I think it is safe to say that of all the doctrines of faith present in Christianity, the resurrection of Jesus has to be the most fundamental. Paul himself said that “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain…. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:14,17-19). Thus, while there are some Christians who do not believe in a literal resurrection, for most Christians it seems to be critical to the faith.Continue Reading

For the past few weeks, I’ve been in contact with a few Jehovah’s Witnesses. They, of course, make it quite easy, since they will show up right at my house. So, yesterday (Saturday), I invited them in to sit and chat for a while, and at some point near the end of the discussion, they offered me an invitation to come join them in one of their weekly meetings. So today, I decided to take them up on this offer and attend their Sunday meeting. It was fascinating and strange, so I’d like to take some time to describe it for you.Continue Reading

One of the keystones of the Christian faith is the Bible. Without it, there is very little that can be said about Christianity. All the primary doctrines of faith are in it or derive from it, and the main figure (Jesus Christ) is only found with any detail inside its pages. So, clearly, a defense of the accuracy of the Bible is crucial for the Christian.Continue Reading

This past weekend, I had two Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my door. I immediately told them (twice!) that I wasn’t interested, but they somehow kept their foot in the door by not letting me get a word in edgewise. Certainly they were polite, but their persistence was annoying for someone who clearly wasn’t interested. But this is just one example of the influence that religion can have over people’s lives. These JWs go door-to-door all over the world with a massively coordinated workforce of volunteers.Continue Reading

It’s been a busy past couple of weeks for me. I’ve been hard at work doing all the necessary steps toward applying for grad school. I realized the other day that I haven’t written anything about this process, so I figured I’d take the opportunity to do so now.

The first thing to know about applying to grad school is that it is a lot of work. I think this is actually a secret test of whether people are ready for the rigors of grad school; if they get through the application process, they’re ready. There are many steps to the process, and most of them have to be done simultaneously. Luckily, I think I am actually nearing the end of the process.Continue Reading