Unbelievers sometimes critique Christian faith for being subjective—based on unprovable personal opinions. In response, some Christians have tried to argue that their beliefs are actually objective and based on provable evidence. However, both the accusation and the defense stem from a modernist perspective that incorrectly prioritizes "scientific" viewpoints over all others.

This distortion hides the reality that all viewpoints—not just religious ones—are inherently subjective. No one's ideas are based purely on provable evidence; instead, all concepts rest on unprovable foundational assumptions. For instance, both the belief that God exists and the belief that He does not are based not on "reason" alone, but on faith.

In the realm of Christian apologetics, attempting to prove that God exists or that Christianity is objectively true has largely been unfruitful. A more effective approach involves pointing materialists to their own unperceived biases while introducing them to the narrative of sacred scripture.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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The level of damage a Christian leader’s moral failure causes is almost incalculable. Because much of a pastor’s ministry is explaining God’s Word to his congregation, his words necessarily begin to carry something of a divine weight, and as a result the Christian pastor represents God. The level of trust a congregation must have in its pastor means that the damage caused when a pastor betrays his congregation is exponentially greater than when a business, political, or entertainment leader commits the same sin.

With this in mind, churches and their pastors must care for each other in spiritually healthy ways. Churches must hold their pastors accountable to spiritual oversight, making sure they are confessing their sins regularly and have people in their lives who ask tough questions. And pastors must not use their authority to guard themselves from trusted Christians who would hold them to this accountability. But when Christian leaders fall, it’s important for all Christians to remember that only Jesus is without sin, only Jesus is a perfect leader, and only Jesus loves his people enough to never hurt them.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

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Finding it difficult to believe in a God who orders the destruction of human life is not a new phenomenon. Many have found it hard to square what the Bible says about God’s love with what it says about His violence.

But if we are intellectually honest, the question shouldn't be whether the God of the Bible conforms to our personal standards of right and wrong—but whether He is the real God. If He is true, the question of whether we "like" Him becomes secondary to the question of whether He is worthy of worship.

As it turns out, it is philosophically possible to believe in a God who is both loving and vengeful. Anger is often the only appropriate response when someone you love is hurt. In fact, we wouldn't want to worship a God who didn't respond to the injustices of this world with the determination to fix them.

The apex of this "two-sided" love and anger is the Cross. There, Jesus willingly absorbed the evil of a fallen world so that His Father’s wrath could lovingly cut it out forever.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep139.