As an atheist, I used to challenge my Christian friends with a common objection heard across the Internet today. Although my formulation of the objection differed from time to time, it was a lot like the popular statement attributed to Stephen F. Roberts: “I contend we are both atheists, I …
Read More »The Inevitable Consequence of An Atheistic Worldview
A few years ago, a gentleman (we’ll call him “John”) replied to a blog I posted at CrossExamined.org. As a skeptical non-believer, John wasn’t responding to what I had posted, but to fellow atheists who had been interacting with Christians in the comment section. John’s post was controversial but honest. …
Read More »Does God’s Sovereignty Rob Us of Our Freedom?
Christianity describes a God who sovereignly calls believers to repentance. Does this mean humans are mere puppets under the direction of an all-powerful Being who controls all decisions and dictates the final outcome? Does the Christian God allow humans any freedom to choose for themselves? The relationship between God’s sovereignty …
Read More »How Skeptics Use a Partial Truth to Tell a Complete Lie
I’m a cold-case detective, but many years ago, while working a “fresh” homicide, I got a call from a woman who wanted to provide important information related to my case. She gave me her name and started confirming some of the details of the murder. She knew a great deal …
Read More »Why Didn’t Jesus Reveal Scientific Facts to Demonstrate His Deity?
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to defend the reliability of the New Testament Gospels to the students of San Jose State University. Jane Pantig (the director of the local Ratio Christi chapter) invited me, and I was delighted to come. I’ve been working with Ratio Christi across the …
Read More »Why the University of Miami’s Chair for Atheism Confirms the Existence of God
Two years ago, the University of Miami established the Appignani Foundation Chair for the Study of Atheism, Humanism, and Secular Ethics. It is the first of its kind, filled this year by a former “professor of metaphysics and the philosophy of science at the University of Notre Dame.” Louis J. …
Read More »How Can God Allow Horrific Evil Like School Shootings?
Unsurprisingly, our national conversation about gun violence intensifies following any well-publicized shooting or murder, especially if it occurs in a school or public setting. The recent massacre in Parkland, Florida, for example, leaves many of us searching for answers. As a Christian who happens to be a homicide detective, I’ve …
Read More »The Rich, Historic Roll Call of Great Christian Thinkers and Scientists
If you listen carefully to our increasingly secular culture, you might think science and reason are completely incompatible with Christian belief. Several notable scientists and thinkers in the past two hundred years have been atheists, and their ranks seem to have grown in direct proportion with our increase in scientific …
Read More »Why Doesn’t God Answer All My Prayers?
You don’t have to be a Christian long to recognize you don’t always get what you pray for. Why doesn’t God seem to answer all our prayers? Is it because we aren’t praying properly, or have we simply failed to recognize God’s answer? Our ideas about prayer and God’s ideas …
Read More »Am I a Christian Simply Because I Was Raised in a Christian Culture?
People who are unfamiliar with my journey of faith sometimes seek to explain my conversion from atheism on the basis of geography. The objection sounds something like this: “Christians believe Christianity is true simply because they were raised in a Christian culture. If they were raised in a Muslim culture, …
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