Among the world’s great religious leaders, only two had such a profound impact that contemporaries inquired as to the very nature of their being.1 People wondered whether Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) and Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ) were more than mere human beings. While both are known as great teachers and profound souls, the identity, mission, and message of these…
Category: Worldview
More Deaths in the Name of God—or No Gods?
Originally published in Reasons to Believe’s ezine, New Reasons to Believe, vol. 2, no. 1 (2010) Great evil has been done in the name of Christ. This charge, a frequent objection to historic Christianity raised especially by the new atheist authors,1 typifies discussions of such historical events as the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Salem witch trials. While characterizing…
World Religions: The Sage and the Savior
Among the world’s great religious leaders, two became far-reaching moral instructors of humanity. Confucius (the sage) laid down the ethical foundation for much of Asian civilization. Jesus of Nazareth (the Savior) taught moral lessons that distinctly shaped the ethical nature of Western civilization. Yet while both became great moral teachers, the identity, mission, and message of these two influential men…
World Religions: The Prophet and the Son of God
Topping my 2015 to-do list is writing my latest book, which will compare and contrast Jesus Christ with the leaders of other major world religions. I’ll be dedicating much of my time to this project—so to help keep me from being overwhelmed, Reflections will be featuring more guest author articles and editorial interviews in the coming months, all of which…
Our Philosophical Options According to Albert Camus
Some of the stories from classical Greek philosophy and mythology leave me with a lingering sense of philosophical angst. In an earlier article, I wrote about how Plato’s allegory of the cave always makes me self-conscious of whether I have adequately tested my beliefs and overall world-and-life view. It’s difficult to shake the image of sitting in a dark cave…
Transhumanism: A Secular Technological Vision of Future Things
The desire to live forever is one of the greatest longings of the human heart. Great Christian thinkers and writers—from St. Augustine to Blaise Pascal to C. S. Lewis—have observed that human beings were made to commune personally with the Lord God Almighty. It makes sense, then, that this temporal world and its offerings cannot ultimately satisfy. Thus, according to…
Quote of the Week: Captain America
The price of freedom is high and it’s a price I’m willing to pay. — Captain America, Captain America: The Winter Soldier From childhood, my favorite superhero has always been Captain America. In light of the Winter Soldier sequel released today, I’d like to offer two previous articles exploring the worldview questions raised by superhero comics and movies. “Captain America…
Reflective Thinking: Worldview from Camp 14, Part 2
Last week’s post discussed the recent 60 Minutes episode about Shin Dong-hyuk, the young man who was born in a North Korean prison camp and later escaped. In light of this revealing interview, I am all the more thankful for the freedoms we celebrate on the Fourth of July. Shin lived the first 23 years of his life as a…
Reflective Thinking: Worldview from Camp 14, Part 1
Every morning when I wake up I thank God for the life he has given me: that includes the personal liberty I enjoy in America. A recent episode of 60 Minutes drove home the blessings of freedom. The episode (available here) tells the story of one man’s escape from the horrors of a North Korean prison camp. Shin Dong-hyuk was…
Who Has the Last Word in Your Worldview?
As some two billion Christians around the world prepare to celebrate Easter Sunday—the commemoration of Jesus Christ’s historical resurrection from the dead—it occurred to me that one way to think about one’s worldview is to look at it in terms of who or what has the last word. Let’s very briefly examine who’s got the last word according to atheistic…
