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Theology and apologetics
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Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels: A Reply to John Nelson
Nelson has not offered compelling reason to reconsider the use of undesigned coincidences in the cumulative argument for the substantial reliability of the gospels, and the Scriptures more broadly.
The Secular vs. Sacred Distinction: Is it Valid?
It is appropriate to distinguish between the secular and the sacred, provided that the territory at which they overlap is recognized. Things which are sacred should not be secularized, but what is secular can and should be made sacred such that the gospel may be advanced through it.
The Argument From Prophecy and Bayes Theorem (Part 2): Failed Biblical Prophecy?
Fulfilled prophecy carries much more epistemic significance than apparently unfulfilled prophecy, because of the principle of epistemic asymmetry
The Argument From Prophecy and Bayes Theorem (Part 1): How to Express the Evidence of Prophetic Fulfillment
The probability of the evidence given your hypothesis does not need to be high for your data to carry evidential value. Rather, it only needs to be higher on the assumption that your hypothesis is correct than on the assumption that it is false.
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?