Why think God exists? Here are a few of the best reasons, in my studied opinion: Continue reading
Category Archives: Reason for Faith
Andrews Norton on Christianity
Below is what I regard a most apt description of what has happened to the doctrines of the Christian religion as taught by Jesus and those whom he designated his apostles. It comes from the unitarian Christian scholar Andrews Norton (1786 - 1853), one-time professor at Harvard University and author of several books including the classic A Statement of Reasons for Not Believing the Doctrines of Trinitarians
: Continue reading
Peyton Manning’s Christian Faith
This past Sunday Peyton Manning led the Denver Broncos to decisive victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The Broncos are now AFC Champions and will match up against the NFC Champion Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. Peyton’s performance in this years Playoffs has been a continuation of his performance in the regular season, which amounts to the greatest statistical regular season at the quarterback position in the 94-year history of the National Football League (NFL). This regular season saw Manning set records in yards passed in a season (5,477) and touchdowns thrown in a season (55), and he led his team to accumulate more points (606) in a regular season than had ever been done before. Manning also tied the record for touchdowns thrown in a game (7) in the Broncos Week 1 win over the defending Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. Continue reading
Cicero and the Argument from Design
Here are some selections from On the Nature of the Gods penned in 45 BC by the Roman statesman and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. In the excerpts Cicerco presents the Teleological Argument, or the Argument from Design, for the existence of God. The selections come from Book II, chapters XXXVII, XLIV, and XLVII. Continue reading
Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams
Below is a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to John Adams toward the end of their lives (remarkably they died on the same day-Independence Day July 4, 1826-within five hours of each other). In the letter, Jefferson reveals his religious sentiments, pulling no punches about Calvinism and the doctrine of the trinity (he calls it “tritheism”). In the course of the letter, he also endorses the teleological argument, or argument from design, making an eloquent presentation of the argument. What strikes me most is the vehemence of Jefferson’s denunciation of Calvinism. A mere mention of John Calvin’s name by Adams (in his previous letter to Jefferson), and not even in a theological context, sets Jefferson off. Continue reading
The Spread of Early Christianity as Proof of God and the Truth of the Christian Revelation
Here’s another selection from James Harris Fairchild’s Elements Of Theology, Natural And Revealed
. In this selection Harris briefly presents the argument for the existence of God and the truth of the Christian revelation from the spread of early Christianity. In sum, “The great fact that Christianity starting from Judea spread over all the Western world and changed the whole tide of history requires as an explanation such events as those which the Gospels record.” Continue reading
Jesus as Proof of God and the Truth of the Christian Revelation
This is a selection that I’ve adapted from James Harris Fairchild’s Elements Of Theology, Natural And Revealed
(1892). In the selection Fairchild presents an argument for the existence of God and the truth of the Christian revelation that one does not see presented anymore, which is a shame because it’s a powerful argument. It is a kind of teleological argument from the Jesus of the Gospels. Just as the universe in general plainly evidences its design and creation by a transcendent being (God), so the person of Jesus presented in the Gospels plainly evidences divine origin. He is no “mere man” and no literary invention. Continue reading