Gospel.com Blog

Soulation has a new website! We’ve noted Soulation’s apologetics ministry several times before, but if you’re not familiar with them, now’s as good a chance as any to learn more about their ministry.

Soulation’s husband-and-wife team consists of Dale and Jonalyn Fincher, who have lots to say about topics ranging from apologetics, art, relationships, and what it means to live as somebody who is, in their words, “appropriately human.” Stop by the new site and have a look around!

“What is God’s will for my life?”

“What does God let bad things happen to me and my family?”

“Why should I trust the Bible?”

If you have kids or work with young people, chances are you’ve heard countless variations of these basic spiritual questions. Unfortunately, it’s often all too easy to respond with pat answers that don’t really address the heart of the question—and sometimes, even without realizing it, we can send the message to young people that it’s not OK to ask and think through tough spiritual questions.

Dale Fincher of Soulation has some thoughtful and inspiring words on the topic in a new audio message about apologetics questions that young people ask. Fincher challenges Christians not to run from young people’s “tough questions,” and not to minimize their importance. Rather, we should encourage kids to think critically through difficult spiritual issues.

This is one of several new audio resources at Soulation; see also a new audio message asking “why would a good God send people to hell?” and another about issues of identity and body image. If you’re looking for a fresh and direct approach to Christian apologetics, Dale and Jonalyn Fincher’s ministry has a lot to offer.

We’re well into the Advent season, the period of time leading up to the Christmas celebration. But isn’t there something odd about commemorating Advent (which means “coming”) thousands of years after the event it leads up to? If Advent is meant to lead up to Christ’s birth, and Christ has already arrived… does that make Advent a simple exercise in nostalgia?

Betsy Childs writes about the strange season of Advent at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries:

Is this a flaw in the whole concept of the Advent season? Not at all. In Advent, we don’t simply look back and pretend that we are waiting, imagining what it would have been like to wait for the Messiah prior to the Incarnation. We are also meant to truly and sincerely look forward to Christ’s second coming.

We don’t celebrate Advent just to commemorate an ancient event. Rather, it challenges us to look forward to Christ’s second coming the same way that early believers looked forward to his initial coming. Read Childs’ essay for more.

One of the most pervasive critiques of the Christian faith is the charge that it’s nothing more than a “psychological crutch.” Is God an invention of the mind, a fantasy we’ve imagined into being to give our lives some sense of meaning and purpose? Is belief in God something for the weak—a childish gullibility, a way of avoiding reality?

Amy Orr-Ewing tackles this question head-on in her essay Is Believing in God a Psychological Crutch? She traces the “psychological crutch” charge back to Freud, and offers a Christian response:

From [Freud's] perspective, God is merely a creation of the human mind, a projection emanating from human need and desire rather than a distinct reality or being that exists independently of the human mind. Freud’s notion of God acting as an idealized father figure for humans, providing a cushion from the harshness of the real world and a comforting friend in the midst of life’s troubles, reduces God to a human construct. Indeed, for Freud, God is made in humanity’s own image and is the “ultimate wish-fulfillment”; God does not actually exist but is merely the creation of humanity’s imagination and desire for a loving father figure.

How might a Christian respond to this? Can God really be explained away so easily by one aspect of psychology?

Read the full article, which is excerpted from Orr-Ewing’s upcoming book Is Belief in God Irrational? If you find this essay interesting, you can read the entire first chapter of the book over at InterVarsity Press.

Lastly, there are plenty more essays addressing the topics of faith, doubt, and apologetics at the Just Thinking archives. Don’t run from doubt and questions—take some time to see how Christian thinkers and writers are responding to tough questions about Christianity!

Does God exist? Is there scientific evidence for the existence of a Creator? What reasons, if any, are there to believe that the God of the Bible is real?

The question of the existence of God is perhaps the most basic challenge that any Christian must face, and even believers can find it difficult to respond when asked to offer objective, scientific evidence for God’s existence. It’s such a common and important question that many of the apologetics ministries in the Gospel.com community have published material addressing it. Here’s how several community members answer the question of God’s existence:

• Is there rational evidence for the existence of God? from FaithFacts.
• Why believe in God’s existence if it can’t be proven scientifically? from RBC Ministries.
• Is there any evidence that God exists? from the Scibel science ministry.
• If God exists, why doesn’t he reveal himself? from Delve Into Jesus.
• Is there really a God? from Answers in Genesis.

The question of God’s existence has challenged theologians and philosophers for thousands of years, and there’s no quick and easy answer—but if it’s a question that’s bothered you (and who hasn’t wondered about this?), these essays can help you find the answer.

Are the teachings of Jesus and Krishna compatible? The teachings of Krishna and Hinduism are often said to be extremely similar to those of Jesus Christ—is that true?

These are among the questions tackled by apologist Ravi Zacharias in an interview about Christianity and Hinduism today on the Iron Sharpens Iron program (link goes to MP3; the interview starts about 4 minutes in. See also an introduction to Ravi on the Iron Sharpens Iron website). The interview is a great exploration of the topic, discussing the differences between Christian and Hindu ideas about sin, reincarnation, the afterlife, and much else. If you’ve ever had questions about how the two religions agree and disagree on the big questions, the hour-long interview is well worth a listen.

If you want to learn more about Ravi’s apologetics ministry, be sure to check out Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, where you can learn more about what he’s doing. The Slice of Infinity daily devotional and the Just Thinking broadcast are good places to start. If the question of Hinduism in particular interests you, you might also want to take a look at Ravi’s new book, New Birth or Rebirth: Jesus Talks with Krishna.

The last few years have seen a great deal of renewed attention given to the claims of atheism—and enough charismatic spokepeople for atheism have come forward with books and articles that many observers have taken to calling the movement “new atheism.” One of the main objections that atheists have to Christianity is Christianity’s claim that true morality is possible only if God exists.

Do they have a point? Can one make moral judgments or behave in a moral fashion in a universe without God? Apologist J.M. Njoroge (of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) tackles this question in a recent article about New Atheism and morality. He doesn’t think that this point is a winning one for atheists—read the full article to learn why!

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has a new website! It’s definitely worth visiting, especially if you are not familiar with Ravi’s apologetics ministry. Ravi has put up a short welcome video that introduces the site and describes his ministry, followed by a list of links to popular content like the A Slice of Infinity daily devotional and the Just Thinking audio broadcast.

While you’re there, be sure to take a look at a sample chapter and discussion guide from Ravi’s latest book, The End of Reason, a response to prominent atheist Sam Harris’ recent critiques of Christianity.

Are Christian apologetics necessary… or even useful? Apologetics refers to the defense of the Christian faith, but it sometimes seems less than relevant to everyday Christianity. You can’t “argue someone into the Kingdom,” so is there any point to apologetic debates and sermons? Even the very term apologetics seems to suggest that Christians have done something wrong and need to apologize for it, which hardly seems like a useful way to defend our faith. So what is the point of apologetics?

That’s the question that Ravi Zacharias tackles in An Apologetic for Apologetics, an essay excerpted from his book Beyond Opinion: Living the Faith We Defend. In it, he argues that apologetics does have an important role to play in our Christian lives—but that we might need to change our idea of what apologetics really is before we can start defending our faith effectively. Among other things, Ravi suggests that well-intentioned efforts by the Western church have inadvertently devalued apologetics, and that Christians today need to reclaim the type of apologetics that Jesus and the apostle Paul practiced.

It’s a timely message (and quite appropriate, considering our recent post about Thomas Aquinas, one of the most famous theologians and defenders of the faith). And after you’ve read Ravi’s essay on apologetics, take a look at The Trinity as a Paradigm for Spiritual Transformation, another new article recently added to the website.