TheologyApologetic: A Defense of the Christian Faith

  INTO THE VOID The Crown – Moondust S3 Ep7 In an episode of The Crown from season three entitled “Moondust”, Prince Philip was facing something of a crisis of faith or at least an internal struggle as he searched for meaning and purpose. This he believed was accomplished through great acts. The antecedent of this search may be a result of the passing of Prince Philips’s mother portrayed in episode six, and who had admonished Philip to “find your faith”. He found himself affixed and inspired by news coverage of the Apollo moon landing in July of 1969. "Great accomplishments such as these give a man a sense of purpose, and to life, meaning, not the simple navel gazing of Philosophers and Theologians" which he feels accomplishes nothing of any great value.      Prince Philip had felt that attending church every Sunday had become "tedious and a waste of time," at which point he determined to "spend that hour being more productive."   The Queen undertook t

  In the movie, Batman V. Superman Lex Luthor put forward an explicit argument on the character of God,      “What we call God, depends upon our tribe…Because God is tribal, God takes sides. No man in the sky intervened when I was a boy to deliver me from daddy’s fist and abominations. I figured out way back, if God is all-powerful then He cannot be all-good, and if He is all-good, then He cannot be all-powerful.” Lex Luthor – Batman v. Superman      This type of argument against the existence of God is commonly referred to as the problem of evil. It is not a new problem; it actually has a rather lengthy history. Typically, Epicurus (341-270 B.C.) has been credited with formulating what has been referred to as the Epicurean Paradox, but it was Scottish Philosopher David Hume who popularized it. His version of the argument is stated in the following way, "Is he [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able? then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? then is he malevolent

      In an episode of the original Star Trek series entitled “The City on the Edge of Forever” Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock discover a “time machine” or portal as it were that would allow them to pass through it and into the past. Their purpose for doing so was to rescue McCoy after he passed through the portal under the influence of a self- induced injection. He had inadvertently emptied a syringe into his system which affected his neurological functioning causing him to hallucinate. In order to rescue him Kirk and Spock needed to travel back in time before McCoy injected himself.        This “time machine” or portal possessed the ability to communicate with Kirk and Spock. The ensuing dialogue between the three resulted in Kirk enquiring “Are you machine or being?” The “Guardian of Forever” replied, “I am both and neither. I am my own beginning, my own ending”. For our purposes we could phrase Kirk’s question as follows, “Do you exist contingently or necessarily”? This two-letter wo

 *Due to copywrite laws, no image has been provided for the following article. Someone with whom I am acquainted, and whose name I shall not reveal, mentioned that she did not  like Avengers: Age of Ultron as the movie introduced a “Godlike” hero, The Vision. I also saw the movie and had some of my own reservations regarding the introduction of this character, for the same reason. However, after giving the matter some thought I began to contemplate the exhibited powers of The Vision and the attributes of God. Ultimately, I recognize that the whole thing may be moot, comparing the real with the fictional, that which has being or existence and that which does not.        Nevertheless, two things I observed that do not make The Vision “godlike”. First, The Vision is Finite in Power . Solar energy is absorbed via the gem in his forehead allowing him to function.   This stored energy allows him to deploy this weaponry optically as beams of either infrared or microwave radiation. This powe

 "Mankind has no need for gods. We find the One quite adequate .” -- Kirk, "Who Mourns for Adonais?" star date 3468.1. In Greek mythology Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis. In “Who Mourns for Adonais?” the Enterprise is suspended above a planet by an energy field resembling “a human appendage”, the hand of Apollo. Apollo invites, though it sounds more like a command, the bridge crew to come down to the surface for a joyful celebration of their return home. He offers rest and happiness and requires only their worship in exchange.  In time he requires that the entire crew beam down with the exception of Mr. Spock. “But do not bring that one, the one with the pointed ears. He is much like Pan and Pan always bored me”.  After which he will simply destroy the ship by crushing it with his hand. Thanks, but no thanks is the general consensus of the landing party.  In the ensuing dialogue between Carolyn and Apollo, she is able to learn the fate