Not long ago, I spoke to a group of teenagers and youth leaders on the subject of apologetics. I emphasized to them that we should take the evidence that God has given us and cease doubting. One of those in the audience criticized my presentation by saying that it was part of Christian growth to […]
He Got His Chops in Church
April 15, 2014 by · 6 Comments
I have been enjoying coaching debaters from my local congregation as they prepare for the mock debates at the Lads to Leaders Convention in Atlanta this weekend. The debate proposition for 2014 is “Resolved: The use of mechanical instruments of music to accompany the worship of God by His church is not authorized by His […]
Have You Been Vaccinated?
April 3, 2014 by · 2 Comments
Russ Douthat, columnist for The New York Times, wrote a column last week in which he sought to explain the social evils that result from the widespread “fading” of Evangelicalism in the Bible Belt and other heavily religious areas. For a while now, it has been a seeming paradox that heavily Evangelical areas have more […]
How Are You Related to Moses?
December 30, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
There is a great deal of confusion in Christendom about how we are to relate to the Old Testament. Surely we must look to the words of Paul, who dealt directly with first-century folks who were coming from one family into another and weren’t entirely happy with their new brothers and sisters. For example, some […]
“I’ve been taught not to question those things.”
November 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
Philosophers disagree about how to define philosophy. Is it a turn of mind, a professional field, a set of subject areas, or what? I have an opinion about this, which I will not defend here. Still, when I teach an introductory philosophy course, I must give a course description in the syllabus. So I put […]
How G.C. Brewer Won a Horse and Buggy
August 29, 2013 by · Leave a Comment
(Image from the cover of The Christian Youth 2.11 [October, 1912]). I recently heard an interesting lecture by Alan Highers about some lessons we can learn from Restoration history. The lecture included a number of engrossing and inspiring stories. One such story had been relayed to Brother Highers by G.C. Brewer, a great gospel preacher, about an event from […]
Philosophy and the Sufficiency of the Scriptures
August 19, 2013 by · 2 Comments
Christians often refer to the “sufficiency of the Scriptures.” Consider what we usually mean when we discuss this topic. First, there is an abundance of evidence showing that God communicates to us in modern times exclusively through His written word, the Bible. ((See 1 Corinthians 13; cf. Dave Miller, “Modern-Day Miracles, Tongue-Speaking, and Holy Spirit […]
Campbells on “Campbellites”
August 5, 2013 by · 1 Comment
Members of the churches of Christ are often referred to as “Campbellites,” because two of the leaders in the Restoration Movement were Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander. ((E.g., “Campbellites”)). It is possible that there are those who claim to be Campbellites, but over my years of meeting fellow members of the churches of Christ, […]