Writing
Theology and apologetics
Select a category from the drop down menu, or browse the latest articles below.
Why I Am an Evidentialist: A Brief Appraisal of Apologetic Systems
In my judgment, what matters with an apologetic system is primarily its adherence to sound principles of reason and secondarily its persuasiveness. Arguments that are unsound can be persuasive to the uninitiated, and the apologist must resist the temptation to compromise his intellectual integrity by forsaking sound principles of reason for the sake of effectiveness.
Book Review: The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers: Learning to Interpret Scripture from the Prophets and Apostles, by Abner Chou
Chou’s book is a thoughtful contribution to the discussion of the New Testament use of the Old Testament, which commands attention from those who would dismiss the New Testament authors as taking passages from the Hebrew Bible out of their original context and contorting their meaning to confirm their Christian bias.
The Noetic Effects of Sin and Apologetic Methodology
Proponents of the presuppositionalist school of apologetics typically stress the vitality of reckoning with the noetic effects of sin — that is, the effect of the fall upon the mind. Van Tilians argue that sin has corrupted man’s ability to properly comprehend the things of God and understand spiritual things. In particular, sin is understood to have impacted our ability to reason and think rationally, especially in relation to God.
Jesus of Nazareth, the True Israel of God (Part 3): Christ the Last Adam
In this final article, I will show how the theme of Christ as the true Israel of God relates to the idea of Christ as priest and king, and as the last Adam, and how these themes likewise are rooted in the Hebrew Bible.
Jesus of Nazareth, the True Israel of God (Part 2): Corporate Solidarity in Isaiah and Numbers
Is the idea of the Messiah having corporate solidarity with Israel a New Testament invention, or is it something that can be traced back to the prophets?
Jesus of Nazareth, the True Israel of God (Part 1): Corporate Solidarity in the New Testament
The New Testament cites numerous Old Testament texts as being fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Some of these citations have perplexed Biblical scholars insofar as the referenced passages from the Hebrew Bible, in their literary and historical contexts, appear to have no obvious relationship whatsoever to the Messiah.
Undesigned Coincidences in the Scriptures: An Argument for their Veracity (Part 2) — New Testament Examples
In this article, I will consider three categories of undesigned coincidences in the New Testament – that is, examples between the gospels, examples between the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul, and examples involving the external secular sources that corroborate elements of the New Testament.
Undesigned Coincidences in the Scriptures: An Argument for Their Veracity (Part 1) — Old Testament Examples
The principle of undesignedness is a forgotten but brilliant argument which can be used to corroborate Biblical history. In this article, I want to consider a few examples of undesigned coincidences in the Old Testament.
Rounding Off My Response to Richard Carrier On Undesigned Coincidences (Part 6)
I round off my series by reviewing Carrier’s analysis of what he calls “leading examples” of undesigned coincidences.