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Philosophical Theology

Functional Gnosticism

As Christians we believe the fact that we exist as embodied creatures is not inconsequential. The Judeo-Christian tradition has always upheld the sacredness of the physical world. Attentive thinkers from Paul to C.S. Lewis have argued that, contra the notion that our bodies are unfortunate barriers and irrelevant to our identities, matter matters to God. The Gnostic philosophy that offered an alternative reality unencumbered by the physical world where we can we find our true selves, was one that Christians took head on in the early church. Could one be both a Gnostic and a faithful Christian? No. Against Gnosticism, the church draws upon its rich resources from the creation narrative itself in which God makes Adam from the dust of the ground to the early creeds which confess that God “was incarnate and was made man,” as we (try to) answer the question, “What does it mean to be human?” Moreover, it is on the grounds that we think our bodies matter that Christian ethics calls for a strict stance on sexual practice, for example. But of course, the necessary presuppositions in place in… Read More »Functional Gnosticism

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Why I Still Believe the Bible

The Bible is probably the most well–known book in the world. It’s read by all sorts of different people: men, women, young, old, rich, poor… And it’s also read for many different reasons: to bring hope, to reveal knowledge, to find comfort… Yet, at the same time the Bible is surrounded by an incredible amount of controversy. People discuss it, attack it, question it. And to make things more complicated, there seems to be as many interpretations of it as there are people who read it. As I read and study the Bible, I see it primarily as a means to an end. Before I explain what I mean, let me say a few other things first: There is no such thing as just reading the Bible. Everyone is interpreting the Bible. All the words, and verses are the same but everyone comes at it with a certain lens of interpretation. Simply pointing to “what the Bible says” is not quite enough. Take for example, John 6 in which Jesus says, “I am the bread of life…eat my flesh…” Protestants read those verses and think,… Read More »Why I Still Believe the Bible

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Why I Believe in God – Part 3

I wanted to share some of the philosophical arguments for the existence of God that compel me the most. Click to view Part 1 and Part 2.

The Transcendental Argument. This argument primarily comes out of the work of Cornelius Van Til and other presuppositional apologists, and I find it to be incredibly powerful. I think it goes much deeper than a lot of the other arguments for God’s existence.
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Why I Believe In God – Part 1

I think it’s valuable to have good reasons for believing that God exists, and some of those reasons include philosophical arguments. Though I don’t think it’s necessary for Christians to know all the philosophical arguments for God’s existence, I do think that it proves incredibly beneficial and assuring for the Christian person’s faith; and I think most Christians particularly in North America and Europe really don’t have an excuse for not knowing the arguments. That being said, I want to explain the arguments for belief in God which  compel me the most:

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