Cowan Chronicles

• If Ron Paul Were President in 1941...
  Ron Paul touts himself as a "non-interventionist" in his foreign policy. He believes that we should have few if any military bases in foreign countries, that we should have few if any defense treaties with other countries, and that we should not invo…
  - 42 days ago, 27 Dec 11, 3:22am -
• Christian Hedonism Challenged
  I just ran across this very insightful critique of Piper's Christian hedonism by Reformed philosopher and theologian Paul Helm. Though Piper's views on this emphasize some elements in Christian theology and living that have been sadly neglected and t…
  - 14 Oct 11, 3:57am -
• Women's Subordination Revisited
  The latest issue of the philosophy journal Philosophia Christi features an exchange between egalatarian Adam Omelianchuk and myself over my 2009 article "The Metaphysics of Subordination: A Response to Rebecca Merrill Groothuis." As you might guess,…
  - 29 Jun 11, 7:32pm -
• Scooby Doo and Philosophy
  Because my son loves it and gets me to watch it with him, I have become a pretty ardent fan of the Scooby Doo cartoons and movies over the last couple of years. So I was much intrigued when I heard about a blog by David Leonard that brought out some…
  - 18 Jun 11, 4:28am -
• Thor -- Reluctant Messiah
  I just saw the new Thor movie. I really liked it. Not my favorite superhero moview, but still worth seeing. I am sure that other bloggers will notice some of the same themes and ideas in the film that I'm about to mention, and will probably explore t…
  - 9 May 11, 7:31pm -
• Resurrection Debate
  I will be participating in a debate on the resurrection of Jesus on April 4, 2011, at Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Leeds, Alabama. A great lead-up to Easter! I'd appreciate prayers and your attendance if possible.
  - 1 Mar 11, 3:50am -
• Apologetics Conference on Islam
  The Third Annual Apologetics Resource Center/Southeastern Bible College Apologetics Conference is scheduled for January 28-29, 2011. This year's theme is Islam and Christianity: In the Balance. The conference will feature former Muslim, David Nasser,…
  - 28 Dec 10, 8:26pm -
• Review of "Salvation and Sovereignty"
  My review of Ken Keathley's recent book, Salvation and Sovereignty: A Molinist Approach, was just published in the journal , Themelios. You can access it here:www.thegospelcoalition.org/publications
  - 10 Dec 10, 1:45am -
• Debate on the Problem of Evil
  This past Monday I had the privilege of participating in a debate on the question, "Why does a good God allow evil and suffering?" The debate was held at the University of Montevallo, Alabama, sponsored by the Christian Ministries Association there.…
  - 10 Nov 10, 9:44pm -
• Dante's Inferno Meets Lewis's Great Divorce
  Just finished a very intriguing sci-fi novel: Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Inferno. These are my favorite sci-fi writers. They still claim the fame of the best sci-fi novel of all time, The Mote in God's Eye. In this one, they tell the story of…
  - 3 Oct 10, 2:42am -

Watchman's Bagpipes

• Random Apostasies and Heresies
  Where oh where to begin!  It is really saddening to see the current state of the Church, running rife with such apostasy and heresy, as well as just plain bad teaching.  And yet these things are often so subtle that the average person doesn’t rec…
  - 3 days ago, 4 Feb 12, 12:17am -
• Be a Circle Maker?
  Since I buy books from Zondervan for our book table ministry, they will send catalogues and other stuff.  Last month included with the catalogue was a little booklet by Mark Batterson titled, Be A Circle Maker.I had never heard of this author before…
  - 4 days ago, 2 Feb 12, 11:23pm -
• Entertainment in the Church
  I originally posted this a few months after starting the blog.  I thought it was time to repost.+++++++So many churches nowadays are following methods promoted by “seeker sensitive,” “market driven,” “purpose driven,” and even the emerg…
  - 11 days ago, 26 Jan 12, 6:34pm -
• Did They Really Say That?
  ?!?The fall of Adam and Eve was no tragedy.  It was a blessing in disguise, for without it non of us would have been born, since Adam and Eve, in their original state, were not able to have children, as the Book of Mormon explains.Mark E. Petersen,…
  - 12 days ago, 25 Jan 12, 4:51pm -
• Random Apologetics News
  The last time I posted a “random” collection a commenter asked if the post was meant as satire or if it was serious.  I was at sort of a loss how anyone could see these posts as satire.The purpose of my “random” posts is to highlight some of…
  - 13 days ago, 24 Jan 12, 7:10pm -
• Two Dangers to the Church
  There are many dangers to the Church today, the main one of which is false teaching corrupting it from within and without.  However, I think there are two other deadly dangers which severely damage the church and its message: legalism and syncretism…
  - 14 days ago, 24 Jan 12, 12:40am -
• Error May Be Subtle
  Cleaning out my files this week I came across this drawing.I have no idea when or where it came from.  All I know is that I was somewhere listening to some teacher who had this drawing and I copied it because I thought it was a good visual aid.The p…
  - 19 days ago, 18 Jan 12, 5:18pm -
• Discernment Thoughts from Martin Luther
  This is our foundation:  where the Holy Scripture establishes something that must be believed, there we must not deviate from the words, as they sound, neither from the order as it stands, unless an express article of faith (based on clear Scripture…
  - 20 days ago, 17 Jan 12, 5:58pm -
• Investigate Religious Beliefs
  "The subject of eternity is of infinite moment to all; and each individual has sufficient capacity to embrace truth instead of error, provided the due exercises of the faculties are instituted.  Then, when any subject is presented to us in the garb…
  - 21 days ago, 16 Jan 12, 11:44pm -
• Marketing God’s Word
  Just when you get to thinking that there is nothing else they can do to the Bible to provide more income for the publishers, out comes a new one.There are Bibles out there in just about every design possible, and today I even saw a “clutch purse”…
  - 22 days ago, 16 Jan 12, 12:44am -

Flatland Apologetics

• Line em' up
  In taking a few months off in blogging, I was somewhat surprised at a couple of atheist comments that I received.  One of the comments made the point that my apologetics were no different than rehashed Josh McDowell arguments.  Evidently, this per…
  - 34 days ago, 3 Jan 12, 11:49pm -
• Bell's Hell - Another look at "Love Wins"
  Much has been said about Rob Bell's controversial book "Love Wins."  Also, much has changed recently for Rob Bell, as he is now moving out of pastoring a mega-church to do more writing and concentrating on various speaking engagements.  In reviewin…
  - 35 days ago, 2 Jan 12, 10:25pm -
• Dr. Jeffress, Mormonism and dialogue
  A few weeks back,  Dr. Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas caused a stir by calling the Mormon religion a cult before the national media.  Was this the correct avenue to take?  I took a survey shortly after Jeffress statemen…
  - 28 Oct 11, 8:20pm -
• Die for a lie?
  One of the arguments given for the Christian faith deals with the statement that individuals would not be willing to die for a lie.  In general this is true, but many recognize that this argument by itself is incomplete.  Besides, couldn't any reli…
  - 26 Sep 11, 11:07pm -
• Apologetics in the church
  Here is a great article from a former professor of mine.An Apologist in Every ChurchPosted on December 21, 2010 by clayjones It is my heartfelt contention that every church in the world needs an apologist. Here’s why I say that. I have found that…
  - 16 Aug 11, 11:30pm -
• L killers of Church
  In a previous blog, I wrote concerning 10 reasons why the church is broken.  I'm sure many reasons exist that hinder God's people, but believe that three main reasons are wreaking havoc upon the Church of the West.LiberalismLiberalism can be viewed…
  - 15 Aug 11, 2:08pm -
• A personal note
  Flatland Apologetics will soon be moving; moving to another state that is.  Flatland Apologetics is a personal ministry that was started in the high plains of Northwest Kansas.  My family and I will now be moving to the Northwest; Washington State…
  - 9 Aug 11, 8:30pm -
• The benefits of doubt
  The apostle Thomas is most commonly known as "doubting Thomas."  Poor Thomas, is almost looked at in a negative light for that one incident of doubt.  Even though Thomas doubted, it was not a negative that impaired his entire life.  In fact,…
  - 6 Aug 11, 4:43pm -
• Is baptism necessary for salvation? - Closing statement
  Thanks to both Jacob and James for their willingness to debate this issue.  I hope the arguments have been thought provoking from both sides.  I appreciate both opponents willingness to debate the issues in a respectful manner.  And now,  the…
  - 28 Jul 11, 5:44pm -
• Wishful thinking
  In his article, Religion as a Black Market for Irrationality, Sam Harris lays out his case against religious belief. [1]  It must be noted that two other articles tie in to this one, which I hope to address in coming blogs.  These articles are of…
  - 27 Jul 11, 5:13pm -

Extreme Theology