Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 16

Shattering the Icons of Evolution ��� Live Event Tonight

Tonight���s the night! Join me right here, on Google+, or on YouTube at 6:30 p.m. (PT) to see the live video feed of ���Shattering the Icons of Evolution.��� I���ll be talking about how to recognize and respond to the different categories that arguments for macroevolution fall into: exaggerated extrapolations, egregious errors, and equivocal evidence.

(Don���t worry if you can���t watch it live. After tonight, you���ll be able to watch the video here anytime.)

What Did Jesus Mean When He Said to Love Your Enemy?

Alan explains what Jesus meant when he said to love your enemy and how that relates to governments protecting citizens.

 

We Perceive the Moral Reality around Us

In Brett���s monthly letter, he points out the similarity between our ability to perceive (and have knowledge of) moral reality and our ability to perceive physical reality:

[T]he idea of self-evident moral truths represents the ground floor of moral reasoning. Such truths are known to us by way of our moral intuitions. An intuition is a faculty of knowing. It���s a reflective way of seeing something. It���s a way of knowing that is immediate and direct. You see something, you reflect for a moment, and you simply come to see the truth of the matter���.

To help students grasp this concept better, I compared their moral perception to their sense perception. Sight via the eyes is the faculty we use to see the physical reality around us. If a dog walks in front of me, I see it and know it exists. If you asked me how I know, I would respond, ���Because I see it. It���s self-evident. I just see that dog walking in front of me.��� If you asked me to prove it, I would simply point to the dog and say, ���Look! It���s right there. Can���t you see it?��� If you said, ���No, I don���t see any dog,��� I would conclude there is something wrong with your sense perception, that your eyesight is not working properly. However, I would not conclude that I was not actually seeing a dog.

In the same way, our moral intuitions are a faculty we use to ���see��� the moral reality around us. I see that torturing children for fun is wrong, or murder is wrong, or dishonesty is a vice, and thus apprehend moral truth. If you asked me how I know, I would respond, ���Because I see it. It���s self-evident. I just see that torturing babies for fun is morally wrong.��� If you asked me to prove it, I would simply point to the action of torturing young children and say, ���Look! The truth is right there. Can���t you see it?��� If you said, ���No, I don���t think torturing babies for fun is wrong,��� I would conclude there is something wrong with your moral perception. However, I would not conclude that it was not actually wrong to torture babies for the pure pleasure of it.

Read the rest here.

Target, Transgender, and the Use of Bathrooms and Fitting Rooms

Target recently stated: "We welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong." Here are my quick thoughts about their comments and this question.

Links Mentioned on the 4/22/16 Show

The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:

Commentary: How to Get Over Your Fear of Engaging Critics of Christianity (0:00)

Greg Koukl and Michael Shermer at the End of the Decade of the New Atheists ��� Transcript of conversation
Subscribe to Greg's mentoring letter (more subscriptions available here)
Prepping for Engagement by Greg Koukl

Questions:

��� Announcements:

Upcoming events with STR speakers 
STR Cruise to Alaska ��� August 6-13, 2016

1. Suggestions for witnessing to Mormon missionaries (0:20)

Strive for Clarity by Amy Hall (The goal of my conversations with Mormons)
This is the rough plan I (Amy) have in my mind to follow when I talk to Mormons (also includes Bible verses to keep on hand). 
The Ambassador's Guide to Mormonism by Brett Kunkle
Quick Reference App (Includes a module on Mormonism ��� iTunes, Android, Windows, and Web versions)
Is Mormonism Just Another Christian Denomination? by Greg Koukl
"Mormons Aren't Christians" Is Not an Epithet by Amy Hall
LDS View of Atonement Clarified by Amy Hall
LDS Test Is Necessary, Not Sufficient by Amy Hall
Is God an Exalted Man? by Amy Hall
LDS Beliefs: A Doctrinal Reference
In Their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations ��� Compiled by Bill McKeever

2. How do you evaluate a church leader who is sincere but bears bad fruit? (0:42)

How to Keep from Getting Spiritually Weird by Greg Koukl

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.

Challenge Response: Mormons Worship Jesus

Here's my response to this week's challenge:

Links Mentioned on the 4/20/16 Show

The following is a rundown of today's podcast, annotated with links that were either mentioned on the show or inspired by it:

Commentary: Teaching about Hell on a University Campus (0:00)

Hell, Yes! The Terrifying Truth (Audio) by Greg Koukl

Questions:

1. What���s the burden of proof for the existence of UFOs? (0:22)

Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels by J. Warner Wallace
Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men: A Rational Christian Look at UFOs and Extraterrestrials by Hugh Ross, Ken Samples, and Mark Clark
The rUFO Hypothesis (Video) ��� You can purchase the DVD here

2. Counsel for teaching at church (0:44)

The Columbo Tactic by Greg Koukl

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To take part in the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00���6:00 p.m. PT), follow @STRtweets and use the hashtag #STRtalk.

Challenge: Mormons Worship Jesus

Here���s a challenge from an article titled ���10 Reasons You Should Be a Mormon���:

Jesus Christ is the center of our faith.

A lot of people believe we don't worship Jesus Christ, but we do. (Just check out the Church's full name.) We believe in the same Jesus Christ that other Christian faiths believe in. He is the Son of God and died for our sins.

How might you respond to a friend who said this to you? What is the LDS view of Jesus and the work He did for us? What questions might you ask your friend in order to clarify your differences and determine if they���re significant?

Take a shot at this week���s challenge, and be back here on Thursday to hear Brett���s response.

(HT: MRM)

[Explore past challenges here and here.]

How Can I Know God Is Providing?

How can I know God is providing when I'm the one working?

How the Bible Authenticates Itself

John Piper has a new book titled A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness, in which he makes the case that the Bible is self-authenticating���that we can directly apprehend the truth of it when we see the glory of God revealed there.

In an interview with Michael Reeves, Piper explains that when he says the Bible is self-attesting, he���s not referring to the Bible���s claims to be true, nor does he mean the Holy Spirit will give an extra revelation from God testifying about its truthfulness to those who read it. Rather, it���s about the content of the Word itself:

MICHAEL REEVES: You talk about Scripture as a window through which we see the glory of God. It���s not that the glory of God comes alongside Scripture in a different way; it���s mediated through Scripture.

JOHN PIPER: No, no. That���s an absolutely crucial distinction. The ���alongside��� idea of self-attestation is misleading. In other words, when I say that the Holy Spirit testifies���I don���t mean that there���s added information���so I���m reading my Bible, and I���m praying, ���Oh God, is this your word? Is this your word?��� And a voice comes into your head and says, ���THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD.��� That���s a dangerous voice! That is not the way it happens. What the Holy Spirit does���another picture besides window is a cloudy day. The sun is shining [above the clouds]. The sun is the Word and the glory of God in the Word. What does the Holy Spirit do? He doesn���t whisper to people down here, ���There���s a sun up there. He���s shining. Trust me.��� That���s not what He does. He blows the clouds [away], and what convicts us is not the voice of the Holy Spirit, but it is the sight of God in and through the Word.

MICHAEL REEVES: That���s so helpful for a doubting believer because the doubting believer could feel: I���m longing for this secret extra voice to authenticate God���s Word to me, and I���m not hearing it, so I���m going through the Bible, and I���m praying for some extra thing. But you���re not saying there is some extra thing.

Saying the Bible is self-attesting in this way���that when we apprehend the glory of God revealed within its pages, we recognize it to be divine���is quite different from the Mormon method of authentication, which is described in Doctrine and Covenants 9:8:

But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

The feelings of Mormons and Christians cannot be compared to each other in order to discover which is true, but texts can be studied to see what they reveal, and argued for and against on that basis. Piper explains more about this in the clip below:

What if you don���t see the glory of God in the Bible? And worse, what if some parts appear to be inglorious? Is this all just subjective? How does this fit in with apologetics? It���s well worth watching the entire interview to hear more, particularly since, sometimes, as apologists, we get caught up defending a system and forget that the whole purpose of everything we do is to point to our God, who is true, and beautiful, and good, and personal. The interview is a good reminder.