VIDEO by Theology, Philosophy and Science
'That I may know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Philippians3:10
27 feb. 2015 Comentarii închise la Shallow Notions of God – Who Is God, Really?
in J.P.Moreland Etichete:J.P.Moreland, Shallow Notions of God, Who Is God Really?
18 mart. 2013 3 comentarii
in Apologetics, Creation, J.P.Moreland Etichete:Atheism, Bayside Church, belief in God, Bible, God, God's existence, J.P.Moreland, Paul, Religion and Spirituality
See other lectures at the THRIVE Conference 2013 here – http://www.youtube.com/user/thrivingchurches
There is a public relations problem we are facing today, and it’s essentially the idea that Christians believe things for no reasons whatsoever. In fact, the idea that is widely promulgated is that what modern people have discovered has made belief in God an unreasonable thing to hold.
So, for example, the late William Provine, who is a biologist at Cornell University, made the following statement about the evolutionary theory, „Let me summarize my views on modern evolutionary theory: „Let me summarize my theory on what modern evolutionary biology tells us loud and clear. There are no gods, there are no purposes, there are no goal directed purposes of any kind. There’s no life after death. When I die, I’m absolutely certain that I’ll be dead. That’s the end of me. There’s no ultimate foundation for ethics, no ultimate meaning in life, and there’s no free will for human beings either.”
So, this idea is that intellectuals have discovered something, such, that if average people knew what it was, they wouldn’t be able to believe in God any longer. And so, we live in a time, when it is not only widely thought that belief in God is irrational, but, it is now widely thought that if you believe in Jesus Christ, you’re not only stupid, but you are a bigot. Recently, a novelist put our ‘bigotry’ in this way, „Here is how their ignorant bigotry works (referring to christians). First, they put the fear of God in you, if you don’t believe the literal word of the Bible, you’ll burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible was tremendously contradictory, and so, you have to abdicate all critical thinking to believe. And, you must accept a simple, but logical system of belief, but you’re not allowed to question. A corollary at this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of the complex thought. So, it’s best not to think at all.”
Now, this is not the christian religion as it’s been for 2,000 years. It was we that founded the universities of the western world, that produced art and literature, and some of the richest intellectual literature ever produced. What is being talked about here is a relatively recent phenomenon, and I am seeing signs that this is changing, over the last 20-25 years. I’d like to ask the question: How do we know that God exists? Is there a case that can be made for God’s existence?
Through the experience of God and the testimony of the Spirit. God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit that God is there. However, as important as that way of knowing God is, that is not what the Bible suggests, when we come to the topic of ‘how do we know God is’? When we come to that topic in Romans 1, Paul says that the way we know God exists is not from an experience of God, and it’s not because the Bible says so, it’s because of the created world. Paul says that since creation, God’s existence and His invisible attributes are clearly seen through what has been made. Now, what this does is the idea that the creation, in some way or other signals the idea of a supreme being. That provides us with encouragement, that we might be able to formulate some arguments, based on the creation , for the conclusion that God exists.
Three arguments for the existence of God:
While we’re talking about morality, there’s also the issue of evil. Here’s how I believe evil provides evidence that there is a God, not evidence that there isn’t. What exactly is evil? Throughout western culture, for at least 1600 – 1700 years, the most widely accepted definition of evil is this: Evil is when things are the way they are not supposed to be. Can you have a bad carburetor in a car? Of course you can. When you say it’s a bad one, what we mean is that it’s not working the way it’s supposed to work. That means it’s not working the way it was designed to work. Then, if there is a designer, then there is a way this object is designed and supposed to work. And, if it doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to work it’s evil, or bad, or defective. So, we can learn that there are bad things, if those things are not like they’re supposed to be and that can be true if there is a designer. So, evil, in the world indicates that things aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. But, that presupposes that there is a way that things are supposed to be. And that makes sense if there is someone who designed them to be a certain way.
If God does not exist and evolution is how we got here, I’m sorry, but things just happen, and there really is no way things are supposed to be, and there really can’t be any such thing as evil at the end of the day. And, if God exists, because of the origin of the universe, can’t cross infinity, ing bang, something supernatural that’s timeless, spaceless, invisible, had to bring the universe into existence… if the SETI scientists themselves that information is best explained by an intelligent line, why don’t we follow that reasoning when we come to the discovery of information in living things.
Finally, the absolute moral law is best explained by an absolute moral law giver. Everybody knows there is an absolute moral law. And evil itself is best explained if there is a designer for the world. How do you move to christianity from here? I appeal to fulfilled prophecy, miracles, and the resurrection of Jesus. And this is where I would appeal to historical evidence.
Professor JP Moreland answers the question, „Does God Exist?” at the Thrive Apologetics Conference, held at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, California. thrivingchurches
26 oct. 2011 2 comentarii
in Apologetics, Creation, J.P.Moreland, Jesus Christ, Salvation, Uncategorized, Word of God Etichete:christian monotheism, postmodernist relativism, scientific naturalism, worldviews
a Reasons for Faith forum. video uploaded by rfvidz
The biggest fundamental divide in American history since the Civil War is over worldviews and between Western Monotheism and Secular Atheism.
Many people used to believe that following Jesus is stupid. Now, they believe that Jesus followers are immoral and bigoted. Thus, Christians are now portrayed as immoral bigots.
There are now 3 existing worldviews:
J P Moreland addresses – How should the Christian/Christ follower get involved in this arena of worldviews- from a biblical perspective. There is also a 20 minute question and answer session at the end.
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18 iul. 2011 Comentarii închise la The State of Evangelicalism Report – What on Earth is Happening with the Kingdom? (JP Moreland)
in J.P.Moreland Etichete:Africa, China, Christianity, evangelicals, Evangelism, miracles, missions, state of the kingdom, supernatural miracles
17And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Some very encouraging statistics from Biola University Professor J.P.Moreland. He cites the growth of Christians in churches with evangelical missions has jumped from 71million in 1970 to 707 million in 2000 and 750 million in 2010. And whereas the ratio of practicing christians in the 1960’s was 2 caucasians for every 1 non caucasian, in 2010 the ratio is 1 caucasian and 7 non caucasians.
Moreland believes this explosion in places such as Africa and China is based on3 things: 1) The sovereign move of God 2)The desperation of some of the world’s countries and 3)An outbreak of supernatural miracles (healings).
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04 apr. 2011 Un comentariu
in J.P.Moreland, Marriage, Youth Etichete:Bile and neuroscience, family series, following bible teachings, hooked, J.P.Moreland, promiscuity, Sexual relations, traditional marriage
Dr. Moreland’s blog header Bible verse:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25
J.P.Moreland is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. I have four earned degrees: a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Missouri, a Th.M. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, an M. A. in philosophy from the University of California-Riverside, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California.
During the course of his life, he has co-planted three churches, spoken and debated on over 175 college campuses around the country, and served with Campus Crusade for Christ for 10 years. For eight years, he served as a bioethicist for PersonaCare Nursing Homes, Inc. headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
In his post Dr. Moreland quotes from , Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting our Children.and starts out by affirming what we, as Christians now and believe about the impact of the Bible (the Word of God):
The Bible is the greatest source of wisdom for life in all of humanity. If followed, its teaching regularly and without rival leads to human flourishing. It is important to keep this in mind, because, since the beginning of the twentieth century in the United States, current after current of alleged thought has told us to jettison scriptural teaching in favor of some recent, more updated findings. This has especially been true in the sexual revolution, which tells us that traditional biblical morality is stifling and repressive. However, if the Bible is true, one would predict that. In fact, following its teachings would lead to flourishing, and disobeying its teachings would have a deleterious effect on people.
Then he proceeds to discuss the surprising findings in the book (surprising that is, if you are an unbeliever):
So far as I know, neither author is a believer, and if he or she is, neither’s religious views form a part of his/her arguments. The thesis of the book is that, given current brain research, is it now beyond reasonable doubt that sexual promiscuity (basically, any intense sexual activity, including, but not limited to, intercourse) has a negative impact on one’s brain chemistry, one’s health, one’s ability to enjoy sex, and one’s ability to connect emotionally and relationally with someone. They argue that only in the context of traditional marriage can sexual relations be life-giving.
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(VIA)Brett Kunkle Stand To Reason