Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 70

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Would a Human Clone Have a Soul?

Alan discusses whether or not a human clone would have a soul. 

Second Week of Advent

The second week of Advent starts tomorrow. I posted links to free Advent devotionals earlier this week, and I’ll be posting some verses from Angie Mosteller’s “How to Do an Advent Wreath” (available on her Celebrating Holidays website) each weekend before Christmas for you to meditate on. The candle lit on the second week, she says, “is said to represent peace and the prophecies of a coming savior.”

(2.1) Prophecy About a Man That Will Crush Satan: In the first book of the Bible, written over 1400 years before Christ, God told Satan that the son of a woman would crush his head. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

(2.2) Prophecy About a Virgin Birth: Over 700 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah foretold that Immanuel (which means “God with us”) would be born of a virgin. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

(2.3) Prophecy About the Identity of a Child: Over 700 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah described the identity of Jesus. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

(2.4) Prophecy About the Majesty of the Child: The prophet Isaiah further described Jesus and his majesty. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).

(2.5) Prophecy About the Birthplace of the Ruler: Over 600 years before Christ, the prophet Micah foretold that the Ruler would be born in Bethlehem. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

(2.6) Prophecy About John the Baptist: Over 400 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Malachi foretold how a forerunner would prepare the way for Jesus. John the Baptist fulfilled this prophecy. “‘See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:1).

(2.7) Prophecy Fulfilled: Jesus is the only one that can bring peace with God. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

You're Not Really Pro-Life Unless...

The objection that pro-life advocates or organizations aren’t really pro-life because they don’t also advocate [fill in the blank] is one you’ll encounter. Scott Klusendorf responds to this "single issue objection" in The Case for Life:

How does it follow that because pro-life advocates oppose the unjust killing of innocent human beings, they must therefore take personal responsibility for solving all of life’s ills?

Speaking at a pro-life convention in Alberta, a local cleric chastised pro-lifers for focusing too narrowly on abortion when they ought to consider broader “life issues” such as occupational safety, AIDS, poverty, and capital punishment. The result, the cleric said, is a “fractured Christian witness that hurts the cause.” 

The cleric is typical of many on the political left who insist that because pro-life advocates oppose the willful destruction of an innocent human being, they must therefore assume responsibility for society’s other ills. In other words, you are not truly pro-life unless you treat the deforestation of the Amazon with the same moral intensity that you do the unjust killing of a human fetus. This is careless thinking and highly unfair to those who take abortion seriously. 

Imagine the gall of saying to the Canadian Cancer Society, “You have no right to focus on curing cancer unless you also work to cure AIDS, heart disease, and diabetes.” Or try telling the American Heart Association, “You cannot reasonably oppose cardiac arrest unless you fund research aimed at stopping all loss of life.” Ridiculous indeed, but how is this any different from what the cleric told pro-life advocates?

Consider what he is demanding. Local pro-life groups must take their already scarce resources and spread them even thinner fighting every social injustice imaginable. This would be suicide for those opposed to abortion As Frederick the Great once allegedly said, “He who attacks everywhere attacks nowhere.” ...

Given a choice, I’d rather pro-lifers focus on at least one great moral issue than waste their precious resources trying to fix all of them.

I think part of what’s behind this objection is ignorance. There are many people who are unaware of the multitude of local, national, and international ministries out there addressing crisis pregnancies, single mothers, poverty, prison issues, human trafficking, disaster relief, religious freedom, education for the poor, etc., etc., etc. No one person can, or should, be intensely involved in all of them at the same time. This is why we have the body of Christ. The eye does his job, the ear does his job, and both are needed. (If you ask the person expressing this objection to measure his own life and causes according to his “you must give equal time to every issue” standard, he might more quickly see your point.)

And ultimately, for many people who make this kind of objection, no amount of service on the part of a pro-lifer will be enough, as illustrated by this classic interaction a caller had with Greg.

Santa Claus: Defender of the Incarnation

Even though it’s questionable how much of it is true, I still love the stories about the real St. Nicholas. From Fred Sanders:

St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop in what we now call Turkey, lived in the fourth century. He must have been quite a guy, because while we have pretty much no reliable documents about him from his own time period, he became very popular in peoples’ memories in later centuries. He’s still a fun and inspiring figure to learn about. He was remembered for acts of generosity (tossing gold in a window to rescue three girls from lives of prostitution), miracles (including flying around like a superhero centuries after his death to rescue storm-tossed ships at sea), and good theology. The best story about him is that he went to the council of Nicaea in 325 and became so incensed with the heresies of Arius that he broke up the good order of the council by crossing the room and slapping Arius in the face. From there the story gets pretty chaotic: he may have been expelled for disorderly conduct, and Jesus and Mary may have appeared in a vision to cause the council to re-admit him. Okay, I admit I doubt most of that, and if it comes down to hard evidence, we can’t even prove that Nicholas of Myra was at Nicaea because his name’s not on the list of attendees. But after all these years of seeing Santa Claus as a seasonal rival to Jesus Christ, it sure is refreshing to think of him instead as a theological advocate of the central Christian doctrine which we remember at Christmas time, the incarnation of the Son of God.

Santa Claus: Defender of orthodox nicene trinitarian theology. It’s an inspiring thought for the Christmas season, and it makes it possible for us to sing all those Santa songs with newly recovered religious meaning: …

He then proceeds to rewrite the Santa-themed Christmas songs, which you should now read. I particularly recommend “Back at Nicaea (to the tune of ‘Up on the Housetop’).”

Free Advent Devotionals

We’re already a few days into Advent, but it’s not too late for you to start intentionally using this time to prepare for our celebration of Christ’s coming. Here are a few free options to get you started.

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent by Nancy Guthrie (Kindle version—see here for how to read Kindle books if you don’t have a Kindle). From the Introduction:

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room provides a short reading for every day in the month of December, taking your family on a journey of identifying with the distant longings of Israel, listening for the angel’s announcement, and gazing at the Baby in the manger. You’ll find several suggested discussion questions that will help to transform this time into a meaningful discussion in which everybody in the family can participate. Each day’s questions begin with a question that even the youngest member of the family can likely answer. There are additional Scriptures you might want to read as part of your discussion and Christmas songs your family can talk through and then sing together. Several lined pages have been spaced throughout the book where you can jot down dated notes of comments made and questions asked by various family members that you want to remember as the years go by.

The Dawning of Indestructible Joy: Daily Readings for Advent by John Piper (the audiobook and PDF versions are free, the Kindle version is only $0.99). From the Preface:

I am prone to be dull, spiritually drowsy, halfhearted, lukewarm. That is the way human beings are, including Christians, even about great things. Peter knows it and is writing to “awaken” or to “stir up” his readers [2 peter 1:13] so that they don’t just know but also feel the wonder of the truth.

That’s why I have written these devotions. What you and I need is usually not a brand-new teaching. Brand-new truths are probably not truths. What we need are reminders about the greatness of the old truths. We need someone to say an old truth in a fresh way. Or sometimes, just to say it….

May the Spirit of God use these words to open your eyes afresh to the glories of Christ and give you a new taste of your indestructible joy.

How to Do an Advent Wreath by Angie Mosteller (includes a history of Advent and readings for each week—see her website for some Advent candle display ideas). She explains:

Advent candles are commonly lit immediately before or after dinner and burn for approximately one hour. This is a wonderful time to read Scripture as a family and discuss the reason for the holiday season — the coming of Jesus.

Though a variety of meanings have been attached to each candle, two common traditions are (1) hope, peace, joy and love and (2) promise, prophecy, proclamation and presence. The selection of verses below incorporates these various meanings on their respective week of Advent.

Links Mentioned on the 12/02/14 Show

The following are links that were either mentioned on this week's show or inspired by it, as posted live on the @STRtweets Twitter feed:

Rick Warren's speech at the Vatican


Design Inference (Video) by Greg Koukl


Don't Assume We Should Change the Body to Match the Mind by Amy Hall


The Ambassador's Guide to the Voice of God by Greg Koukl


Hearing God's Voice by Greg Koukl


The Morning I Heard the Voice of God by John Piper

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

To follow the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00–7:00 p.m. PT), use the hashtag #STRtalk.

Dawkins and the Lure of Pro-Gay Theology

Richard Dawkins once wrote, “Although atheism might have been logically tenable before Darwin, Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.” That’s because prior to Darwin, naturalists didn't have a credible alternative to the biblical creation model. Along comes Charles Darwin and proposes an explanation of how life emerged on earth without appealing to God. Naturalists eagerly accepted Darwin’s account, making their worldview more complete and justified.

This reminds me of a similar phenomenon occurring with many believers who have friends or family who identify as gay. Up until the last 30 years, Christians believed they only had two options. One, they could agree with Scripture that homosexual behavior was sin. This meant, in their mind, they were not loving towards their gay friends or family. Two, they could dismiss or downplay the biblical prohibition of homosexuality. This approach, however, didn’t feel like they were being faithful to Scripture. Neither option was ideal.

Along comes pro-gay theology and offers them a third way to maintain fidelity to their faith and their gay friend or family. Rather than accepting Scripture’s straightforward (and exegetically sound) teaching on homosexuality, some believers embraced a new interpretation. It requires hermeneutical gymnastics to try to make it work, which is one reason why I reject it. Nevertheless, many Christians are looking for a way to harmonize their Christian faith with their desire to condone homosexual behavior. While Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist, pro-gay theology has made it possible to be gay-affirming Christian.

If God Is All-Powerful, Can He Do Anything?

Brett explains that there are indeed some things that God can not and would not do.

 

Acknowledge and Engage Doubts

Tim Keller had this to say about doubt in The Reason for God:

A faith without some doubts is like a human body without any antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.

Believers should acknowledge and wrestle with doubts—not only their own but their friends’ and neighbors’. It is no longer sufficient to hold beliefs just because you inherited them. Only if you struggle long and hard with objections to your faith will you be able to provide grounds for your beliefs to skeptics, including yourself, that are plausible rather than ridiculous or offensive. And, just as important for our current situation, such a process will lead you, even after you come to a position of strong faith, to respect and understand those who doubt.

The point is not that doubt is good in and of itself—we ought never be pleased about our doubts (the goal, after all, is to eventually discard them). But rather, the point is that whether a person yet realizes it or not, there are questions that must be thought through and answered, and if we ignore those questions at first, a time will come when they will be forced upon us.

Don’t let those questions build up. Take them slowly, one at a time.

(HT: Jonathan Morrow)