Without Excuse: Apologetics Blog

There are those who contend the ghost or spirit of Samuel was either a trick, hallucination, or a demon, but I say, not so fast. There are several reasons to believe it was actually the spirit of Samuel: 1) The spirit of Samuel prophesized that the Philistines would defeat Israel and Saul and his sons would die the next day, and it was fulfilled to the letter. The spirit of Samuel accurately predicted the people involved and the exact day it would happen. Demons do not know the future, nor can they make it happen. 2) The narrator of the book, not the witch, says that it was Samuel multiple times. The Biblical narrator is the authoritative voice. It's his job to expose deception when it occurs, and he never refutes the spirit of Samuel as not being who he says he is. 3) The witch of Endor is startled and surprised to see the ghost of Samuel, indicating it was a genuine experience and not a trick. 4) The spirit of Samuel does not contradict God or say anything that is untrue. He only...

The mind is a curious thing. Some people believe it is purely the product of the brain, but in truth, no one really knows where consciousness resides. There are theories, of course, but that’s all they are. This poses a problem for the materialist, as evolution can’t explain why consciousness exists at all. I recently read a book entitled “The Immortal Mind” by neurosurgeon Michael Egnor, and I think it confirms a lot of what I have speculated about the consciousness/mind/soul (whatever you want to call it) and what we as Christians believe. He makes the case that the mind is not a product of the brain and gives many reasons for doing so. For those who have crippling epileptic seizures, a procedure is done where they actually split the brain in half to stop the seizures. It was initially worried this would result in severe physical disabilities and would split the mind in half. Interestingly enough, it did neither of those things. Patients were able to live completely normal lives afte...

I plan on tidying up this blog, and moving some posts over to my new blog: In Defense: Israel and the Jews (name subject to change). In the meantime, check out my other blog:  The Soapbox: Political Discourse .

Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist and Christadelphians contend that Christians adopted the concept of the immortal soul from the Greeks. For that reason, they reject the soul, which explains their shared belief in annihilationism. Ironically, they have no problems with adopting the use of allegory, which originates from Greek thought. They believe in the concept of soul sleep, that the soul is unconscious and "sleeps" in death until the resurrection at Christ's second coming. It's true, the Bible does refer to death as "sleep" on occasion, but it does so as a euphemism, as someone dead has the appearance of someone asleep.  They primarily focus on the Old Testament and retroactively filter and interpret the New Testament through that lens. This is a backwards approach as older revelation should be interpreted through the lens of newer revelation. A common response is Moses never talked about the soul. Well, Moses didn't speak about a great many th...

Since the passing of my father, I've given considerable thought to death, perhaps more than is healthy. I've looked deeply into the nature of reality, heaven and hell experiences, how our physical world works, and how the unseen spiritual realm might work. I came across this random comment on my internet travels and thought I would share my thoughts. Quote: sorry. regardless of what has been written about others, the fact is that when I am given anesthesia or go to sleep, I am UNCONSCIOUS. Consciousness is a product of the biological brain and can be blocked there. Remove the biology and the consciousness is GONE. Indeed it makes one wonder what one’s ‘spirit’ really is (other than a simple life energy perhaps). It doesn’t seem to have any functionality when one is ‘out’. I appreciate that sacred writers tell us it is not so, and it indeed may not be so for them. But it’s hard to get past one’s own experience. Awareness can be blocked in the brain, so with out that brain we hav...

The existence of hell is a concept that some find difficult or unwilling to grasp. They are unable to reconcile the seeming paradox of such a place existing alongside a loving God who wants the best for us. Alternate explanations have existed to explain it away. However, I believe that not only does such a place exist, but that it is necessary. I will give my theological justifications for the existence of hell while also addressing some of the common criticisms. My reasoning is based upon free will, rather than determinism, playing a major role in how God deals with humanity and by taking a literal interpretation of scripture (by literal, I don’t disregard such things as symbolism and idioms). If either of those precepts cannot be agreed upon, then a consensus cannot be reached. Let’s start at the beginning. When Adam sinned, it caused a spiritual separation between him and God. And because Adam was the first, the master template if you will, all humanity became separated from God and...