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Has Science Made God Unnecessary?

/ Apologetics, Plugs / Leave a Comment

One of the most frequently encountered objections to Christianity is that modern science has rendered belief in God intellectually untenable, along with many other central tenets of the Christian faith. This is closely related to what has been dubbed the “conflict thesis”: the idea that there is a deep and ultimately irresolvable conflict between science and religion. The objection arises in various forms. Sometimes it’s the claim that we no longer need to believe in God, because science has adequately explained in naturalistic terms what was previously ascribed to divine agency; the “God of the gaps” has been squeezed out as the ‘gaps’ have been filled. Sometimes it’s the criticism that Christianity depends on miracle claims (spoiler: it does) but such claims are at odds with a scientific view of the world, since miraculous events would violate the laws of nature. Sometimes it’s the charge that Christian doctrines irreconcilably conflict with well-established scientific theories, such as the Darwinian evolutionary account of human origins.

Has Science Made God Unnecessary?In the sixth book in The Big Ten series, Ransom Poythress tackles head-on these objections and others in the same vein. But he goes further still, pulling back “the curtain of science” to reveal the philosophical assumptions behind the methods of science, and arguing that Christian theism provides a far better justification for those assumptions than atheistic materialism. On closer inspection, it’s not so much that science vindicates Christianity as that Christianity vindicates science. Poythress also debunks a number of popular myths (such as the conflict thesis) along the way. If you have skeptical friends, colleagues, or family members who cite “modern science” as a reason to reject Christianity, consider giving them a copy of this book. It may not convert them, but at least it will move the conversation in a more informed and productive direction.

Here are two of the endorsements for Has Science Made God Unnecessary?:

Through the use of simple yet powerful analogies, an easygoing pace, and excellent references for those who want to dig deeper, Poythress reaches any interested reader with an answer that affirms Christianity while respecting and encouraging the proper roles of science. This is a great book for any youth group, college class, or seeker to think through. — John A. Bloom, Professor of Physics & Director of the MA, Science and Religion program, Biola University, La Mirada, California and author of The Natural Sciences: A Student’s Guide

Ransom Poythress is both an accomplished biologist and a knowledgeable biblical scholar. His commitment is to both the craft of science and the awareness of the reasons people throw up objections to its compatibility with Christian faith. He writes in a sympathetic, non-combative manner which ought to disarm all but the most obdurate sceptic. A must read by anyone concerned with the so-called science-vs-religion controversy. — William Edgar, Professor of Apologetics, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Here’s the table of contents:

  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction: Understanding the Question
  • 1 The Conflict Thesis
  • 2 God of the Gaps Arguments
  • 3 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part I: Objectivity and Truth
  • 4 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part II: Materialist Assumptions
  • 5 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part III: Materialist Limitations
  • 6 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part IV: What’s Actually Necessary for Science
  • 7 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part V: Scientific Laws
  • 8 Behind the Curtain of Science, Part VI: Supernatural Assumptions and a Christian Philosophical Foundation for Science
  • 9 Miracles
  • 10 Evidence: What Does it Look Like?
  • 11 Big Bang and Fine-Tuning
  • 12 Origin of Life
  • 13 Evolution: the Big Picture
  • 14 Evolution: Darwin’s Defenders
  • Conclusion
  • Appendix: Additional Resources

As you can see, the chapter count is higher than for the other books in The Big Ten series. However, the page count is roughly the same — around 200 pages — which means that the book has shorter, more digestible chapters, and that’s a virtue for a book that delves into some semi-technical philosophical and scientific issues.

Incidentally, Dr. Poythress is the author of Richard Dawkins in P&R’s Great Thinkers series. Also recommended!

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Why Should I Trust the Bible?

/ Apologetics, Plugs, Theology

According to the 2022 Ligonier State of Theology survey, 33% of American adults “strongly agree” and 18% “somewhat agree” with this statement: “The Bible is 100% accurate in all that it teaches.”

Given the advanced secularization of most Western societies, that’s quite surprising and even encouraging. But how many of those surveyed could explain to a skeptical unbeliever why the Bible should be considered trustworthy, not merely as a source of wisdom or moral instruction, but in its claim to be the Word of God? Only a small minority, I suspect. Certainly not as many as one might hope.

Why Should I Trust the Bible?In the fifth book in The Big Ten series, Timothy Paul Jones admits that the Bible is “a difficult book to believe” in our modern skeptical world, but argues that it is nevertheless reasonable to believe that the Bible is indeed what it purports to be: a library of divinely-inspired writings that communicate to us God’s plan of salvation for sinners. Jones is a gifted pastor, scholar, and apologist who manages to combine intellectual rigor with an engaging conversational style. With decades of experience in engaging skeptical questions, he takes the challenges seriously while showing that there are solid grounds for affirming the trustworthiness of the Bible (and the historical reliability of the Gospels in particular) and its accurate transmission through the centuries.

Here are two of the endorsements for the book:

Why Should I Trust the Bible? steps inside our most challenging doubts about the Bible and shows us a way out to faith in its truthfulness. Written in an disarmingly honest and straightforward way, Timothy Paul Jones’s down-to-earth stories and up-to-date scholarship create a space in our skeptical world for authentic belief in the Bible. Highly recommended! — Mark D. Allen, Executive Director, Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement at Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia & coauthor of Apologetics at the Cross

This is Timothy Paul Jones at his best. Witty. Transparent. Always wrestling with the hardest of questions while holding out the faith once for all delivered to the saints. This is an essential resource for contemplating and critiquing contemporary attacks on the trustworthiness of the Bible. — Dan DeWitt, Author of Life in the Wild & Associate Professor of Applied Theology and Apologetics, Cedarville University, Ohio

Here’s the table of contents:

  • 1 A Difficult Book to Believe?
  • 2 Were the Gospels Written to Tell What Happened in History?
  • 3 Are the Gospels Historically Plausible?
  • 4 Which Books Belong in the Bible?
  • 5 How Much of the Bible Must I Trust?
  • Appendix: How Accurately Was the Bible Copies?

A helpful study guide is also available for free download from the publisher’s website.

As a co-editor of the series, I can testify that this particular volume was one of the most enjoyable to review and edit because of Jones’ exceptional ability to communicate scholarly arguments in a way that a layperson can easily understand and appreciate. Why Should I Trust the Bible? is hardly the last word on the subject, but you’ll find it to be an excellent introductory answer to the question posed in its title. It’s the ideal resource to put in the hands of an under-equipped believer or an inquiring unbeliever.

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How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?

/ Apologetics, Plugs, Theology / 1 Comment

If the problem of evil and suffering is the greatest challenge to the Christian faith, as many people think, then arguably the problem of hell is the most acute form of it. It’s one thing to believe that God permits suffering for a greater good purpose, and that the people of God will be decisively delivered from all suffering in the end (Rev. 21:3-4). It’s another thing to believe that those who are not reconciled to God will suffer eternal punishment for their sins (Rev. 14:9-11; 20:13-15). This is not a happy doctrine, to say the least, but it’s one that historically most Christians have taken to be the clear teaching of Christ and his apostles.

How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?How could a loving God send anyone to hell? How do we reconcile the goodness and mercy of God with the doctrine of eternal punishment? How could Jesus Christ, the paragon of compassion and virtue, countenance such a seemingly dark doctrine? These are fair questions. Indeed, they are hard but unavoidable questions for thoughtful Christians, not to mention for critics and skeptics.

There are no easy, simple, or comfortable answers. But there are answers, and we don’t have to engage in wild speculation to find them, because the key elements of those answers are provided in the same Bible from which the ‘problematic’ doctrine comes. In the fourth book in The Big Ten series, pastor and scholar Benjamin Skaug lays out those answers with candor and compassion, explaining and defending the doctrine of hell in the broader context of the teachings of Jesus, the apostles, and the Bible as a whole. In short, the doctrine of hell only makes moral and theological sense within the wider framework of the biblical storyline and worldview. No Christian doctrine stands alone; each theological ‘part’ must be interpreted in light of the whole. Ultimately, the darkness of hell only accentuates the brightness of the gospel: the good news of salvation by God’s free grace through Jesus Christ.

Here are two of the endorsements for the book:

You can tell a lot about a church based upon what is preached from the pulpit—and what isn’t. Thus, to survey the landscape of contemporary evangelicalism, it would be easy to conclude that few, if any, churches believe in a literal hell. Of course, the Scriptures as a whole, and our Lord Jesus Christ in particular, present an altogether different picture. Thankfully, Ben Skaug presents a compelling and biblical case for a literal hell and how it is rooted in the character of God. As believers in Christ, we don’t fear an eternity in hell, but the reality of it should motivate us to greater evangelistic witness. How Could a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell? provides just such motivation for the reader. — Jason K. Allen, President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Hell is often misunderstood or rejected outright today. Ben Skaug helps us see that the doctrine of hell fits with what the Bible teaches about who God is, with the teaching of Jesus, and with the nature of human beings. Indeed, the message of the gospel doesn’t make sense without the doctrine of hell. Here is a book on hell that needs to be read, digested, believed, and acted upon. — Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Here’s the table of contents:

  • Introduction
  • 1 Who Can Judge the World?
  • 2 How Can a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell?
  • 3 What Does the Loving Jesus Teach about Hell?
  • 4 What Did the Loving Apostles Teach About Hell?
  • 5 How Can Hell Be Avoided?
  • 6 Is Hell Eternal?
  • 7 Is Hell Emptied?
  • 8 Conclusion
  • Appendix: Frequently Asked Questions

The appendix addresses the following questions:

  • “Is hell real?”
  • “Does Satan rule hell?”
  • “Are the images of hell found in the Bible literal or figurative?”
  • “Why is hell eternal when it seems that human sins are finite and limited?”
  • “If hell is so awful, and God wants to save people, then why does God not allow people to repent in hell?”
  • “If hell is so awful, and God does not want people to end up there, then why does He not provide more warning about it?”
  • “How can the saved be eternally happy knowing that some of their loved ones are in hell?”

If you know someone who is wrestling with questions about the Bible’s teaching about hell, or if you’re grappling with such questions yourself, I think you’ll find this book to be helpful and hopeful resource.

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Update on The Big Ten Series

/ Apologetics, Plugs

I’ve been embarrassingly delinquent in keeping readers updated on the progress of The Big Ten series, which I’ve been co-editing with Greg Welty for Christian Focus. Five more volumes have been published since I last posted about it, and I will endeavor to post a brief summary of each one over the next couple of months.

In the meantime, here’s the list of all eight published volumes:

The final two entries in the series are in the pipeline. Working titles:

  • Why Do I Personally Experience Evil and Suffering?
  • Is There Really Only One Way to God?

It’s taken some time, but I’m really pleased with the way the series has developed and I’m very proud (in a brotherly, non-bragging kind of way) of the volumes published to date. If you’re not familiar with the series, please check it out. It’s a great resource for both skeptical unbelievers and questioning believers.

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Greg Welty on the Problem of Evil

/ Apologetics, Plugs

Why Is There Evil In The World?I posted previously about Greg Welty’s excellent book Why Is There Evil In The World (And So Much Of It)? when it was published a couple of years ago. In my (admittedly biased) opinion, it’s the best lay-level treatment of the problem of evil available today. I recommend it every chance I get.

If you want a taster, you can get it from this short article on the problem of evil, written by Greg for TGC’s Concise Theology series. It’s basically a much-distilled version of the argument Greg lays out in the book. If you like the article, you’ll appreciate the book even more!

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David Hume (Great Thinkers)

/ Apologetics, Philosophy, Plugs

David Hume (Great Thinkers)My contribution to P&R’s Great Thinkers series has now been published. You can find more details on P&R’s website, including a sample chapter.

You can also read (or listen to) an interview about the book with Fred Zaspel at Books At a Glance.

I’ll be posting some excerpts from the book on my blog later this week, but for now here’s the publisher’s blurb and the table of contents:

David Hume (1711–1776)

Through his pursuit of a naturalistic grounding for morality and his forceful critique of supernaturalism, Scottish philosopher David Hume significantly undermined confidence in orthodox Christianity.

Professor, minister, and philosopher James Anderson summarizes the major points of Hume’s thought and offers a critical assessment from a distinctively Reformed perspective. He shows that Hume’s arguments, far from refuting the Christian worldview, indirectly support that worldview by exposing the self-defeating implications of naturalism. Deepen your understanding of this immensely influential thinker, and you will be better able to engage with today’s secular challenges to faith.

  • Series Introduction
  • Foreword by W. Andrew Hoffecker
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction: Why Hume Matters
  • Abbreviations
  • 1. Hume’s Life and Works
  • 2. Hume’s Philosophical Project
    • Three Distinctives of the Project
    • A Two-Phase Project
    • Hume’s Theory of the Mind
    • A New Account of Causation
    • Philosophy Psychologized
  • 3. Hume’s Naturalistic Ethics
    • Against Moral Rationalism
    • Against Self-Interest Theories
    • Hume’s Moral Theory
    • A New Account of Justice
  • 4. Hume’s Religious Skepticism
    • Religion Naturalized
    • Hume’s Critique of Natural Theology
    • Hume’s Argument against Miracles
    • Was Hume an Atheist?
  • 5. Hume’s Continuing Relevance
    • The Kantian Turn
    • Utilitarianism
    • Logical Positivism and Scientism
    • Naturalized Epistemology
    • The Evidentialist Challenge
  • 6. A Reformed Assessment of Hume’s Thought
    • Was Hume a Great Thinker?
    • The Presumption of Naturalism
    • The Presumption of Autonomy
    • Internal Problems
    • The Specter of Solipsism
    • A Matter of Taste
  • 7. A Reformed Response to Hume’s Religious Skepticism
    • Defusing the Evidentialist Challenge
    • Natural Theology Ex-Humed
    • In Defense of Miracles
  • 8. Hume and Christian Apologetics
    • The Skeptical Sinkhole of Empiricism
    • The Problem of Induction
    • A Hume-Inspired Transcendental Argument
  • Epilogue: The Humean Predicament
  • Glossary
  • Recommended Reading
  • Index of Subjects and Names

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A Conversation with Christopher Watkin

/ Culture, Philosophy, Plugs

What do you call an interview where the interviewer and interviewee switch places halfway through? A ‘switcherview’ perhaps?

Whatever you call it, I recently did one with Christopher Watkin in which we talked for nearly two hours about P&R’s Great Thinkers series.  Chris has already contributed volumes on Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. He’s presently working on a third volume, this time on Gilles Deleuze. My own contribution to the series, a critical engagement with the thought of David Hume, will be published in early December (but I’ll take no offense if you feel led to pre-order it).

Chris and I had about as much fun as two Reformed philosophy geeks could have discussing Derrida, Foucault, and Hume. We talked about why these thinkers are important today, what challenges they present to Christians, and how Christians can interact critically but responsibly with their work.

Chris is a fellow Brit who is currently posted at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, where he teaches and researches in the field of French Studies. Not only has he written books on several great thinkers, he’s a gifted thinker himself with a wide range of philosophical and theological interests. Check out his personal website and his other website Thinking Through the Bible to find out more about his work. You can also follow him on Twitter if you’re that way inclined.

Here’s the full conversation:

You can also find some smaller snippets on Chris’s YouTube channel.

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50% Off Ligonier Video Teaching Series

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For this week only, you can save 50% on more than fifty video teaching series and study guides from Ligonier Ministries, including Exploring Islam by yours truly, The New Testament Canon by my colleague Dr. Michael Kruger, and Contentment by Melissa Kruger.

Ligonier’s video teaching series are excellent resources, especially for adult/teen Sunday school classes and small group studies, and the accompanying materials are very professionally produced. This is a fantastic offer, so don’t miss out!

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The Most Reluctant Convert

/ Apologetics, Plugs, Reviews

I recently had the opportunity to attend a performance of C.S. Lewis Onstage: The Most Reluctant Convert here in the Queen City. Having read some reviews, and knowing a little about the Fellowship for Performing Arts, I had high expectations beforehand. I was in for a surprise, though: it was even better than I expected.

C.S. Lewis OnstageMax McLean’s performance as Lewis was exceptional. The script (written by McLean, drawing mainly from Lewis’s autobiography, letters, and books) was also superb, seamlessly weaving some of Lewis’s best-known apologetic arguments into the (long) story of his conversion. Like its subject, it manages to be both intellectually serious and (at times) irreverently humorous. Fans of Lewis’s writings will be delighted to hear many famous passages spoken from the horse’s mouth, as it were. Indeed, McLean’s “Jack” is so convincing and the narrative so engaging that several times I caught myself forgetting that this was ‘only’ a performance and not an audience with the Oxford don himself. (I guess that’s one of the highest compliments an actor can receive.)

Anyway, all this to say, I highly recommend The Most Reluctant Convert. The tour continues through August, and if it’s coming to a city near you, please do yourself a favor and attend a performance. Take a friend too. Although the show unashamedly represents a Christian perspective, it isn’t preachy, cringey, or intellectually superficial. It presents exactly what it purports to: the fascinating intellectual and spiritual journey of one of the most influential Christian thinkers of the twentieth century.

Perhaps the greatest virtue of the show (and one in short supply these days) was summed up nicely by the usher who saw us out of the auditorium:

“Makes you think, doesn’t it?”

Yes, it does.

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