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Did God allow or condone sex slavery and pedophilia in the Torah? ...No.

To our current Western ears some passages in the Torah such as Numbers 31:18 and Deuteronomy 21:10-14 generally evoke a negative emotional response, but they must not be viewed through a 21st-century lens only. We can hardly avoid using a modern-day lens, but we must also use an ancient Near Eastern as well as a broad Mosaic lens. These passages should not be misconstrued in support of slavery, sex slavery, rape, or the objectification of women. But they do require careful thought and interpretation. In light of the ancient, NE pagan moral codes that 'governed' slavery, sex, marriage and foreign relations, the skeptic’s claim that Yahweh condoned or permitted sex-slavery, pedophilia, or marital rape is untenable. Throughout the Hebrew Tanakh, Yahweh presents himself as a God of goodness, justice, and love. He explicitly set himself apart from the false gods of the surrounding nations in numerous ways. This was embodied in his miraculous acts toward his people but also through superior laws given through Prophet Moses and other prophets. In them he introduced a superior socio-sexual morality that was unmatched by any pagan society of the day or by Islam millennia later. 

  • 11 February 2021
  • Author: Scott Cherry
  • Number of views: 2235
  • Comments: 2

Sunlight, Ultraviolet Radiation and Covid-19

by Roland Clarke

The Covid pandemic has profoundly shaken the world. “Is this a wake-up call?” Many people in the west who've lost jobs because of lockdown are receiving government handouts as emergency relief. Meanwhile countless numbers of people suffer loneliness, anxiety and depression. In fact, suicide is increasing. It is no secret: Covid 19 elicits a deep-seated fear of death. In his book, 
Struggle to Dawn, Ugo Betty stated a profound, if obvious truth, “Every tiny part of us cries out against the idea of dying and hopes to live forever.”
  • 21 January 2021
  • Author: Guest Blogger
  • Number of views: 1571
  • Comments: 2

Why would an all-good and all-powerful God allow a pandemic?

by John Shaheen—

John is a junior at the University of MichiganDearborn. He especially loves philosophy and biology.


Fear is aroused, panic abounds, medical supplies dwindle, and the economy suffers… where is God?
  Why would he let the people that he loves suffer?  Within months, the Coronavirus has rapidly spread throughout the world.  What seemed like alarmism now seems like inadequate preparation.  Surely, the question on the minds of many is why would God allow this?  Where is the God of infinite and perfect love and mercy?
     In response to the logical problem of evil, many solutions have been offered, the most famous being the Free will Defense.  Perhaps evil and suffering are a consequence of allowing free beings to exist.  The objection soon arose, what about natural evil?  How are floods, diseases, earthquakes, etc. the result of free beings?  Alvin Plantinga suggested that perhaps these disasters are the result of the free actions of supernatural beings such as angels or demons.  Though this is definitely a solution that makes natural evil logically compatible with a perfect and powerful God, it still feels unsatisfactory.  Why did God give these beings this kind of power?  He could have easily restricted their power without limiting their free will.  They can only cause this kind of havoc if God allows them.  God is still the ultimate authority and power in this paradigm.  Furthermore, in an age of scientific knowledge of the causes of natural disasters, this solution may seem unsatisfactory to the naturalist.  
  • 22 July 2020
  • Author: Guest Blogger
  • Number of views: 2158
  • Comments: 0

Consider the Evidence

The four gospels all say Jesus rose from the dead. They give us almost excessive details. Setting aside the biblical reports of the resurrection for the sake of scrutiny, we still have to make sense of the other solid facts: a) Jesus's body disappeared and has never been recovered; b) The Roman guards would not have allowed his body to be stolen, and all the authorities wanted him dead and gone for good. c) The disciples had no faith that he would rise from the dead, and they had no reason to even try to steal a dead man's body in light of who they had expected him to be—an invincible Messianic deliverer, who had failed. Now, it is an historical fact that the disciples later believed that Jesus had risen. Is there a reasonable explanation for this? 

Yes, there is. Consider the evidence.

  • 14 April 2020
  • Author: Scott Cherry
  • Number of views: 2141
  • Comments: 0

Who were the responsible parties for the mock trial and condemnation of Jesus?

by Nathan McLatcher, Junior at UM Dearborn

In Jesus’s crucifixion, there is more than enough blame to go around. The Jewish religious leaders plotted against Jesus, seeing him as a heretic and a threat to their power. Pilate believed Jesus was innocent yet had him crucified in a cowardly effort to retain his grip on power. But there’s still blame left to share. When the Jewish crowd accepts condemnation for Jesus’ death, they place the blame on not just themselves, but on all humanity. The various actors in the trial serve not just as characters in a supernatural drama, but as archetypes, showing us the various ways in which the world is blind to Jesus’ message. These include the Romans, the Jews, and everybody. 

  • 8 April 2020
  • Author: Guest Blogger
  • Number of views: 2930
  • Comments: 0
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