Do similarities between pagan religions and Christianity dis prove the Christian claims? To understand the relationship between pagan religions and Christianity it is important to understand the Catholic idea of the 'development of doctrine.' This was first set out by fifth century theologian Vincent of Lerins.In this excerpt from his writings he explains how truth develops within [...]
The religious life requires faith, but what is 'faith'? One of the greatest misunderstandings among believers and non-believers alike is the concept of 'faith'. Let's rattle through the misconceptions before we try to say what 'faith' really is. First is the idea that faith is 'blind'. The non believers often blame believers for believing something which [...]
One of the positive things about discussions with atheists is that most of them insist on rational discussion. They say they want to discuss things reasonably. It's disappointing therefore when the conversations sometimes end up with atheists descending to profanity, emotional rants, ad hominem attacks and blasphemy. Nevermind. Some Catholics are fond of irrational rants too. [...]
Have you ever had to deal with a female work colleague or family member who, just as the argument got interesting, turned on the tears? Immediately they win. It's a not-too-subtle form of emotional blackmail. The tears shift the conversation away from reasoning and evidence and you have to stop and feel guilty and compassionate and [...]
Last week in New Jersey some of the faithful flocked to see something strange and wonderful--the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a tree trunk. The story is reported here. Then there was the face of Mother Teresa in a bun in Tennessee. You can see that here along with an image of Jesus on [...]
In seminary we had to study modern Biblical scholarship, and one of my great blessings was that at Bob Jones I learned to be skeptical of the fundamentalists, but at Oxford I learned to be skeptical of the modernists. Both groups seemed to me to be like two madmen strapped back to back. Both the fundamentalists [...]
It is easy to exchange convinced assertions: "The gospels are 100% God's holy Word and every bit is historically accurate!" or "The gospels are fairy tales!" However there is a discipline called "Biblical scholarship" in which scholars do some very interesting work determining just which parts of the gospels they think are reliable and which they [...]
Are the gospels reliable as historical accounts? In an earlier post I wrote that the gospels are unique ancient documents. They are not written primarily as historical accounts by professional historians. Instead they are the collected stories, memories and experiences of the community of Jesus Christ's disciples. Therefore we treat them as the documents they are: [...]
Anyone who wishes to engage in a thoughtful and intelligent exploration of the Christian faith will have to ask whether the gospels are historically reliable. Can we believe that the stories in the gospels are a true and accurate account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth? In answering this question the first thing to understand [...]
An interesting story has popped up about miracles taking place in India. I've heard church workers report that the growth of the church in Africa is also attributed to a rush of miracles happening there. So why no miracles here? First of all, to see a miracle you have to believe in miracles. C.S.Lewis said he [...]