Question #9 Could beauty be explained as an evolutionary survival advantage?īeauty seems a major compulsion for humankind. There is a difference between the method of science (induction) and the forms of reasoning or arguments used in applying the data (deductive, inductive, abductive). But the enterprise of science (that is, the scientific method) is an inductive process involving observation and testing (empiricism) and generally weighing probabilities. Abductive reasoning (inference to the best explanation) is often used in hypothesis formation. Scientists use deductive, inductive, and abductive forms of reasoning. Question #8 What forms of logical reasoning do scientists employ in their work? Personally, I attend a Reformed Anglican church. Therefore, I try to learn and discern from Christendom’s wealth of theological resources. They all share the truths revealed in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. I don’t think any specific branch or tradition within Christendom has a lock on all Christian truth. Question #7 Which branch of Christendom is the right one? Thus, Jesus encountered limitations and challenges through his human nature, not his divine nature. The historic Christian doctrine of the incarnation teaches that Jesus was both God and man (a single person with both a divine and human nature). Question #6 How can Jesus be God when the Gospels say he was born, was tempted, and died? None of these limitations are true of God. So the world’s religions collectively can’t agree on whether there is a god or how many there are.
But the common ground on doctrine, values, and worldview shared by the three branches of Christendom (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) is robust. Protestantism as a branch of Christendom has its challenges like all other ecclesiastical bodies do. Question #4 Isn’t Protestantism’s major flaw that it leads to constant splintering and dividing? What do we do about it? Many denominations within Christendom are represented among RTB’s staff scholars and scholar community. Theologically conservative Christians who are Baptist, Lutheran, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, Anglican, or nondenominational could affirm and have affirmed the statement. RTB’s statement of faith, which I helped write, reflects a Protestant evangelical viewpoint. Question #3 Is RTB’s statement of faith based on a Reformed theology similar to what John Calvin advocated? Thus, the incarnation grounds the atonement. Representing both God and man in his two natures as the God-man, Jesus could reconcile God and man. Jesus Christ could only do what he did soteriologically (in terms of salvation) because he was who he was ontologically (in terms of being). Question #2 How does Jesus’s incarnation relate to his atonement on the cross? But Christian theism seems to provide the best explanation for these profound mysteries.
I think it is fair to say that a large majority of people throughout history have believed in God and that many of them thought God’s existence was just a matter of common sense (in other words, they thought life unambiguously pointed to God).Ĭoncerning the origin of the cosmos, of fine-tuning, and of consciousness, I think atheistic naturalism’s explanatory power is quite limited. Question #1 If God exists, why doesn’t the universe unambiguously point to any kind of Creator God? I hope these brief answers will help you in your engagements with people who ask similar questions.
Much more could be said on each of these topics, so please see the resource section for further information. My answers are intentionally concise, which reflects how I respond online.
What follows are ten selected questions I was asked online over the last couple of years. I appreciate receiving a variety of questions from people of all backgrounds and stages of life. Today I answer questions online and on social media. In fact, back in the early 1990s I worked at the Christian Research Institute (CRI) and was one of the cohosts of the Bible Answer Man radio program, which has a question and answer format. As a college instructor and a Christian apologist, I have been asked thousands of questions in my 35 years of teaching and doing apologetics professionally.