Apologetics

Kyle Butt to Debate Skeptic at Faulkner

Montgomery, AL — Kyle Butt, a Christian apologetics writer and speaker, will debate skeptic Michael Shermer on October 25, 2023 during the Faulkner Bible Lectureship. Butt is well-known among churches of Christ for his work with Apologetics Press, an organization dedicated to producing scripturally sound and scientifically accurate materials in the field of Christian…

God and the Big Bang

[300 words] I was surprised to learn the Big Bang Theory is credited to Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), a Belgian Catholic priest. It’s concerning that an alleged “man of God” promoted such rubbish. Lemaître postulated that the observable universe began with the explosion of a single primeval atom. Aside from contradicting God’s Word (Genesis 1:1), this…

Making Sense of Moral Outrage

[544 words] This is a time of moral outrage. Anger and animosity quickly and easily spill over from one person to the next, often in violent outbursts. Riots and looting have been recorded and reported from the streets of several major U.S. cities. Bitterness and condescension is lobbed from one side of the aisle to…

Darwin’s Arch Collapses

[502 words] So the headlines read when a massive stone bridge in the Galapagos islands named after the famous biologist broke in the middle and left two towers of solid rock jutting out of the ocean. But the recent fall of this monument was not merely the loss of a reminder of the work of…

God Can’t Do Everything

[518 words] These words can sound discouraging. Doesn’t the Bible say, “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37)? Which way is it? The same Bible that says nothing is impossible with God also says there is something He cannot do. “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18). God “cannot lie” (Titus…

When This Last Barrier to Vice is Broken Down

[356 words] While recently reading from Moses Lard’s Commentary on Paul’s Letter to Romans, my attention was captured by a sentence from Lard on the following text: “There is no fear of God before their eyes” ( Romans  3:18). Among Lard’s comments on the preceding verse is this statement: “Where God is not feared, nothing…

Are You Tuned to the Right Station?

[191 words] George Washington Carver was a man who lived very close to God’s creation. As a youngster he was very interested in plants and experimented with natural pesticides, fungicides, and soil conditioners, earning the nickname “the plant doctor” for his ability to improve gardens, fields, and orchards. Later as an agricultural scientist and inventor,…

Made for Another World

[160 words] C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” We know that we were made for another world. Scripture teaches it. Our own experience testifies to it. The Psalmist wrote, “As a…

Creation of the Master Artist

[304 words] I came across this article in the book, Grandma Says by Chrissy Lynn. “As a child, I watched my grandmother create magnificent quilts out of scraps. She was from a different time – almost a different culture. The Great Depression taught her to use what she had and to not waste anything. Her…

God Can, But Should He?

[508 words] We marvel at the scene of the tomb of Lazarus. Rightly so. How often is divine power on such spectacular display? The impact of Jesus raising dead Lazarus is evidenced by the thinking of Jewish leaders to kill Lazarus. His being alive was bringing so many people to faith in Jesus that these…

Upside Down

[293 words] What impact should you as a Christian have on society? Should you be passive or active in the lives of the people around you? How do we help people become better? How can we help the sinner become a saint? We are sometimes reluctant to become involved in social change. We would rather…

A Real God Can Defend Himself

[469 words] A man named Gideon demolished an altar to Baal. As you can imagine Baal worshipers were not a huge fan of that action. People tend to take slights to their god very personally. Re-member what happen when the Ephesians accused Paul of making life difficult for their idol? They shouted for two hours…

Of Fools and Blind Faith

[335 words] Both evidence and reason point convincingly to faith in God. The charge of “blind faith,” often leveled against the conviction of believers, better describes the plight of those who see a world without God. “For every house is built by someone, and He that built all things is God.” (Hebrews 3:4, McCord.) A…

How God Speaks Through Nature

[174 words] George Washington Carver said, “I love to think of nature as unlimited broadcasting stations, through which God speaks to us every day, every hour and every moment of our lives, if we will only tune in and remain so.” There is an element of truth to what Carver said. The Bible says, “For…

This is Not Heaven!

[193 words] Why do bad things happen to Good People? This is a most perplexing question, even for many religious scholars. Possibly the best answer that could ever be given came from the mouth of a little child, David Jones, son of Blake and Rebekah Jones. David said bad things happen to good people because,…

Christianity is Good for You!

[182 words] It turns out that Christianity is good for you, and good for your kids. Aren’t I Captain Obvious? Well, I suppose if you have been listening too much to certain atheists it might not be obvious. Richard Dawkins has claimed teaching children to accept their parent’s religion is child abuse, and suggests it’s…

Will Jews Be Saved Without Obedience to Christ?

[546 words] The Jews, under the Old Law, were God’s chosen people. God dealt with them, and blessed them, in ways that He did not with Gentiles. But when Jesus died on the cross; that Old Law died with Him, for He “took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross” (Col. 2:14).…

Lessons from a Watermelon

[304 words] William Jennings Bryan wrote of a visit he made to a restaurant in which he ordered a slice of watermelon. He writes, “I was so pleased with the taste of the melon that I took the seeds home with me to plant in my garden. That night a thought came to my mind.…

What We Believe

[440 words] Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). On another occasion the apostle Peter stated, “There is salvation in none other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men, wherein we must be saved’ (Acts…

Is Our Sin God’s Fault?

[423 words] None of us ask to be born, yet we were given life anyway from our Creator (Job 10:8-9; Ps. 100:3; 119:73; 139:14). And yes, we have all sinned (Ro. 3:23; Eccl. 7:20; 1 Kg. 8:46), but isn’t that partially God’s fault? Our omniscient God knew we would be tempted of the devil and…

Seven Wonders of the Word

[272 words] Psalm 119:161 I am impressed with the following seven wonders of the Word. The wonder of its INSPIRATION! Not just part of it, not just the thoughts of it, but “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). To the very jot (tiniest letter) and tittle (tiniest projection which distinguishes…

The Omnipresence of God

[236 words] Even the most influential and powerful person in the world can only be in one place at one time. But that ‘is not true of God. Jehovah is an omnipresent being, i.e., His presence is in all places at all times. In Jeremiah 23:24, we read, ‘”Can anyone hide himself in secret places,…

Dialogue

[116 words] Skeptic: “If there is a good, all-powerful God, why doesn’t he end all the evil, violence, wickedness and suffering in the world?” Christian: “He will. When Christ comes again he will judge the world in righteousness, punish all evil doers and bless and reward the faithful.” Skeptic: “What is he waiting for? Why…

God’s Wonderful Creation

[371 words] The only way we can know about the creation is from God who did the creating. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Everything was created by the power of God. The first thing God did was to create light and in Genesis 1:4 “God called the…

The Beatles

[310 words] For a couple of weeks now, people have been celebrating the influence of the Beatles on the music industry. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the “British Invasion” that shook the foundation of the entertainment industry in our nation. Since the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan television program, their influence…

First Man in Space

[128 words] As a teenager, I remember a young Russian Cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man to enter space. This happened on April 12, 1961. I am sure he said many things while in space. But, the one thing I remember that he said on his fist trip around the earth is, “I can…

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

[287 words] The above cited question is one that has been asked repeatedly down through the years. It doesn’t seem fair, many times, that good people suffer, especially at the hands of an evil-doer. Why do bad things happen to good people? • Bad things happen to good people as a result of sin (cf.…

The Problem of Evil

[433 words] “Why doesn’t God keep children safe? Why does He allow children to die from cancer or accidents?” These are questions that are often asked in our world. Some people stop believing in God because terrible things happen to innocent children. Sometimes, folks have difficulty understanding how a good and benevolent God could allow…

Einstein, God, and the Bible

[290 words] Deep down, most of us have at one time or another questioned the existence of God. That should not be surprising, as even the greatest minds in history have also struggled with that question. Consider Albert Einstein, for example. While Einstein did not believe in the God of the Bible, he did believe…

We Ought to Know How to Answer Every Man!

[148 words] Children of God should know what they believe and why they believe it. Further more, they should be able to relate their convictions to others. In Colossians 4:6 are these thought provoking words from Paul, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to…

Omnipotent

  [170 words] A college student asked his preacher, “Do you think there is life on other planets?”  The preacher said, “No, I don’t think so.”  The student replied, “You mean, all those billions and billions and billions of planets out there–and you don’t think there’s life out there?”  He said, “No, I really don’t…

The Indestructible Word

  [197 words] Many have tried to destroy the Bible. In a.d. 303, the Roman emperor Diocletian issued an edict to destroy Christians and their Bibles. Over a burned Bible, he built a monument on which he wrote the words, “Extincto momene Christianorum” (the name Christian is extinguished). Twenty years later, Diocletian was dead and…

Earth’s Cousin?

[238 words] Have you heard about Kepler-452b? Maybe you’ve seen the headlines recently that read something like this: NASA discovers Earth-like planet orbiting “cousin” of Sun. The idea is to emphasize just how un-special we really are. If we exist by complete accident…if we Owe our existence to time and chance…it would not be outside…

No Stone Unturned

  [303 words] In Mark 13:1-2 we read, “As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be…

I Know There is a God!

  [330 words] There are so many people in the world today claiming that there is no God. Well I am here to state that I know there is a God and I can prove it. You may ask how I can be so confident. I know for one hundred percent certainty that God exists…

Jesus’ Deity

[163 words] Many books have been written by men concerning the deity of Jesus but there is no need to read any of them. Just read the Bible and you will be convinced that Jesus is God. Here is a simple verse that sets forth the deity of Jesus: “‘Behold! The virgin will conceive in…