Next we come to one of the weirdest aspects of Ehrman’s problem project. Ehrman grouses (121-122): I don’t know if you’ve read any of the writings of the modern theodicists, but they are something to behold: precise, philosophically nuanced, deeply thought out, filled with esoteric terminology and finely reasoned explanations for why suffering does not […]
Ehrman’s Problem 12: Our Answer too “Finely Reasoned” Read More »
Ehrman begins his fourth chapter, “The Consequences of Sin,” by detailing horrific things humans do to each other. Then he asks “How can human beings… treat other human beings in this way?” (96). Indeed, much suffering is the result of people hurting each other.
Ehrman’s Problem 11: It’s Hard to Argue with the Consequences of Sin Read More »
I know what many of you are thinking: “The last thing those who are sick need to be told is that it is because of sin!” But, I agree. To do that would be dumb. How would I know if their sickness is the result of some sin they have committed? But it’s not that
If You’re Sick, Maybe It’s Because You’ve Sinned Read More »
I need to begin with two important qualifications. First, Christians are commanded to “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15) and we are commanded to care for the sick. Compassion must always be our first response to tragedy but, sadly, too often that is not the case. In what follows I’m not writing on how
Disaster Is Always a Call to Repentance! Read More »
I’m going to introduce my wife, Jean E. Jones. Here’s why. One of the things that concerns me today is that so many authors have earned various degrees, and garnered various accolades, and published many books, but, sadly, if you get to know their lives you find that they aren’t ones to imitate (it isn’t
Introducing Jean E. Jones as a Woman You Can Trust Read More »
A major study has concluded that women have become increasingly unhappy.1 By many objective measures the lives of women in the United States have improved over the past 35 years, yet we show that measures of subjective well-being indicate that women’s happiness has declined both absolutely and relative to men. The paradox of women’s declining
Feminism Is Making Females Miserable Read More »
So you’ve committed a sexual sin, again. And sinned again. And again. For the one-millionth time. Again. Of course you stopped counting long ago (okay, let’s be honest, no one counts—and how big is a googolplex really?) and you’re disgusted with yourself. What should you do? First, confess it to God (I realize that for
So You’ve Sinned Again… and Again Read More »
Even many non-Christians are hoping that there is a hell for people like Osama Bin Laden. After all, how can his one death make up for the fact that he has killed thousands? So we look for ultimate justice and hell provides that. But sadly the OBLs of the world often obscure a deeper truth—that
Osama Bin Laden, Hell, and You? Read More »
Two days ago I wrote that “Communism’s failure to recognize human selfishness was the number one reason for its collapse.” Similarly, if Ayn Rand’s objectivism was ever fully implemented, her failure to recognize the depths of human selfishness will be the number one reason for its collapse. But, that might have already happened! As you
Ayn Rand—the Ugly: Rejection of Oversight Read More »
As we have already seen, Ayn Rand and self-esteem go together like Marco and Polo. One of her “inner-circle” disciples, Nathaniel Branden, is often called “the father of the self-esteem movement.” As I mentioned yesterday, Rand and Branden (he was 14 years her junior) felt good enough about themselves to have a sexual affair with
Ayn Rand—The Ugly Self-Esteem Movement Read More »
