What are Values?

Values can only be found in God’s glory. They are determined by God who is the creator of all things. All things were created to glorify him. And all things were originally created good. God is good and defines what is good.

We do not live in a dualistic world, meaning, evil is simply a lack of good. Thus, when someone murders an innocent person, evil is not a thing that lives within the murderer, but rather, a lack of good within the murderer. What is good is determined by God. His character is the very definition of good. 

When people ask, "Can God logically commit evil?" it's like asking if God can make a rock to heavy for himself to lift or if he can make a squared circle. The answer is no. It's not that he is too powerless to create a rock too heavy even for him to lift, it's that the questioner has given a question that goes against the law of non-contradiction. Therefore, we can conclude, God, being holy and perfect, cannot commit evil because it goes against the law of non-contradiction. If he were able to commit evil (remember this is a lack of good), then he wouldn't be God. One of the requirements of God's character is that he is good.

If the God of Scripture exists, and I believe we have ample reason to believe this is the case, then we can expect that only that which he defines as being good is actually good. Those are the things of value.

[Romans 9, 11; Ephesians 1; Proverbs 16:33; 1 John; Genesis 1, 2]

What is Truth?

Truth is objective and determined by God. “All truth is God’s truth,” but not all claimed truths are actually true. Truth does not run contrary to what is spoken by God through his Word. Jesus Christ is knowledge and truth. General revelation tends to be truth that is universally recognized. Knowledge is truth. The truth is everywhere the same. Truth is objective and valued. Some truth and knowledge are so clear cut that issues will be agreed upon by the majority of all peoples.

For starters, truth is not arbitrary. Regardless of whether or not one recognizes truth as such does not change the "reality" of it at the end of the day. That's not to say that if you and I give two contrary sets of truth claims that we are both right. We could both be wrong, but we could not both be right. One of us would have to be wrong by necessity. 

Therefore, truth is not like some kind of moral zeitgeist of the day. It does not change from culture-to-culture or time period to time period. For example, today the world exists. That fact will not change tomorrow. It is logically conceivable that the world won't exist tomorrow, but it will not change the fact that the world exists today and it certainly doesn't change if you go to another nation or culture. The world still exists. That is a clear cut issue that no rational being can deny. The world exists.

[Genesis 1, 2; 2 Timothy 3; 2 Peter 1; John 10; Matthew 5; Luke 24]

What is Reality?

Reality is independent of the human knower. There are two distinct, but not separate realities. The natural reality is sensory while the spiritual reality cannot be empirically proven or tested. God is the creator of all things, natural and supernatural, with the exception of himself. God is uncreated. All things were originally created good until the fall when the serpent deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. All of humanity inherited a sinful nature and are fallen. Everyone is need of redemption to be restored.

Reality isn't brought about by experience and it certainly isn't created by human minds. At the same time, there are two aspects of reality: (a) the reality that is; and (b) the reality we experience. The "reality that is" simply means that this is the cold hard fact. It's sometimes empirically provable (natural) and at other times it is not (supernatural/spiritual). 

Because God created all things, he is the only one who has exhaustive knowledge about either natural or supernatural reality. He created all things and he created all things originally good. At the fall, man was deceived and sinned against a holy, perfect God. Thus, the first couple (and they are historic) brought sin into this world. All are infected. All are therefore separated from God. All are in need of a Savior.

[Genesis 1-3; Romans 3, 9; Deuteronomy 39:39; John 1; 1 John 1]

A Shot of Faith to the Head

A SHOT OF FAITH TO THE HEAD 
BE A CONFIDENT BELIEVER IN AN AGE OF CRANKY ATHEISTS

MITCH STOKES

THOMAS NELSON, 2012

Mitch Stokes has studied under some of the greatest Christian thinkers and philosophers alive today. His mentors are some of the most influential philosophers in the world, religious or secular. This book is self-defense training to build confidence for believers in the midst of a world that constantly attacks their faith.

Mitch Stokes has authored a fascinating book on apologetics. A Shot of Faith to the Head makes a wonderful addition to any library. I believe this book will be most suitable for younger generations who are facing the problem of New Atheism and a rise of agnostic friends more so than their parents. But, this is a great book for training up any person in apologetics.

Never Ever Ever, Like Ever

Illustration by Tim Sheaffer (Vanity Fair).

Never Ever Ever, Like Ever: What the Billboard Charts are telling us about culture on this day

As of today, Taylor Swift’s “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” is the number one song on Billboard’s “Top 100”. In 2012 she became Billboard’s “Woman of the Year”.  What’s the message that makes her number one? For starters, the message is clear: grammar don’t matter. Never ever ever, like ever. 

If you have followed my blog for very long, you know I never ever ever agree with Christopher Hitchens, like ever. But, back in 2010, he wrote an article for Vanity Fair criticizing the new use of the word like. “Since, like, the 60s, and definitely since Clueless, one word has been, like, everywhere.” 

Dad, It's Been a Month Since You've Been Gone

Dad, It's Been a Month Since You've Been Gone: And that puts me on a morning train

Today makes it one month since my dad died. He died. He did not pass on, pass away, or move on to the other side. He died and that is the reality of it all. He did profess faith in Jesus in the weeks leading up to his death, but there is no way around the ugly fact that it was death. Too often we skirt around that language to make things more bearable, but I am afraid that when we do so we are trying to cover up reality. Reality tells us that death is real and it is real because of sin.

My dad would not have denied being a sinner. Matter of fact that was the biggest obstacle for him to profess faith in Christ (from his perspective). He feared that he sinned too much, that his offenses were too great to be forgiven. And that very view point is sin as well. Paul says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Romans 1:18 ESV).”

Bless the LORD, O my soul!

He has shown his people the power of his works 

in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

- Psalm 111:6

The opening verses of the book of Psalms reads: “Blessed is the man… [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night,” (1:1a, 2). Recently my small group went through JD Greear’s “Gospel Revolution” study. This is one of the key points Greear brings up throughout the study. Our obedience should not be primarily out of obligation (though we are obligated), but a result of desire, or as the Psalmist says, “delight.”