the English language should adopt ( or perhaps commandeer for Harry Potter fans ) a new word...   Obliviate .   verb . Definition: When one party (A) is trying to productively converse with a person (B) but the other (B) is  oblivious  of how their blathering effects the other party (A). As in, one's (A) focus is  obliterated  through (B's) lack of linear logic. Combine the two words,  oblivious  and  obliterate  and this is what you get... Obliviated.   Example: “ He was going on and on to the point of obliviation .”   Inflections:  Obliviated Obliviator Obliviates Obliviation   But seriously, how does one handle such a situation? I frequently run into this when having discussions with cult members or with those who condone such. The lack of linear logical structure to their monologuing makes it feel like there is nowhere else to go.  But there is something we can do. While it is difficult to get a word ...

Travis Dickinson, Ph. D., is a professor of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University, and recently put a YouTube video out titled, “ Why the Christian/Muslim/same God question is a BAD Question .” In one theological sense, we Christians do not worship the same God, because of the difference between a unitarian view (Muslim) and a Trinitarian view (Christian). But in another sense, as far as philosophical reference is concerned, we are discussing the same necessary being to some degree. The idea is that the being we call “God” can be described in several different ways, and though some of those ways can be false, we are still philosophically pointing to the same “thing.”   Dickinson briefly mentions that sometimes Jews are included in the first part of his discussion, and I think this is actually a steelman argument for this first part, simply based on the fact that it is likely that more people will say that Jews and Christians worship the same God (see below for more), as opposed t...