First in our apologetics series, we tackle a question that has made believers queasy for thousands of years. Why does a loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, God allow pain and suffering in this world? While some choose to ignore the question, others bank on it as justification for not believing in God. Either way, it is a legitimate question that has a powerful answer. Once you know it, you’ll be able to share with your friends who may be wondering the same thing.
Can there be an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-loving God at the same time evil exists? Or asked another way, “If there is a God, why does He allow evil to exist?”
In this second episode of our apologetics series, we tackle this question. If you haven’t asked it, your friends certainly have. Ready for an answer?
Romans 8:19-23
Hebrews 5:14
Matthew 13:24-30
Also, in this episode we touch briefly on the issue of whether or not people have the ability to choose between doing good or evil. Do we have choice? Or are our decisions the result of naturalistic inputs such as our DNA or environmental surroundings (Determinism)?
While we don’t intend to fully dissect that topic, it is pertinent when it comes to the question of evil.
A PBS interview of Richard Dawkins is referenced, and you can find it in the link below.
https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/transcript/dawk-body.html.
Does science allow for the existence of George Washington? And, are those who believe faith is irrational right? Many Christians CELEBRATE the notion that their faith is irrational. To reason through the existence of God would mean we don’t have true faith, they claim. Feelings and emotional worship experiences have replaced reasoned questions and a quest for truth in most assemblies. No wonder skeptics think Christians are harmlessly ignorant at best and dangerously so at worst.
And we at Inner Man Radio completely agree with the skeptics on this one.
But the question stands - CAN a person come to a rational, well-reasoned faith in God? The same way they come to believe George Washington existed.
We believe so. And furthermore, we believe the burden of proof actually lies with the Atheist, when reason is applied.
What do a fake faith healer, a naturalistic scientist and bad sports referees have in common? Almost sounds like a bad joke (it is). When it comes to shaping the public’s opinion on whether or not there is a God and if the Bible is His word, it’s no joke. A fresh take you’ve never heard before that will leave you seeing the scientific, faith and even sports worlds differently.
This episode contains audio clip montages featuring the following personalities:
Atheist Montage - Richard Dawkins and Bill Nye
‘Christian’ Montage - Katt Kerr
References:
Romans 1:18-23
Isa 1:18
So, is Christianity immoral? That’s a common (and can be a legitimate) question. After all, if one is to believe the Bible’s account of things, the very same God who supposedly created all men equal, giving them inalienable rights, also commanded Israel to commit genocide in the Old Testament. To answer this question, we first need to answer another one. “What is morality, anyway?” Where do those who believe Christianity to be immoral get their sense of morality from? In fact, is there really such a thing as morality anyway? Or, is morality simply a social construct born of our evolutionary need to survive, even working together as a society? Big questions with big implications. Ready? Let’s go!
If I stole your TV, would you feel wronged? If someone harms you or your family would you want justice? Why? Is this the result of some commonly held zeitgeist, the 10 commandments or something beyond these? Believe it or not, answering this will help us determine whether or not the Bible is consistent or not and therefore immoral. Honest question that we do our best to answer.
Is the Bible full of errors & contradictions? What about all those stories about people and places that never existed?
And if we are to take it at face value that it was written by over 40 authors over a 1,300 year period, ending 2,000 years ago, how can we trust it? What about the fact it’s been translated from Hebrew to Greek to Latin to German to English, etc., etc?
What about Source Criticism? Documentary Hypothesis (sounds smarter with a British accent)?
While not an exhaustive treatment of the subject by any means, we believe these questions can be answered and strive to give the basics in this episode. Moreover we present the case that the overarching message of the scriptures from beginning to end is strong evidence - proof even - for it’s reliability.
In this episode, we continue our apologetics series - answering frequently asked questions about God, the Bible and Christianity. Perhaps no other topic is too hot to handle (sorry - couldn’t resist) in the way this topic is. The subject of hell has been used by religion over the years as a means of profit and control. This worked so long as enough people resonated with the message - that “If you don’t do this or that, you’re gong to hell.” Like any good business though, man made religion now shies away from the topic becuase it doesn’t resonate with the target audience. In fact, the idea of hell is repulsive to many. Talking about it is just to risky to the business model - which requires growth in attendance, donations and public standing.
However aside from all that, the question still stands: How could a loving God send people to an eternal punishment? Does the punishment really fit the crime? What about people who are good people but commit an eencie weencie violation… is hell justified for them? In the words of a recent U.S. presidential candidate, “C’mon man!”.
These are legitimate questions that have legitimate answers and we hope to do our best in giving those.
So now that we’ve discovered there is a moral basis for Hell, the next logical question is, “Why does God make it so hard to go to heaven, especially since you claim He loves us so much?” Put another way, “Why is the path so narrow?” In this episode we ask the question, “Is it?” and then dive into whether or not God has a moral justification for making requirements of people for eternal life. And what about people who have never had the chance to hear the gospel, anyway? A person in the remotest parts of the earth? How can God be justified in condemning them to Hell? This is the first in a two part series that gets to the heart of the issue: Is God really love and are we really in need of a Savior.
Why do some claim there are “rules” on what a person must do to be saved, anyway? Aren’t they just little technicalities that people use as control over others to convince them they’re going to hell? And why did Jesus say the path to salvation is narrow? Lastly - how narrow is TOO narrow? Hint: The problem isn’t the number of ‘rules’, the problem really is that when we object to clear Bible teaching regarding salvation, we’re objecting to the idea that God has ANY rules at all.
