Alan Keyes: The Anti-Obama

I have done public speaking — and sort of done well at it — since I was in high school. In fact, I was involved a lot in oratorical contests, and speech contests, and debate, and things like that, and did very well. So I guess, in that sense, some kind of speaking ability [in me] has been clear since I was young.[But] I think it is a mistake to believe that there is some "special skill" in public speaking. . . . There is no good speech apart from the thought that goes into it and is expressed by it. There is no trick involved that can turn something that has no substance into a good speech. . . . Speech is the business through which citizens communicate to each other, and those who are able to do it well are better qualified to lead than others.

-- Alan Keyes, in an interview with C-Span

Keyes is easily my favorite political figure and scholar. He's voraciously Christian in his approach and seeks to uphold the liberty and theistic stronghold which founded our country. He's adamantly pro-life, anti-income tax, pro-gun rights, solidly against illegal immigration. He's also an excellent thinker and debater.

He is, in essence, everything that Barack Obama is not politically and morally. In fact, they ran against each other for an Illinois Senate seat back in 2004. They debated three times (Obama would not go through with the originally planned six debates) and Keyes had the upper hand -- easily -- in each.

You can find two of the debates online at:

http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/transcript.php?id=373

http://www.renewamerica.us/archives/transcript.php?id=370

All three can be found in video form at:

http://archives.alankeyes.com/video.php

Barack Hussein Obama

Allow me to take a stab at some brief political commentary. Topic: Barack Obama.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama is the most vehement of abortionists, even denying rights to babies who survive the abortion process and are birthed. He says, let them die, a barbaristic thought that's both chilling and dangerous. What then prevents one from deciding that other human persons deserve death? The elderly, mentally retarded, severely handicapped -- shall we say that their lives should be ended? Here's a slippery slope that Barack cannot avoid.

Pronouncements that Obama is this phenom of public speech and presentation are wrong-headed. How can one be a brilliant speaker and yet say nothing of substance or worth when he speaks? Listen to Obama and you'll find that words flow, but no truth. He says he'll bring "change," unification, and peace. But ask him how and nothing worth listening to will follow. He's rather unlike the great American leaders of times past -- Washington, Lincoln, Reagan -- real men, who knew how to speak and think and live what they believed.

Unlike these men, Obama disbelieves in liberty, self-governance, and a theistic foundation to our country. He instead calls for Marxist, communistic ideals. His are ideas that have long been tried and found wanting -- ideas unsuccessful, but alluring to many, especially those with power. Big taxes, big government, big oppression: all products of leftist thought and action.

Extraordinary evil has no place in the White House. But should Obama enter in, nothing less will dwell there.

Roe v. Wade Anniversary

January 22, 2008 was the 25th Anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Constitutional amendment.

Mourning all around.

WNY Apologetics

I've recently helped to organize a new apologetics group/ministry in Western New York that is dedicated to advancing the Gospel in our region through reason and argument. Our goal will be to defend the Christian beliefs in creation, the authority of the Bible, the nature of God, and so forth. We will seek to both engage the secular culture and inform the local church on the issues and seek to show them God's truth.

We've begun a blog related the (as yet unnamed) group. It can be found at:

www.wnyapologetics.blogspot.com

If you're a Christian, please pray for our efforts.

Cell Phones: A Critique

Neil Postman, the late, great scholar of technology and media often made the point that new technologies are ultimately a Faustian bargain: they might bring some advantages, but they'll bring some (often very serious) disadvantages, too. But in our current age where technology and "progress" are so lauded, one rarely hears of the downsides of technologies. Here, I wish to do so with one the beloved gadget of our day: the cell phone.

1. Cell phones never allow us to leave work. We might exit physically, but never mentally or wholly. Have a question? Need help with an assignment? Oh, just call me on my cell. No matter that I have a life outside work, a family, a home, a God to whom I owe my time. No rest for the weary -- a sad development no doubt frowned upon by the God who Himself rests (see Genesis 1).

2. People out in public are routinely entranced by their cell phone conversations and thereby lose their consideration for those around them (if they ever had any). They're near us but not really "with" us. They're ever present, but ever-absent. Conversations continue to flow; communities continue to fragment.

3. Has the concept of solitude or being alone with God and one's thoughts totally escaped the world? It's unclear whether we'll ever again see an existence without the constant noise of small talk and gossip ringing in our ears. Jesus regularly practiced quietness, prayer, and being alone with the Father. The "convenience" of modernity will have none of this. Here, idolatry thrives.

4. Attention spans seem ever elusive, no doubt with help from the cell phone and its ilk. It's unclear now whether most of the population can sit still for longer than five minutes without picking up the phone. Resultantly, our most healthy habits become non-existent: reading, studying, praying, being with family, listening.

Top 10 Christian Philosophers (continued...)

Here are the final six:

5. Dallas Willard - Absolute master of the spiritual disciplines (e.g., solitude, fasting, prayer, study, silence) and simultaneously a master of philosophical issues in metaphysics and philosophy of religion. Students and those near him tell of his Christ-likeness and brilliance as a speaker. Has had a major impact on today's Church and his books will continue to do so well into the future. (Recommended books: The Divine Conspiracy, The Spirit of the Disciplines, Renovation of the Heart, see also his website http://www.dwillard.org/)

6. Alvin Plantinga - Perhaps the most heralded Christian philosopher in the secular academy today. Revolutionized the area of religious epistemology with this "Aquinas/Calvin" model of warranted Christian belief. He's also a giant in metaphysics, philosophy of religion, and virtually any other area of philosophy he touches. See his interesting work on the problem of evil and problems with evolutionary naturalism. (Recommended books: The Nature of Necessity, Warranted Christian Belief, Naturalism Defeated?)

7. Stephen T. Davis - One of the most clever philosophers of religion working today. Has done fine work in the logic of theistic arguments, the nature and defense of Jesus's Resurrection, and the divine attributes. Writes with an easy yet attractive style that makes you wish to read more. (Recommended books: God, Reason, and Theistic Proofs, Christian Philosophical Theology, Risen Indeed)

8. William Dembski - Perhaps the key player in the ID/evolution debate today. His arguments for biological intelligent design are the finest extant and he continually challenges the Darwinists on their own ground. He's done the most in the ID movement in providing mathematical, philosophical foundations to ID theories. He's also well-versed in philosophical theology and philosophy of religion. (Recommended books: No Free Lunch, Intelligent Design, The Design of Life)

9. Norman Geisler - Perhaps the most prolific writer among all Christian philosopers today. He's written probably around 50 books, including an entire encyclopedia of Christian apologetics. At his best when discussing and defending biblical theology. Has also done fine work on theistic arguments and the Resurrection. A total bulldog who has debated some of the best anti-Christian scholars in the world. (Recommended books: The Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Christian Apologetics, Philosophy of Religion, The Battle for the Resurrection)

10. R. Douglas Geivett - Great philosopher of religion, who's also very accomplished in the area of epistemology. Some of his top writings have been on the problem of evil and suffering. He's developed a theistic argument from evil (a form of design argument) that is insightful and powerful. Eminent speaker and debater. (Recommended books: Evil and the Evidence for God, In Defense of Miracles)

Top 10 Christian Philosophers (...or at least my Top 10)

Here are the first four:

1. William Lane Craig - Craig is the quintessential Christian apologist and scholar. He has revolutionized the field of apologetics with his work on the kalam cosmological argument and the Resurrection of Jesus. This is only the tip of iceberg, as his writings have defended virtually all of the major arguments of natural theology. And through his debates and interaction with atheist scholars, he's shown how to make these arguments hold up against opposition. See also his excellent work in philosophical theology on issues like: God and time, divine foreknowledge, the doctrine of the Trinity, God's relation to abstract objects, divine aseity, etc. (Recommended books: Reasonable Faith, Does God Exist? (w/ Antony Flew), The Kalam Cosmological Argument, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview)



2. Gary Habermas - Probably the top scholarly defender of the Resurrection in the church today. Habermas has written scores of books and articles on this topic and continues to go strong. He's the original formulator of the "Minimal Facts" approach to arguing for the historical Resurrection -- a very powerful methodology. (Recommended Books: The Historical Jesus, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus, Resurrected?, The Risen Jesus and Future Hope)



3. J. P. Moreland - Top-notch Christian philosopher and apologist whose writings are pervasive and powerful. Moreland excels in the philosophy of science and holds degrees in chemistry, philosophy, and theology. His arguments for the reality of an immaterial human soul are excellent and he's recently written on how the reality of human consciousness points to the reality of God as Creator. He is just as at home writing and speaking about Jesus's Resurrection, theological issues, and spiritual disciplines. (Recommended Books: Consciousness and the Existence of God, Scaling the Secular City, The Kingdome Triangle, Naturalism: A Critical Analysis, Jesus Under Fire, The Creation Hypothesis)



4. Paul Copan - Very talented and knowledgeable philosopher who is up-and-coming in the world of apologetics. Copan's knowledge is encyclopedic in philosophy religion, metaphysics, and philosophical theology. He's especially good with the Moral Argument for theism (which he wrote his Phd. thesis about) and making complex argumentation accessible to laymen. (Recommended Books: True For You, But Not For Me, How Do You Know You're Not Wrong?, Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion)

False Assumptions About Christianity and the Bible

In no particular order:

1. Neither the Bible nor the traditional Christian creeds ever teach that God exists outside of time. This is presumed to be true by many Christians, but it is really just a philosophical position that gained favor among theologians throughout the Middle Ages. In fact, the Bible is never clear whether God is timeless or not and many Christian philosophers today argue that God in fact experiences and exists in time. (See William Lane Craig's book, Time and Eternity about this.)

2. Jesus of Nazareth was not purely Jewish in ethnicity. Several of His ancestors were Gentiles.
(See His lineage listed in the Gospels.)

3. The stories of Jesus's birth in the Gospels never state that there were three wisemen who came to visit Him. The text merely states that wisemen came to see him; it never specifies a number. Possibly, three came to be the number used, because there were three types of gifts given (gold, frankincense, and myrrh).

4. The Gospels do not claim that the wisemen visited Jesus in the manger. They say that they showed up later, when Jesus and His family were residing in a house.

5. The Bible never teaches that it is especially virtuous to have a mindless faith without any evidence to defend it. Indeed, in several places Scripture tells us that we should be able to reason about our beliefs and give a plausible reason to those who ask why we believe. Jesus Himself used evidence of His miracles and His pierced hands as evidence that He was divine.

Inevitable Immorality

I've heard several pastors in previous sermons make the point that immoral, unethical behavior is rather unlearned in human beings. We are never really taught how to lie or steal or be selfish. These all come quite without effort or exertion. The point these preachers make is simply that the Christian doctrine of original sin is one that can be readily seen in everyday life. One needs no fancy philosophical arguments or theological insights to realize that something dreadful infects humankind.

But, as one interested in Christian apologetics, I'd take this point a bit further. For not only does the everyday behavior of those around us, and, indeed, our very selves point to the phenomenon of original sin, it also points to the deficiency of rival worldviews to explain it.

Take naturalism, as an example. This perspective states that there is no God, no transcendent, no supernatural. Humans (like the entire universe) are the result of blind evolutionary developments -- we are but intelligent beasts. But given naturalism, why is it that humans have a propensity for immorality or doing the wrong thing? Why didn't we simply evolve into kind beings? Why isn't the world such that "only the kind and virtuous survive"? All the naturalist can appeal to is chance: the world just happen to come to be this way. But to appeal to happenstance is simply to state that you have no actual explanation.

Christianity, though, does have an explanation of why mankind engages in seemingly inevitable immorality. Christians believe that humans are sinful; sin has stained all of us down to our very nature such that we cannot escape it. Their explanation, of course, is that the first humans (Adam and Eve) chose to sin against God when they disobeyed Him in the Garden. Mankind tasted sin and it began to crave it. They have struggled in fighting against it ever since. Ultimately, man could not save himself from sins demands; God had to save them through His Son Jesus -- on the Cross.

Thus, our thought experiment reveals Christianity to be superior to naturalism in explaining why humans are depraved. Interestingly, comparing the Christian worldview to various other competing perspectives provides the same result. For instance, many Eastern religions disbelieve that there are such things as good and bad. Thus, humans never do bad or wrong anyone. But this is so clearly false, that Christianity is easily seen to be the better viewpoint. Lesson learned: only Christianity can explain the problems of mankind, and only Christianity provides their solution.