We are starting a new biweekly gathering called Overcoming Objections. Currently we are meeting at the Spring Hill Public Library from 5:30-7:00 PM. This series will be starting Thursday, November 19th and then continue every other week after that. I will try to keep it on Thursday, but if the library room is booked I will move it to another day. The calendar will be up to date and will reflect the actual date/time. A few of us met last Thursday and had a great time working through 2 objections. 1) If God commands us not to murder, why would he command Abraham to kill Isaac? 2) There are so many Christians with so many interpretations, how do we know which is the correct interpretation? The goal is to work through one objection until we feel like we can answer it completely. Maybe we do one, maybe we do more than one. It depends on how long it takes to feel confident that we have an adequate resolution. The meeting dates and times will be on the calendar.

Who has heard of Jay Smith, Islam Apologist? He has a lot of great videos on YouTube.

I've been presented with an extremely unique opportunity to attend an upcoming Jehovah's Witness meeting, with some significant JW leadership expected to be present. What makes this particularly interesting is that I was personally invited, and one of the main subjects being discussed is why Christians shouldn't worship Jesus. Of all the topics I could've walked into. This will be my first real opportunity to engage in public apologetics, and I have no intention of turning their meeting into a debate or being disrespectful. I was invited, so I'll respect that. My plan is simply to respond with questions rather than arguments and see where the discussion goes. A few questions I'm considering: 1. If Jesus explicitly says in John 5:23 that we must honor the Son just as we honor the Father, how does worshiping the Son dishonor the Father? 2. If Isaiah 45:23 records Yahweh declaring that every knee will bow to Him, why does Paul apply that same declaration to Jesus in Philippians 2:10–11? 3. If Philippians 2:11 specifically says that acknowledging Jesus as Lord glorifies God the Father, how does honoring Jesus somehow mean we're ignoring the Father? 4. If Hebrews 1:6 commands God's angels to render proskyneō to Jesus, how do we determine that it means something different from the worship given to God? I'm also planning to bring a lapel mic so I can review my interactions afterward, I will probably post on here for feedback, and hopefully learn something from the experience. I'm under no illusion that I'm going to walk into a Kingdom Hall and change anyone's beliefs, but hopefully just one small seed can be planted. But I do think this is a pretty rare opportunity to have meaningful conversations about Scripture, especially with experienced JW leadership present. I'm really hoping to hold by Ephesians 5:11"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." For those who have engaged with Jehovah's Witnesses before, particularly in a Kingdom Hall setting, I'd genuinely appreciate any advice or suggestions.

Muslims often argue that the Bible is reliable where the Qur’an confirms it, but corrupted where it contradicts the Qur’an. Fair enough. How does the Quran confirm the Bible? Believe it or not, in some very trinitarian ways. In Surrah 3:45 the Quran says "When the angels said, ‘O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, distinguished in this world and the Hereafter, and among those brought near.’ What's interesting is that the Quran itself doesn't provide any explanation of the way in which Jesus is the Word. It's also interesting that this Word is personal and has a name. Since the Quran is confirming the Bible in this passage, I think the natural place to go to understand what it means for Jesus to be the Word, is John 1. That's where we see the Word as both God and with God. So it at least seems like the Quran is confirming that aspect of Jesus' nature. Surrah 4:171 is also very interesting in the way it confirms the Bible. It says "O People of the Book, do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the messenger of Allah, and His Word which He cast to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say, “Three.” Stop; it is better for you. Allah is only one God." How interesting is this? We get Jesus identified as Allah's Word again, but now we also see the "Spirit from him". Obviously, Him in this verse is Allah. But here's the even more interesting part, the author of the Quran seems to understand the relationship between Allah, His Word (Jesus), and the Spirit. Immediately before this statement, Allah reminds them that there's a boundary to the religion that shouldn't be crossed. And then after it says "Do not say Three." Stop. It is better for you. Allah is only one God." So we see here that even though you have Allah and Jesus, His Word, and His Spirit, we still only have one God. And the boundary that shouldn't be crossed is saying that there are three. That's extremely trinitarian.

Let's start discussing Islam apologetics here. It would be good to share what we've encountered. Let's try to keep each thread on a single topic, and then we can organize the threads into the Islam category to find them later. Let's also try to be mindful of how dense a single comment is. Try to be precise and focused. I will go first because I have something on my mind that I want to work through with you guys. Mark 13:32 "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, except the Father." So the question I am asking is does the Son actually know in some sense? If so, what sense? And how would we defend that from the Bible? I will tell you upfront that right now I am exploring what it would mean if He actually did not know. I think a plain reading is that He does not know. The fact that His knowledge is lumped with the angels leads me to believe that over other explanations (since we would not try to reconcile the angels knowledge in the same way). So the question is what follows if it's true that the Son doesn't know? The OT passage he's alluding to is Zech 14:7 "And it will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh..." @Tim Tant asked me if I believe the Son can learn a fact. That was a good question and my gut reaction was no. The problem is I don't know why. I think our first instinct is to say God knows everything, so if Jesus is God he must know everything exactly as the Father does. But is that true? Which made me ask why is omniscience rooted in the being of God? So I looked into it. That idea comes from the classical doctrine of divine simplicity, developed through Augustine and later systematized by Aquinas. It's a product of classic theology. Scripture clearly teaches that God knows all things, knows hearts, knows the future, and possesses knowledge in a way creatures do not. But Scripture does not say: 1) God’s knowledge is identical to his essence. 2) Every divine person must therefore possess every item of knowledge identically.