Without Excuse: Apologetics Blog

I've had this debate with Jehovah Witnesses. 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. Other groups like the Seventh-Day Adventist and Christadelphians also hold this view. It's true that 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 will focus mostly on the Old Testament because there is less emphasis on the afterlife and particularly on Moses and the Hebrew Bible. I find it odd that they restrict their support to predominately the first five books of the Bible and not the Bible as a whole. The common response is Moses never talked about it. Well, Moses didn't speak about a great many things, including the resurrection. The Hebrew Bible has a very narrow focus, which is the establishment of Israel and the Levitical laws. It would seem impractical to hav...

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...

Some think the story of the rich man and Lazarus is just a parable. But this particular story stands out from other parables. For one, it uses specific names and mentions real people that have lived (Abraham and Moses). If it's a parable, it would be the only parable in the bible to use specific names. It would also be the only parable to mention the afterlife. Second, Jesus never says that it's a parable. Usually, but not always, it will say if it's a parable or not. But there's another reason that lends credence to the idea that it's not a parable. Recall what scriptures tell what us where Jesus went and what he did after he died on the cross: He descended to the lowest parts of the earth (Eph 4:8-10) He went to the heart of the earth (Mat 12:40) He went to paradise (Luk 23:43) He preached to the spirits in prison (1Pe 3:18-20) Scriptures tell us Jesus went to hell (Hades), but it also says he went to paradise. So, which is it? It seems like a contradiction unless...

The materialist would tell you that the universe, and everything in it, is all there is, all there will ever be. They only believe in what they can touch, taste, feel, etc., and can’t possibly envision something more. However, a physicist, if they were being honest, would know better. A physicist would know that what we can see and feel is merely a stubborn illusion. The reality is, what we can perceive is a very small fraction of all that exists. We are limited by our five senses and three spatial dimensions. Beyond that, we can’t detect more. Even our senses are limited in what they can detect.  Take sight, for example. We identify objects by their shapes and colors. However, what we perceive as color is merely light waves bouncing off objects, entering our eyes, and then being interpreted as colors by our brains via electrical signals. So, not only do colors not physically exist, but we can only see a mere 0.0035% of the entire light spectrum. If we could somehow see the world a...

 Israel is often compared in the Bible to the unfaithful wife who cheats on her husband, in their case, God. However, another comparison can be made in the parable of the prodigal son (Luk 15:11-32). In the parable, a man had two sons. The younger son took his inherence, traveled to a faraway country, and wasted his money on wild living and prostitutes. The young man became destitute but eventually came to his senses. He returned to his father and repented of his sins. The father forgave him and welcomed him back into the fold with a celebration. However, the older son was not pleased and rebuked his father. The father simply reminded his older son that everything he had was his, but his younger brother was lost, and now he’s found. The parable of the prodigal son is a narrative about forgiveness, repentance, and restoration. As with all parables, it can have more than one application. I believe the prodigal son can also represent Israel. Israel too wasted their inherence (their ...