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The Bad Story that is Atheism

We all love a good story. They awaken our longings for drama and connect us to a deeper reality that is true. Right? Wrong, according to the atheist philosopher Alex Rosenberg. We’ve been duped by stories. They make us feel better. They help us get along. But they do not guide us to the truth of what is. Nor do not awaken us to aspire to what ought to be.

Can God Create Abstract objects?

In my last post I set out a definition of God’s omnipotence.[1] In this post I want to consider the scope of God’s omnipotence by examining the question, “Can God create abstract objects?”

Understanding Divine Omnipotence

A cursory scan of the Bible seems to affirm the following regarding God’s power

• Nothing is too hard for God
• With God all things are possible.

A Primer on World Change-Part 3

In my last couple posts (here and here), I shared about James Davison Hunter’s book on world Change. In this post, I want to share about another important book on world change, Andy Crouch’s Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling.

A Primer on World Change- Part 2

In my last post, I discussed James Davison Hunter’s critique of the “common view” of world-change. In this post I want to share his positive proposal. How can Christians faithfully engage the world? 

A Primer on World Change- Part 1

Christians like to talk—and aspire—to changing the world. This language stems very naturally from our God-given desire to make a difference, to live a life that matters. In a very real sense, making a difference is to change the world. But, usually, when Christians talk about “changing the world” they mean something like “winning the world for Christ” or “helping the gospel to gain a hearing in culture” or “contributing toward shalom.”

Bonhoeffer, the Church, and the Consequence of Ideas

What is the church? This question seems, for many, disconnected from any real-world payoff. After all, it is a question for theology; a question for those who think the Bible has something interesting to say. It’s a question for those interested in splitting hairs and marking out the boundaries between orthodox belief and heresy. Such a question is surely…obviously…of little importance to anyone outside the church. Right?

Wittgenstein’s Poker and the Purpose of Philosophy

I just finished reading an excellent book, Wittgenstein’s Poker by David Edmonds and John Eidinow. It is a fascinating story about a ten-minute (yes, a ten-minute!!) argument between two of the 20^th century’s greatest philosophers: Ludwig Wittengstein and Karl Popper.

How radical is the Christian Doctrine of Creation?

God, according to the Christian doctrine of creation, is the maker of heaven and earth. All that exists distinct from God is created by God. Certainly this includes the physical world—the contingent reality of electrons, mountains, and stars. If there is a distinct non-physical realm— a necessary abstract realm and/or further contingent immaterial beings (such as souls and angels)—then it is reasonable (say I, but not all) to think that God is the creator of that as well.

Does God Create His Own Nature?

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, that question doesn’t get any more basic than this: Which came first, God or God’s nature? In his excellent book Creation and the Sovereignty of God, Hugh McCann argues against a commonly held intuition that no being is, or can be, responsible for the nature it has. Instead, McCann suggests there are good reasons to think that in God’s case we find an exception to our intuition: God creates His own nature! What are McCann’s reasons for thinking such a view attractive? He offers two: