Logically Faithful-Beyond Opinion

He died in my arms. My son.  September 20th, 2006 was the day that changed my life. It was the day my son, Enoch, was taken by God. I went through suffering that no words could express. A perpetually wounded heart that would not mend, a broken body for which there is no antidote, and a destroyed home that would never be the same again, all left me with dark questions.  Why oh God? Why? I joined the chorous of a million voices throughout history who have cried this same question.

Through it all, I found more evidence and healing than I had ever dreamed possible. It is my calling to share that hope with you and help you overcome pain and suffering in a way that is life changing for you and those God has placed in your life.

Your feedback is appreciated.  Would you leave a review on itunes?.

This podcast eposode is designed to help thinkers become better believers and believers to become better thinkers.

 

“I hate my life.  I wish I was dead.  My life is a big fat lie!  I feel so lost and empty– a fake.   No one cares and I am tired of pretending that I am someone I am not.  I am suffocating.”  These are the honest thoughts I had many years ago.  But I found something that transformed my life. Let me tell you about it.

Welcome to Season 2.0 of Logically Faithful

Start Seeking God Because He is Already Seeking You.

THIS IS ALSO A PODCAST< JUST SCROLL DOWN & HIT PLAY

My parents were from a small minority of people who converted from Islam in the Middle East. My mother was a homemaker and my father was an entrepreneur who worked as a contractor for a construction company in Jordan and in the US opened grocery stores and restaurants.  He started cleaning toilets when he first came to the USA.  Both my parents were the hardest working people I know. However, in-spite of having what I needed physically at home, I suffered inside.

I had become what psychologist call an introverted child. Compared to the average teenager. I had apparently thought “too much”.  After the death of my grandfather Moses (at 107), it dawned on me that I will one day die too.  My childhood dreams stopped. It was at that moment at his funeral that I had a strange experience that changed me.At that moment my childhood stopped, ended and my adulthood began.

I saw graveyards as truly unnatural, no matter what my elders said. “Are we all meant for this?,” was the echo that enshrined my heart as I looked dreadfully upon the grave stones.

I became obsessed with the prospect of my own death. My parents were nominal Christians, so when I became of age to ask the personal and philosophical questions they were not equipped to address them–and I found out later neither where the priests in my community.

I hated life because of the lingering shadow of death that would be the inevitable victor.

I wished that the whole world would just disappear. I wanted to die

Pensées the French mathematician and physicist Blaise Pascal (1623-62) wote :

I see the terrifying immensity of the universe which surrounds me, and find myself limited to one corner of this vast expanse, without knowing why I am set down here rather than elsewhere, nor why the brief period appointed for my life is assigned to me at this moment rather than another in all the eternity that has gone before and will come after me. … All I know is that I must soon die, but what I understand least of all is this very death which I cannot escape. As I know not whence I come, so I know not whither I go. I only know that on leaving this world I fall for ever into nothingness or into the hands of a wrathful God, without knowing to which of these two states I shall be everlastingly consigned. Such is my condition, full of weakness and uncertainty. From all this I conclude that I ought to spend every day of my life without seeking to know my fate. I might perhaps be able to find a solution to my doubts; but I cannot be bothered to do so, I will not take one step towards its discovery.

My story was similar to this from Pascal…but I could not bebothered to NOT ask and It was a dark rainy night as silhouettes of rain drops covered my head as I stared out at the dark empty sky, which was nothing next to the emptiness inside my own soul. Was there a god? My studies in philosophy and science just drove me deeper into despair. Now I could not recite a biblical verse if you paid me that day. The glint of stainless steel fit in my 15 year old hand quite well.

It was a survival knife, and now I wanted to use it for something opposite its name, I wanted to die.

In desperation, I cried out to Him, the one I dreaded the most, and was most afraid did exist…God. The radio in my room began to echo voices of a preacher. I was annoyed, but listened anyway, the man spoke about God’s Son,

We assume that fairy tales, stories and legends of heroes and superheroes are all just for children, untrue and unreal. But that may not be the case! Did you know that there is a similar thread running through all the hero and superhero stories of all the mythologies of all time?! Yes, even superheroes are all images of the same basic hero, the hero with a 1000 faces as Joseph Campbell calls him. This hero has a name and did walk among us.

There are many mythologies of superheroes,  the primary ones being DC and Marvel. DC Heroes, include, Batman, Green lantern, Superman, Wonder-woman, and about 10,000 others. And of course there is the Marvel Universe, of the Punisher, Captain America, Hulk, IronMan, BlackPanther, Dr. Strange, and about 7,000 other characters. Is there a hero or archetype behind all heroes? 

To help us address these questions, my special guest today is Dr. Adam Barkman. Adam is a Philosophy Professor at Redeemer and loves to engage his students both in and outside of the classroom with the superhero mythos.

I have heroes, The Apostle Paul, Augustine, Martin Luther, etc. But a superhero is part of a mythology.  He or she can do things and no ordinary mortal can—Silver Suffer, Thor, Hulk, Superman.  There are also anti-heroes like  Jessica Jones and Luke Cage and Deadpool and the Suicide Squad who turn the superhero genera upside down.  The ancient myths uplifted virtues, and modern anti-superheroes mock virtue. Moral complexity has led to moral nihilism, but ironically all indirectly and sometimes directly shout for a savoir or messiah figure for their redemption.

Now all religions are mythologies of one sort or another. But the question for us, is “what is the difference between what Christ is theologically, and other mythos and other Messiah like figures like Superman, mythologically?”

By the way Superman’s real name is Kal-el, and his father is Jor-el, both named after Elohim, which is the Hebrew word for God.  And Superman’s adoptive parents, original names were Mary and Joseph!  I wonder who had parents named Mary and Joseph !  They changed them later to Martha and Jonathan.

In this podcast we mentioned a great deal of resources.  First is Adam’s book, Imitating the Saints.   This is an amazing resource full of references to the latest superheroes  like Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, X-Men, Hulk, Spiderman, and their link to what makes us human. All done in the spirit of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien.

Some great resources to consider are Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment on @comixology :

Here is a summary of this great graphic novel:

Every year on Midsummer’s Eve, Victor von Doom clashes with the forces of evil in a vain attempt to free his mother’s soul from Hell. Only when Doctor Stephen Strange — Master of the Mystic Arts and Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme — is convinced to join the fight, does the outcome have any hope of changing. But first these unlikely allies must journey to Mephisto’s infernal realm … where they find that the cost of one soul may be more than they are willing to pay! 

Joseph Campbell  is also a great scholar to consider in studying myth.  He describes the journey hero’s take in stories, a journey that is mimicked in almost every single story in all of human history!! . All of us in our own lives we will eventually experience many of the following stages of the Hero’s Journey–that is a mere shadow of the true hero and savior.

Is America the Greatest Country in the world? Trump’s theme is “Make America Great Again” or “America First!” Is there anything wrong with this hypothesis? In this podcast I interview a scholar, my friend, John Wisley, Historian of American Exceptionalism.  We will address this question head on! 

John Wisely is Assistant Professor of History and Christian Apologetics at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary at the Houston campus. His areas of research include religious freedom, American historical theology, American identity, history of Western thought, race in American history, and civil religion. He blogs at To Breathe Your Free Air ! He has been working on a project about “American Exceptionalism,” and the resulting book–American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea–was released late in 2015 by IVP Academic.

Dinesh D’Souza argues in his book What’s so Great about America, that ” My conclusion is that America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.”Dennis Prager argues similarly in his book Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values to Triumph, Is there any truth to this?

In this podcast we also discuss Jeff Daniels famous critique of America being NOT the greatest country in the world. See the video on it below. It is worth it!

 

But to be fair, here is a this rebuttal from Steven Crowder .

I look forward to your feedback!

The truth hurts, not as much as jumping on a bike without a seat but it hurts!  This week we continue our search for truth in religion. In this podcast I have the honor of an interview with one of my heroes, Gregory Koukl! He is the author of the new book the  Story of Reality : How the World Began, How It Ends, And Everything Important That Happens In Between (Zondervan 2017)

Greg  Koukl has spoken on more than 70 college and university campuses both in the U.S. and abroad and has hosted his own call-in radio show for 27 years advocating “Christianity worth thinking about.” He’s debated atheist Michael Shermer on national radio and Deepak Chopra on national television on Lee Strobel’s “Faith Under Fire.” An award-winning writer and best-selling author, Greg has written seven books, including The Story of Reality—How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between; Tactics—A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, and Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air. Greg has been featured on Focus on the Family radio and has been interviewed for CBN and the BBC. He’s been quoted in Christianity Today, the U.S. News & World Report, and the L.A. Times.

Greg received his Masters in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Talbot School of Theology, graduating with high honors, and his Masters in Christian Apologetics with honors from Simon Greenleaf University. He is an adjunct professor in Christian apologetics at Biola University.

“Truth” is that which conforms to reality, whether in the physical world or in the metaphysical realm. It is, for example, a truth that water freezes at 32 degrees F. It is a truth that two plus two is equal to four. All rational people acknowledge these realities. On the other hand, one should also concede that the physical world is not the sole realm characterized by genuine truth. Professor Gordon Clark, head of the philosophy department at Butler University, has noted that “moral and spiritual truth is as much truth as mathematical, scientific, and historical truth. It is all equally intellectual” (Clark, Gordon H. (1999), “Truth,” Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology, E.F. Harrison, G.W. Bromiley, Carl F. Henry, eds. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).p. 533).

Consider, Greg’s new book, Story of Reality : How the World Began, How It Ends, And Everything Important That Happens In Between

Biblical Christianity is more than just another private religious view. It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.

Christianity is a picture of reality.

It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.

In The Story of Reality, bestselling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:

* God

* Man

* Jesus

* Cross

* Resurrection

If you are already a Christian, do you know and understand the biblical story? And for those still seeking answers to the questions of life, this is an invitation to hear a story that explains the world in a way nothing else will. This story can change your life forever.

The truth hurts, not as much as jumping on a bike without a seat but it hurts!  This week we continue our search for truth in religion. This podcast I have an the honor of an interview one of my heroes, Gregory Koukl! He is the author of the new book the  Story of Reality : How the World Began, How It Ends, And Everything Important That Happens In Between (Zondervan 2017)

Greg  Koukl has spoken on more than 70 college and university campuses both in the U.S. and abroad and has hosted his own call-in radio show for 27 years advocating “Christianity worth thinking about.” He’s debated atheist Michael Shermer on national radio and Deepak Chopra on national television on Lee Strobel’s “Faith Under Fire.” An award-winning writer and best-selling author, Greg has written seven books, including The Story of Reality—How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important that Happens in Between; Tactics—A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, and Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air. Greg has been featured on Focus on the Family radio and has been interviewed for CBN and the BBC. He’s been quoted in Christianity Today, the U.S. News & World Report, and the L.A. Times.

Greg received his Masters in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Talbot School of Theology, graduating with high honors, and his Masters in Christian Apologetics with honors from Simon Greenleaf University. He is an adjunct professor in Christian apologetics at Biola University.

“Truth” is that which conforms to reality, whether in the physical world or in the metaphysical realm. It is, for example, a truth that water freezes at 32 degrees F. It is a truth that two plus two is equal to four. All rational people acknowledge these realities. On the other hand, one should also concede that the physical world is not the sole realm characterized by genuine truth. Professor Gordon Clark, head of the philosophy department at Butler University, has noted that “moral and spiritual truth is as much truth as mathematical, scientific, and historical truth. It is all equally intellectual” (Clark, Gordon H. (1999), “Truth,” Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology, E.F. Harrison, G.W. Bromiley, Carl F. Henry, eds. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson).p. 533).

Consider, Greg’s new book, Story of Reality : How the World Began, How It Ends, And Everything Important That Happens In Between

Biblical Christianity is more than just another private religious view. It’s more than just a personal relationship with God or a source of moral teaching.

Christianity is a picture of reality.

It explains why the world is the way it is. When the pieces of this puzzle are properly assembled, we see the big picture clearly. Christianity is a true story of how the world began, why the world is the way it is, what role humans play in the drama, and how all the plotlines of the story are resolved in the end.

In The Story of Reality, bestselling author and host of Stand to Reason, Gregory Koukl, explains the five words that form the narrative backbone of the Christian story. He identifies the most important things that happen in the story in the order they take place:

* God

* Man

* Jesus

* Cross

* Resurrection

If you are already a Christian, do you know and understand the biblical story? And for those still seeking answers to the questions of life, this is an invitation to hear a story that explains the world in a way nothing else will. This story can change your life forever.

How you know that what you believe is in fact true?  “Everyone has their own views of truth and of God!” That is a common mantra in our pluralistic and sophomoric views of the Good the True and the Beautiful.  But is it right?  Is there a path to follow, a way to get us to the truth, if such a thing even exists?  Or are we condemned to walk in spiritual darkness and indifference?  In this post and podcast interview, we examine the question of truth in religion head on.  Joining me in is J. Warner Wallace to help us on this journey.

Jim Warner Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective who was conscientious and a vocal atheist through his undergraduate and graduate work in Design and Architecture (CSULB and UCLA); he always considered himself to be an “evidentialist”. His experience in law enforcement only served to strengthen his conviction that truth is tied directly to evidence. But at the age of thirty-five, J. Warner took a serious and expansive look at the evidence for the Christian Worldview and determined that Christianity was demonstrably true. After becoming a Christ follower in 1996, Jim continued to take an evidential approach to truth. He eventually earned a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and teaches as a professor today at Biola University.  He is also the author of many books.

This is Part 2 of 2

In this podcast interview, I ask Jim the most important question I can ask about the fundamental foundations of my life, the question of truth.  If what I believe about my health, my wife, my children, my financial accounts and my eternal soul and God, is not in fact true then it is nothing more than what Freud called wishful thinking.  I may as well eat drink and be happy in my own self-imposed delusion: embracing pragmatism and possibly hedonism.  So then how do we determine truth?

Some ideas are contradictory, some are impossible to disprove, and some are hard to give up.  Religious beliefs are like that but so are naturalism or scientific materialism. It is also possible to have a false belief that works for you like a cult would.  There are many ways to consider the truthfulness of an idea or theory as religion is one as well.  Lets consider the great religious leaders, whether he be Jesus, Moses or Muhammad, or Joseph Smith, we need to look at their life style to see if they really are who they claim to be.

James J. Warner Wallace has named three things to watch out for in the founder of a religion. Why did he start it? Was it to increase his political power? Was it to have more sexual partners? Was it to amass more wealth? Or was it to really serve God and humanity?   These three are a clue that this religion is questionable, if its founder is found to have these elements in increasing amounts in his life.

They are:

* The obsessive desire of the sensual: lust

* The obsessive desire for wealth: Greed

* The obsessive desire for power: Political Dominance 

But you will have to listen to the interview to see how this would work!

Check these wonderful books for your “truth” library.

Let me know what you think!

How you know that what you believe is in fact true?  “Everyone has their own views of truth and of God!” That is a common mantra in our pluralistic and sophomoric views of the Good the True and the Beautiful.  But is it right?  Is there a path to follow, a way to get us to the truth, if such a thing even exists?  Or are we condemned to walk in spiritual darkness and indifference?  In this post and podcast interview, we examine the question of truth in religion head on.  Joining me in is J. Warner Wallace to help us on this journey.

Jim Warner Wallace is a cold-case homicide detective who was conscientious and a vocal atheist through his undergraduate and graduate work in Design and Architecture (CSULB and UCLA); he always considered himself to be an “evidentialist”. His experience in law enforcement only served to strengthen his conviction that truth is tied directly to evidence. But at the age of thirty-five, J. Warner took a serious and expansive look at the evidence for the Christian Worldview and determined that Christianity was demonstrably true. After becoming a Christ follower in 1996, Jim continued to take an evidential approach to truth. He eventually earned a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and teaches as a professor today at Biola University.  He is also the author of many books.

This is Part 1 of 2

In this podcast interview, I ask Jim the most important question I can ask about the fundamental foundations of my life, the question of truth.  If what I believe about my health, my wife, my children, my financial accounts and my eternal soul and God, is not in fact true then it is nothing more than what Freud called wishful thinking.  I may as well eat drink and be happy in my own self-imposed delusion: embracing pragmatism and possibly hedonism.  So then how do we determine truth?

Some ideas are contradictory, some are impossible to disprove, and some are hard to give up.  Religious beliefs are like that but so are naturalism or scientific materialism. It is also possible to have a false belief that works for you like a cult would.  There are many ways to consider the truthfulness of an idea or theory as religion is one as well.  Lets consider the great religious leaders, whether he be Jesus, Moses or Muhammad, or Joseph Smith, we need to look at their life style to see if they really are who they claim to be.

James J. Warner Wallace has named three things to watch out for in the founder of a religion. Why did he start it? Was it to increase his political power? Was it to have more sexual partners? Was it to amass more wealth? Or was it to really serve God and humanity?   These three are a clue that this religion is questionable, if its founder is found to have these elements in increasing amounts in his life.

They are:

* The obsessive desire of the sensual: lust

* The obsessive desire for wealth: Greed

* The obsessive desire for power: Political Dominance 

But you will have to listen to the interview to see how this would work!

Check these wonderful books for your “truth” library.

Let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life is a maze.    There is an amazing phenomena of nature called an “Ant Mill.” where ants walk in circles until something incredible happens.  Most ants navigate by using eyesight and some other senses, but when many get disorientated they follow the ant in front of them, it’s a survival instinct. But if that lead ant does not know where it is going– it follows the ant in front of it, and they march in circles until they die of exhaustion and starvation. It is one of the strangest sights in nature.  We are in this secular age like these ants, following after the next fad or new spiritual guru on TV, walking in spiritual darkness…finding not spiritual salvation but spiritual starvation instead.

How can we find our way without a leader? Are the leaders we do have blind? How can we know without a reference point beyond ourselves? 

 

David Hume, Epicurus and J.L. Mackie and Dawkins would have disagreed that evil is our fault. They lay the problem at the throne of God himself. They are the most famous articulators of the famous logical problem of evil.

1. If God is all Powerful. Omnipotent –he could stop all evil globally.

2.If God is all knowing, Omniscient, he would know when and how to stop it.

3. If God is all Good –Omni Beneficent, then he would want to eliminate evil

4. But evil exists and grows…

    4. Therefore, God does not exist  

But does atheism really provide a better answer? If we eliminate God what are we left with? I found that atheism cheapens life. Man is as Shakespear said “Full of sound and fury signifying nothing.”  Degrass Tyson, said it well….we are insignificant” according then.  How according to atheism can you even have an objective evil to object to?

According to Richard Dawkins, we all all advanced DNA, and all we can do is dance to its music!

However, according to the majority of philosophers in my profession, all the theist must do is show how it is possible for a good God to exist and evil to exist too. Great philosophers like Aquinas, Augustine and most recently, world class Philosophers like Richard Swinburne and Alvin Plantinga argued well that that the freewill defense shows that even for God it is logically impossible to create free people who must always choose good as much as it is impossible to create square circles or married bachelors. Evil is a necessary by byproduct of the power of love and choice. We must be able to choose to love or hate. If we do not have that power then we are not free. Since God choose to create free people, he cannot thus make them choose to love him and others. If he did then they would not be free. Also there is another way to address this. Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Suma Theologica quoting Augustine that, “Since God is the Highest Good, He would not allow any evil to exist in His works, unless His Omnipotence and Goodness were such as to bring good even out of evil.” –Saint Augustine of Hippo, Enchiridion

Today on our podcast, I interview my friend, Jamie Dew on this universal issue of evil.

Jamie Dew, is Dean of the College at Southeastern where he teaches Philosophy and the History of Ideas.  He earned his PhD in Theological Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastored in NC for 10 years. Currently, he is working on a second PhD in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham in England pertaining to what it means to be a human being.

He is the author of Science and Theology: An Assessment of Alister McGrath’s Critical Realist Perspective (Wipf & Stock, 2010), co-author of How Do We Know?: An Introduction to Epistemology (IVP, 2013), and co-editor of God and Evil: The Case for God in a World Filled with Pain (IVP, 2013). He also has several books in the works!

What are some of the greatest mistakes people make in communication?  How can we really reach the maximum number of people with our talks? If you want to know, then listen to this podcast.  It is part 2 of my serendipitous interview with

Ken Davis! Ken’s books have received national critical acclaim and he has been the keynote speaker for hundreds of major corporate and faith based events. As president of Dynamic Communications International, he teaches speaking skills to corporate executives and ministry professionals. Ken’s daily radio show, Lighten Up!, is heard on over 1500 stations in the United States and around the world.

In this interview podcast I ask Ken direct questions about how to really connect with people.

This is what we will cover..

* What is SCORRE method of public speaking? How did you stumble upon you?

* What are the #1 and # 2 reasons most people FAIL to succeed with presentations?

* How does one avoid using speaking methodologies as a tool to manipulate one’s audience?  For example, Billy Graham has preplanned people begin to walk down the aisle when an invitation is given at his crusades to encourage others to get off their behinds and walk down the aisle too.

* What if we got started today with your suggestions?… what would our presentations look like in 30 days, 90 days, or a year?

* What additional resources, books, websites, are available to help ensure success?

If you want to take your public speaking skills to the next level, I cannot recommend this conference SCORRE more than I do!  It has had a major and revolutionarily impact on my own public speaking!

See http://www.scorreconference.tv or http://www.kendavis.com