Klayton Carson (follow him @jarsofKlay) asked me to read and respond to this article by Erik Reed from Knowing Jesus Ministries, titled Is the Rapture Taught in the Bible? This is the right question. As we concluded the first “Bad Objections” article, it’s the only question that really matters. A doctrine is true if it corresponds to the Biblical evidence and accords with right reason. There are many rhetorical devices we can use to make an idea look bad and to win over our audience, but Christians are called to speak and seek the truth. We do neither by arguing dishonestly or uncharitably.
Continue readingBad Objections to the Rapture, Part III
Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, Prophecy
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A Concise Response to A Concise Case for Amillennialism
Anthony Charles at thenewgeneva.com released a blog post recently, subtitled, “A Concise Case for Reformed Amillennialism.” It seems like a worthwhile platform for dialogue, so here is a Dispensational Premillennialist’s reaction to the article.
Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, response
Tagged amillennialism, dispensationalism, hermeneutics, premillennialism, reformed
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Spirit Baptism According to Peter
Is Spirit baptism a separate concept from water baptism?
What does the New Testament mean by the word “baptism”? It at least means a ritual involving water, but scriptures also seem to apply the word to an act of the Holy Spirit. Is the ritual performed by Christians also an act of the Holy Spirit in some sense? Or are these two different but related things?
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Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study
Tagged acts, baptism, holy spirit, pentecost, Peter, ritual, sacramentalism
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Notes on Guilt Grace Gratitude Podcast Season 3 Episode 24
A twitter follower asked for my opinion on this podcast episode, wondering if I thought they represented Dispensationalism fairly. Here are a few notes in response:
The podcast guest kept saying, “Gentile church and Jewish Israel,” when describing our view of the distinction between the Church and Israel. It is true that this present church age is characteristically Gentile, but it isn’t fair to call the church a Gentile entity. The remnant of Israel in this age is within the church, according to Dispensationalism. The church is neither Jew nor Gentile but is a unique body made one from the two.
Continue readingAre my senses as authoritative as Scripture?
All knowledge comes to us via the senses (let’s leave aside direct revelations from God at the moment). So, when I observe the natural world, I use my senses, and when I read a book I use my senses. The problem for the “scripture is my axiom” folks, as I often point out, is that if you completely distrust the senses as a source of knowledge (an epistemology)… if you can’t trust any knowledge you get from your senses, then you can’t trust the Bible either, since it comes to you via the senses.
But does that put our senses on par with scripture? Do you mean, my senses are as authoritative as scripture? A friend claimed this is what I was saying: “Since we can trust our senses to read scripture we can trust them for observations on the natural world, and the conclusions that come from it.”
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5 MORE Terrible Objections to the Rapture
This is a response to Dr. Jordan B. Cooper’s 5 Major Problems with the Rapture.
I watched Dr. Jordan B. Cooper’s video from a couple of years ago titled, “5 Problems with the Rapture.” Why did I watch a two year old video on the rapture from a Lutheran and write about it, you ask? I wanted a writing exercise. I also like Dr. Cooper. He’s a good follow on twitter, and a smart resource for church history topics, justification controversies, and whether someone is semi-Pelagian.
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Posted in Doctrine Study, Prophecy
Tagged dispensationalism, Dr. Jordan B. Cooper, Lutheran, rapture
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Is Simulation Theory Self-Defeating?
My recent Intro to Apologetics video gave some examples of self-defeating statements. Here’s another example.
Posted in Philosophy, Science, Uncategorized
Tagged self-defeating, sim theory, simulation theory
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Addendum – Why do YOU believe?
Posted in Christian Apologetics, Philosophy
Tagged apologetics, Bible, christianity, epistemology, faith, faith and reason, holy spirit, knowledge, reason
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The Right way to Approach Christian Apologetics
Posted in Christian Apologetics
Tagged apologetics, Bible, christianity, classical approach, classical method, faith, faith and reason, inerrancy, norman geisler
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The Edge Pieces to the Puzzle – Romans 9-11 overview (with presentation visuals)
I took the audio from my talk at Thrive last year and synced it to the presentation I prepared with it. I think the visuals help. Check it out and let me know what you think. Hopefully, more video content is on its way.
Posted in Bible Study, It's all about Jesus, Prophecy
Tagged eschatology, Israel, Romans, romans 11, romans 9, romans 9-11
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testing 5-2-1 