Apologetics

InterVarsity granted me a sabbatical from my regular duties for most of April through August of this year. Three observations from my time away: Ignorant of fatigue. Inside my regular routine I have trouble discerning how tired I am....

Previous post: Part 5: From Here to Eternity I’ve included below a prayer of faith-dedication that I hope you’ll consider. It’s a big step. Only on the other side will you say, “I should have done this long ago.”...

Previous post, Part 4: Head, Heart, and Suffering The decades since my conversion have brought mostly blessings to my life, as I married Sharon Doeden, who contrasts sharply with her head-in-the-clouds husband by keeping both feet planted on terra...

Previous post, Part 3: History and Faith Back to my college-age self, I felt a boost of confidence in the idea that faith could be supported intellectually and not merely with feelings or intuition, not that the latter are...

Previous post, Part 2: Renewal In those early days, faith was, for me, based mostly on emotion. Even truths such as God’s forgiveness were lodged in my heart more than in my head. The slingshot experience I’d had, going...

Previous Post: Part 1 Had I not been in such a lowly state of mind, I might not have found God again. Sometimes, success and competence can stand in the way of faith. Faith tends to meet people in...

When I was a boy of seven or eight years old, my dad told me a story that I never forgot. He recounted the frightening day of April 2, 1957, when his wife, “Tudy” Mattson, delivered a nine-pound baby...

-- Part 2 of this series is here Many people in the University start their thinking with something like this: 1. Truth is dependent on perspective. There's no absolute truth, only the perspectives of everyone at the table. Or:...

Part 1 is here The prevailing dismissal of Christianity in the university world includes the accusation that faith is "anti-science" in its rejection of evolution and its acceptance of miracles and Intelligent Design (I.D.). Yet, there are several ways...

Last school year, InterVarsity students at the University of Montana invited me to help them respond to the university world's critique of Christianity. According to the secular university, Christianity is racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-science, hostile toward other religions, wedded...