Anselm's Explanation of the Trinity
How can the Father, Son and Holy Spirit each be God, but not be each other? This is Archbishop Anselm's explanation - the best I've heard so far.
Anselm at Starbucks
A new look at Anselm's argument for the existence of God.
The Divine Inferno
Why the existance of Hell is a demonstration of God's mercy.
1000 Easter Balloons
What if, on Easter Sunday morning, after services, every church in town released yellow balloons?
Scary Meditation
What is the difference between Eastern meditation and Christian meditation?
The Golfer of the Gaps
Have you heard that our God is a "God of the Gaps," only invoked to explain increasingly small gaps in science? Here's that logic applied to golf.
Esther's Japanese Origins
Using the approved "wild extrapolation" method, I've conclusively shown that the Biblical Book of Esther is of Japanese origin.
But I Was Born That Way
When people use this excuse, why do we keep trying to talk them out of it?
Digital Reality
Is reality digital? I couldn't care less, but if it is, maybe that's one point for the theistic view.
Church Economics
It's kind of fun to see companies becoming successful using the kind of financing churches have used for ages.
Legislating Morality
You can't legislate morality! Really? If you can't legislate morality, what can you legislate?
Paganism in Christmas and Easter?
A writer thought I ought to stop celebrating Christmas and Easter. It had pagan origins, he said. So what, I replied.
Shooting the Wounded
In which I launch a diatribe against a phrase I find particularly shallow and offensive.
Evolving Computers
What computers do - or don't - show us about evolution.
Are All Religions the Same?
A Buddhist's view.
"I shouldn't be blamed for the way I am because I was born this way."
I've heard this argument for years, but what strikes me as odd is that when someone says this, Christians often reply, "No! You weren't born that way." (I'm thinking particulary of debates between homosexuals and Christians, but I don't limit it to this.)
While I agree that there is probably a high dose of questionable science supporting the born-this-way arguments, and while I have no objection to challenging pop science, in a very real sense the person saying "I was born that way" is right.
In fact, this person is simply re-stating what Christians have been saying for thousands of years. Human beings are born with a tendency to sin.
Instead of disagreeing, I think we should say, "Yes, we were all born with a tendency to sin, but pray to God and he will help you. Surrender your life to Jesus. With God strengthening you, you can fight against this and be free!"
The question, then, is not whether we are born with certain tendencies (we are), but rather, which of our tendencies are sinful? For those that are sinful, it doesn't matter in the slightest whether we picked them up before or after we were born.
In short, if people agree with our theology (or at least part of it), why argue them out of it?
© Copyright 2000 Brad Haugaard
“A saint cannot do evil before men but he gives opportunity for sinners to speak evil of God. If there be any spots on a Christian's coat, the world will soon spy them.”
–George Swinnock in Works