Doubt faith questions Archives

Faith and Resistibility

I often find myself in situations in which people ask me questions about faith. The questions come in many forms: “Why are you a pastor and not a scientist?” “Why do you still dabble in science when you are a pastor?” “How can you believe in a Creator in this scientific world?” “How can you…

Flannery O’Conner on Emotionally Satisfying Faith

Good words from more than 60 years ago by one of the great defenders of the faith. “But I can never agree with you that the Incarnation, or any truth, has to satisfy emotionally to be right (and I would not agree that for the natural man the Incarnation does not satisfy emotionally). It does…

Bernard Ramm on Science and Fear

Out of the many people with whom I would like to spend some time, I think I would have enjoyed sitting down for an afternoon of conversation with Bernard Ramm. Ramm, the Baptist theologian who wrote much on such topics as hermeneutics, and apologetics, would have been an interesting person with whom to have a visit, for…

After the Fight

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But…

Help Me Believe – More

What do the father in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, a blogger in Calgary, several pastors in Calgary, some seminary professors, Karl Barth, Anselm, and Francis Schaeffer[1] have in common? They all have stated, “Lord, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” It is normal to need this kind of…

Help Me Believe

Chapter nine of the Gospel of Mark speaks of a father who brought his son to Jesus to be healed. The man makes one of the most honest statements in the whole Bible. Jesus tells this man that “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father of the boy says, “I do believe,…

Imagine True Religion

It has been a few days since the world witnessed the events of November 13 in Paris. The initial words used to describe the event were naturally filled with emotion: “Paris mourns,” “an act of war,” “World War III,” “Blood-bath,” and “massacre.” Now that a few days have passed, I am in a better…

The Harvard Grant Study

In the fall of 2008, journalist and author, Joshua Wolf Shenk was given the rare privilege to spend a month reading the results of a 70 year longitudinal study of mental and physical well-being known as the “Grant Study.” Prior to this, the files had been kept locked up to all but a few researchers.…

Doubt (Speak It Plain) – A Follow-Up To “No Answer”

The song “Doubt (Speak It Plain)” by Sandra McCracken, alludes to a novel written by C.S. Lewis. Her words, “Until we come to set things right I have no words and I have no face” are a direct reference to the words of Orual in the book Till We Have Faces,1 in which Queen Orual first…

The Brothers K

I just finished reading a novel by David James Duncan entitled The Brothers K. If I were to do a review of the book I would, among other things, speak of the evocative language the author uses in many chapters. The opening scene in chapter one is particularly good; also the scene outside the pulp…