Faith and reason

I am coming to appreciate more and more the importance of logic and reason for the Christian mind. I think that people in secular western society are more likely to respond to this kind of reasoning when Christians argue for their beliefs (which Moreland would argue can actually be justified as knowledge, not just "blind faith").

I've had some time to research the topic a bit myself and have found some great resources. My purpose in posting today is to share these resources with you. I encourage you to use these resources in your own personal study. They will both strengthen your own certainty of your beliefs, and prepare your mind for defending the truth of your Christian worldview to others. There are thoroughly developed arguments for things like the existence of God and the creation of the universe, all based on reason alone. Since non-Christians don't have reason to believe the Bible is a credible resource for our case, it is only proper for us to understand what reasonable arguments exist for our beliefs.

My wife and I both regret that logic wasn't a topic in which we were trained in our school system. Now, I realize what a great asset logic is for the successful presentation of several Christian beliefs.

There are currently a handful of excellent Christian philosophers and apologists. They have made much of their knowledge available for free. Here are a couple sites to look at as you seek to grow in this area of your Christian worldview:

Stand To Reason

Reasonable Faith

Both of these sites have podcasts from which I have benefited greatly. I highly recommend listening to these podcasts on your computer or iPod. "Stand to Reason" is hosted by Greg Koukl and "Reasonable Faith" is hosted by Kevin Harris. He talks with Dr. William Lane Craig about philosophical issues. Craig also has another podcast called "Defenders" which can be downloaded from the iTunes store for free.

If you check out Stand to Reason's website and podcast, you will soon hear names of other apologists to study, so I will not attempt to give you such a list here. But I will reiterate that you can't go wrong with J.P. Moreland's writing. I will also recommend a book I have in my personal library called, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. It's a large and thorough volume by Moreland and Craig.

Press on, dear saints.