Daily Defense Podcast

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#326 Separation from God - Jimmy Akin Nov 22, 2023

Show notes

DAY 326 CHALLENGE “We know we can’t lose our salvation by committing mortal sin because Scripture says we can’t be separated from God (John 6:37, 39, 10:27–29, Rom. 8:38–39).” DEFENSE None of those biblical passages show that we cannot separate ourselves from God. John 6:37 states: “All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.” Jesus will not cast us out, but that doesn’t mean we can’t leave Jesus voluntarily. John 6:39 states: “this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at t...

#325 The Individual and the Canon of Scripture - Jimmy Akin Nov 21, 2023

Show notes

DAY 325 CHALLENGE “Why shouldn’t the individual decide for himself what books belong in the Bible?” DEFENSE God didn’t promise to guide individuals in this way. It’s also a dangerous thing to try. First, how would an individual decide what books are canonical? Some have claimed these books are “self-authenticating” or that the Holy Spirit will provide what amounts to a private revelation to the individual, but neither proposal works (see Days 229 and 236). An individual might establish that certain books are reliable historical records (e.g., that the Gospels reliably record the minis...

#324 Genesis and Ancient Texts - Jimmy Akin Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

DAY 324 CHALLENGE “Genesis can’t be the word of God because it borrows from pagan texts.” DEFENSE God can interact with pagan works if he chooses. Proposed parallels between the Old Testament and pagan sources are often exaggerated. Other times they may be due to independent development. When a parallel is not coincidence, it is possible that both the biblical and the pagan authors are drawing from a common, lost source. In some cases, a pagan author may draw from a biblical one! However, there are cases where biblical authors respond to or borrow from pagan ones. The Catholic attitude...

#323 Why Sacraments? - Jimmy Akin Nov 19, 2023

Show notes

DAY 323 CHALLENGE “If what is ultimately important is our faith in God, then there is no reason for the Church to have sacraments.” DEFENSE Interior dispositions like faith are not the only thing that is important. We are also physical beings. The Church has sacraments because they correspond to human nature and thus Christ instituted them. Every religion has certain rites it regards as sacred. Such rites are a human universal, found in every religion, in every culture, which means they are rooted in human nature. Thus God made use of them in Juda- ism and Christianity. In Judaism, t...

#322 Old Testament Laws - Jimmy Akin Nov 18, 2023

Show notes

DAY 322 CHALLENGE “Jesus was a Jew. If Christians are really his followers, why don’t they keep Old Testament laws like circumcision, eating kosher food, and so on? Jesus said he didn’t come to destroy the Law and not a jot or tittle would pass away from it (Matt. 5:17–18).” DEFENSE Such prescriptions were only binding on Jewish people before Jesus fulfilled the Law. Everyone must obey the natural, moral law God has placed in the human heart (Rom. 2:14–16; see Day 291). The Law of Moses includes many aspects of this law (CCC 1961), but it also adds provisions of a non-moral nature. The...

#321 An Evolutionary By-Product? - Jimmy Akin Nov 17, 2023

Show notes

DAY 321 CHALLENGE “If human nature has a predisposition to religious belief (see Day 313), why can’t we explain this as an evolutionary by-product?” DEFENSE We can’t dismiss our religious disposition so easily. Religion requires a robust set of cognitive faculties, which is why humans have religion and less intelligent species do not. According to the theory of evolution, the needed faculties would have developed over a long period of time, with different aspects appearing among the different species that led up to the human race. This is no different than other faculties humans posse...

#320 Past, Present, and Future Sins - Jimmy Akin Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

DAY 320 CHALLENGE “Once we are saved, we are always saved. We don’t need to worry about mortal sins, because when we are justified, God forgives all of our sins—past, present, and future.” DEFENSE Scripture teaches the opposite. It is, of course, true that when we come to God and are justified that he forgives all of our past sins. However, this is not true of present and future sins. One of the requirements for coming to God is repentance. Jesus’ own message was, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repentance involves an actual turning away from sin (see Day 53). This mean...

#319 Objections to Pascal’s Wager - Jimmy Akin Nov 15, 2023

Show notes

DAY 319 CHALLENGE “Pascal’s Wager is open to objections: (1) It isn’t based on evidence; (2) Christianity and skepticism aren’t the only two options we can choose; and (3) how do you know that God won’t perversely decide to put you in hell for placing your faith in him?” DEFENSE None of these objections overturn Paschal’s Wager. First, as we observe elsewhere (see Day 318), Pascal’s Wager is designed to deal with situations where an individual feels unable to make a decision based on evidence, yet where a decision must be made because not to choose would be to accept one position by de...

#318 Pascal’s Wager - Jimmy Akin Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

DAY 318 CHALLENGE “I am unable to decide between Christianity and skepticism, and it doesn’t help to review the evidence. My dilemma seems insoluble.” DEFENSE In his Pensées, the French philosopher Blaise Pascal proposed a practical solution that became known as Pascal’s Wager. He proposed that, if evidential reasoning cannot settle the question for a particular person, then practical reasoning may (see Day 336). Pascal’s Wager can be put different ways (in fact, Pascal himself put it more than one way), but here we will follow his main presentation of it. He compared the decision of ...

#317 The Last Supper and Passover - Jimmy Akin Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

DAY 317 CHALLENGE “The synoptic Gospels say the Last Supper was a Passover meal, but John indicates it wasn’t (John 18:28, 19:14).” DEFENSE There are multiple resolutions to this challenge. First, there were disputes about the calendar in first-century Judaism. Some have proposed Jesus used a different calendar than the temple authorities, so he ate the Passover meal a day earlier than the Jewish authorities mentioned in John 18:28. Second, it’s been proposed Jesus simply celebrated the Passover a day early because he knew he was going to die. He made other changes to the meal as well...

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