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Was the Star of Bethlehem Real?: Responding to the Go-To Skeptic

Among skeptics, Dr. Aaron Adair is sometimes hailed as the “go to” guy on the Star of Bethlehem. He’s even written a book arguing that the Star didn’t exist. Recently, he engaged a post I wrote about the Star of Bethlehem. I'd like to offer a reply to Dr. Adair in this post. First Things First   First, you can read our previous interaction in the comments box on this post. I want to thank Dr. Adair for striving to maintain a positive tone, both in the combox and in his book, The... Read More

Will We Have Free Will in Heaven?

Will we have free will in heaven? If so, does that mean we might sin and fall again? If not, what kind of free will would we have there? And if God can harmonize our free will and sinlessness in heaven, why doesn't he do so in this life? Here are some thoughts . . .   A Robot "Loves" Me. Big Deal. NOTE: This is part of a series on the problem of evil. Click here to read the previous posts in the series. In a previous post, we looked at a common answer to the problem of evil--that God allows... Read More

Why Does God Allow Sin and Suffering?

The most perplexing problem in apologetics is the problem of evil: Why would an all-good, all-powerful God allow evil to exist? There is a real mystery here, and we can only give partial answers. Here are some of mine . . .   Two Kinds of Evil We need to recognize that there is more than one kind of evil. When we use the word "evil," we often mean moral evil (sin), but historically it was frequently used for other things, such as suffering. These two forms of evil are linked: It is a sin... Read More

Pope Benedict on the “Dark Passages” of Scripture

There are certain Bible passages, particularly in the Old Testament, that are disturbing. The question of how these are to be interpreted has been with us for a long time, and apologists and Bible scholars--not to mention Church Fathers and theologians--have made many suggestions. A while back, former Pope Benedict provided some guidance. Here's what he had to say . . .   Verbum Domini The document in which he made his remarks is titled Verbum Domini, which is Latin for "The Word of the Lord." It... Read More

Was Jesus a Roman Fiction?

Computer scientist and self-proclaimed biblical scholar Joseph Atwill is going to be giving a presentation in England that is stirring up some buzz. Recently, Atwill sent out a press release that was picked up by outlets such as The Daily Mail. According to the press release, Atwill is planning to explain his theory that Jesus Christ never lived. Atwill is a mythicist—a person who claims that Jesus is a myth, not a historical figure. According to Atwill’s version of mythicism, Jesus is a fictional... Read More

Did Dinosaurs Die Before the Fall?

  St. Paul tells us:   "For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:21-22).   Does this mean that there was no death--of any kind--before the Fall of Man? Would that mean that no animals, plants, or microbes died? What about animals that are carnivores? Were lions vegetarians? How about alligators? Or sharks? How about carnivores like Tyrannosaurus Rex? Let's take a... Read More

Are Babies Atheists?

For a long time, the word "atheism" has been defined as the view that there is no God--i.e., the claim "God does not exist." More recently, some atheists have begun to define atheism as simply a lack of belief in the existence of God. On this view, a person would be an atheist if he thought there is no God, thought it unlikely that there is a God, or didn't know if there is a God. Simply not agreeing with the claim "There is a God" would make you an atheist. Some atheists have claimed that this... Read More

Jesus Did Exist: A Response to Richard Carrier

EDITOR'S NOTE: Today we continue our four-part series concerning the historical evidence for Jesus. Popular atheist writer Richard Carrier, probably the world's best known Mythicist, began yesterday with his article "Questioning the Historicity of Jesus". Today, Catholic writer Jimmy Akin responds. Tomorrow, Richard will offer his take on “Four Reasons I Think Jesus Really Existed" by Trent Horn. Finally, on Thursday, Trent will wrap up the series with a rejoinder.   I would like to provide... Read More

Did Jesus Exist? An Alternate Approach

Did Jesus exist? Discussions of this subject often begin by looking at references to Jesus in early Christian sources. Either that or they look for references to Jesus in early non-Christian sources. But there’s another way of looking at the question that is often ignored . . .   The Standard Approach Jesus is obviously mentioned in early Christian sources, such as the gospels, the other writings of the New Testament, and the works of the early Church fathers. Because these are Christian sources,... Read More

Do Atheists Have Faith?

“It takes more faith to disbelieve in God than to believe,” according to some Christian writers. That’s a rather dramatic and cheeky claim. I’m sure that, for some individuals, who feel powerfully convinced of the existence of God, that claim is true: For them it would be harder to disbelieve than to believe. But that’s not the way it is for everyone. The people who make the claim are on solid ground, though, in supposing that atheism involves a leap of faith. For a very large number of... Read More

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