Encounter The web journal of Godsearch, Inc. (journal formerly entitled Point/Counterpoint).
The skeptic and seeker's guide for investigating religions and world-views through debate, interview, analysis, and discussion.
6-8 pm, weekdays, MST (1-3am GMT)
Godsearch call-in phone line. Call in response to anything we have said on this web page or call to share your point of view. Call with your thoughts, arguments, questions, reflection, concerns, and intellectual contributions. (Note: if the lines get too busy and you just want to vent, you will have to call us back or we may be able to call you back.) You can even call if you just want to hear what we have to say. We think biblical Christianity is true and we'll tell you why.
Or email us at enc11@earthlink.net
LIFE EXPERIENCES OF SEEKERS AND 'HIDERS':
WHAT GOOD HAVE CHRISTIANS DONE? (1)
WHAT GOOD HAVE CHRISTIANS DONE? (2)
WHAT GOOD HAVE CHRISTIANS DONE? (3)
THE SIMPLER EXPLANATION: GOD OR NO GOD?
DOLAND'S CRITIQUE
OF GOD AS THE EXPLANATION OF THE UNIVERSE'S ORIGIN AND COMPLEXITY
DAWKINS INTERVIEW:
DID DARWIN MAKE THE WORLD SAFE FOR ATHEISM?
HOLOCAUST RESCUERS: DID RELIGIOUS BELIEF MAKE A DIFFERENCE?.
SAMPLE CONTRIBUTORS
What is Encounter?
Issue 1
Ultimate Encounter
Tibetan Buddhism
A Buddhist Critique of Theism and Response
World View Dialogue
"The East, No Exit"
A God Seeker in Ethiopia
Issue 2
When Muslims Call
on Allah:
A Leading Muslim Scholar Debates ChristianityTopics include:
Should we just seek God for the truth?
Does the Qur'an confirm the New Testament? Part 1
The complete text as continued from the above edited debate (In issue 2 appendix).
The Evidence for Isa's (Jesus') Death and Resurrection
Issue 2 Appendix
Evidence that the Qur'an does not deny Isa's death or resurrection.
Miller's argument that the New Testament does not affirm Jesus' deity.
The Quran's view of the New Testament: Part 2, Miller's response
Miller's disproof of the Bible as revelation.
Persuasion by the sword? The problem of the wars of Islam.
Issue 3
The Historical Evidence that Jesus Is the Messiah:
The Resurrection Evidence,
Daniel's Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks,
and Other Messianic Prophecy
Debate:
Can Anyone Believe in God after the Holocaust?
Rescuers in the Holocaust:
Issue 4
Bertrand Russell Meets his Maker:
Quotes from the famous agnostic show how such an encounter might appear.
Astral Projection:
Antony Flew, part 1:
Debate with Famed Atheist and Philosopher: "Can We Live without God"
Richard Dawkins:
Interview with Famed Atheist and Scientist: "Did Darwin Make the World Safe for Atheism?"
The Argument against Naturalism from Human Consciousness .
Issue 5
Between the Earth and Moon :
A Native Mexican Shaman Returns from the Dead . . . to Tell What He Saw
God and Evil
Einstein and the Church
Great Moments in Science, or
"Why I Am Not a Christian"
Antony Flew, part 2:
Debate with Famed Atheist and Philosopher:
"Would we have an obligation to commit our lives to God if we believe God does exist?"
Issue 6
Debate with Famed Atheist and Philosopher, Antony Flew:
"Divine Justice?" Is Belief in an Eternal Hell the Death-blow to Christianity? (complete debate)
Issue 7
Evil Christians:
Tooley/Craig Debate (with discussion or commentary following. Note: plus (+) indicates arguments for theism or Christianity; minus (-) indicates against)
Part 1: Cosmological Argument (+)
Part 2: Is Theism or Naturalism a Simpler Explanation? Discussion with Swinburne and Tooley (-/+)
Part 3: God's Hiddenness (-) and the Problem of Hell (-)
Part 4: Religious Experience Argument (+)
Part 5: The Default Argument (-)
Part 6: The Argument from Objective Moral Values (+)
Part 7: The Argument from Minds (-)
Part 8: The Fine-Tuning Argument (+)
Part 9: The Argument from Evil (-)
Part 10: The Argument for Jesus' Resurrection (+)
Part 11: The Case against Christianity (-)
Not Looking for God:
Issue 8
The 36th God: Gyalsang's Story
The Spiritual Journey of a Sherpa Tibetan Buddhist
Scientific Evidence for a Designer of the Universe:
Living to Die
Near Death Experience,
Jim Morrison's Grave
A Stream of Consciousness Graveside Meditation on the Folly of Dead-Rock-Star Worship
Issue 9
The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel:
(Note: Italicized topics below follow chapters in Strobel's book)
Objection 1: Since Evil and Suffering Exist, a Loving God Cannot
Will God condemn intellectually honest unbelievers?
Freedom, omnipotence, evil, and logical necessity, cont.
God's compensation for undeserved suffering
Theodicy 2: God needs to know if we will stop the suffering
All must choose concerning God: the fate of the stillborn
When freedom is needed and the place of speculation
Majority belief in God as an argument
Does Darwinism accommodate scripture?
Should the Bible give new scientific information?
Is the God of science the God of the Bible?
Isn't God complex and fine-tuned?
From the unity of God: God can desire and yet regret creating
No one knowingly rejects salvation?
Objection 2: Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True
Testimonial evidence for miracles and the Book of Mormon
Natural vs supernatural explanations of phenomena
Miracles and uniformity of nature
How much supernatural intervention in the world?
Does the Bible say God is evil?
Natural vs supernatural explanations, again
Reason #1: God Makes Sense of the Universe's Origin
Reason #2: God Makes Sense of the Universe's Complexity
Reason #4: God Makes Sense of the Resurrection
Reason #5: God Can Immediately Be Experienced
Objection 3: Evolution Explains Life, So God Isn't Needed
Probability of abiogenesis and the multiverse
Probability of fine tuning of laws of nature
Probability of abiogenesis again
Objection 4: God Isn't Worthy if He Kills Innocent Children
Did God order genocide, rape, infanticide?
Terms of peace: slavery or death
Original sin, realistic imputation
Maturity and eternal decisions
Resurrection vs Caesar crossing the Rubicon and historicity of gospels
Objection 5: It's Offensive to Claim Jesus Is the Only Way to God
Objection 6: A Loving God Would Never Torture People in Hell
Subobjection 2: Why Does Everyone Suffer the Same in Hell?
Subobjection 4: Couldn't God Force Everyone to Go to Heaven?
Subobjection 6: How Can Hell Exist Alongside Heaven?
Subobjection 7: Why Didn't God Create Only Those He Knew Would Follow Him?
Subobjection 8: Why Doesn't God Give People a Second Chance?
Subobjection 9: Isn't Reincarnation More Rational than Hell?
Objection 7: Church History Is Littered with Oppression and Violence
Ethically superior, Christianity or atheism?
Hitler's religion and Luther's antisemitism
Unchanging moral laws and changing laws with moral content
The enemy of humanity, atheism or Christianity?
Are Christians commanded to do evil?
The value of life under atheism and Christianity, evil Christians, and reprobation
Objection 8: I Still Have Doubts, So I Can't Be a Christian
Issue 10
"But if We Call on God . . ."
A Spiritual Journey East
(and an Unexpected Turn)Einstein's God
Printed Back Issues
The following are presently only available in print; write or call us for a copy. Some are in short supply and may be unavailable when requested. We request $5 for postage and handling for each copy unless larger quantities are needed.
Clark Pinnock and Madalyn O'Hair debate: "Has Christianity ever done anyone any good at any time?" (Boulder Fish, 1984, Issue 1. Reprinted with permission of Radix Magazine. Originally published in Right On, April 1975)
"The Hindu Experience: Interview with Mahatma Rama Nand." (Boulder Fish, 1984, Issue 1.) A short interview of a representative of a traditional Vedantic Hindu school. Some basic views as well as problems with this thought are discussed.
Sir Fred Hoyle, "Reflections on the Universe" (Point/Counterpoint, 1986). Reprint of "The Universe: Past and Present Reflections," Engineering and Science, November 1981. A classic article by the famous astrophysicist indicating how he had come to see that a "superintellect has monkeyed with physics, . . . chemistry and biology, . . . "
"Chogyam Trungpa, Tibetan Buddhist Leader, an Evaluation," (Point/Counterpoint, 1986). How do significant moral deficiencies in a religious leader affect how we should evaluate the religion they represent?
We're looking for debates, discussions, and interviews with religious leaders (all religions), philosophers, scientists and other thinkers and leaders concerning religious and world view issues. Usually the only non-dialogue type articles that will be considered would have to be very short (unless they're exceptionally good). And we're particularly in need of good graphics. Let us be a channel to help you share your work with the world.
If you would like to dialogue or debate with us by email or letter concerning any topic covered in this web page or any similar topic, the correspondence may, with your permission, be used for future pages in this web page.
For further correspondence or discussion, write or call
ENCOUNTER
P.O. Box 110562
Aurora, Colorado 80042-0562
Correspond by E-mail at enc11@earthlink.net
Last updated July 2009
See each issue for names of editorial and material contributors
Recommended reading. The Endless Call by the editor of Encounter: Available as an eBook and in print at Lighthouseebooks.com.
Two immortal beings encounter one another: both have almost godlike power and knowledge. But one dwells in bliss, the other in torment.
Filled with intergalactic and trans-dimensional travel and encounters, this is a fictional account of dialogues in the afterlife. Inspired by The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, examples of a few of the issues covered in the ensuing encounters are the problem of pain, evidence for belief, science and religious belief. (Cover artwork, Tatian, by Justin Jensen.)
The primary purpose of Encounter is to provide a service to the person who is seeking spiritual truth and to help to stimulate others to enter this search. Competing religions and secular beliefs will be evaluated. This is not a one-sided presentation. Only by such an approach can an inquiry be most honestly carried out. (This is not to say that differing views will be present in every article, but they will not be difficult to find in the sample list or table of contents. Usually we will also provide links to opposing views.)
Our orientation is biblical Christianity and we believe that anyone who honestly and earnestly seeks spiritual truth from God (on nothing more than the possibility that God is there and deserves our highest love and commitment) will discover that this position is true. But the truth or falsity of this claim must finally be determined by your own inquiry. The first step is simply and honestly to seek God. Simply say, "If you're there, I want to find you. I only seek the One who deserves my ultimate commitment and my deepest love; if you're there, I give you all that you ask of me, all that you have right to from my life. I desire to have the truth and I will accept and act on it as you show me." From our own experience and the testimony of others, we think that if you honestly ask this of God, you will be given the truth. Whether it comes more directly through experience or more indirectly through information and evidence God allows to cross your path, still it will come. If you've made this prayer, much of the material in Encounter is intended to help answer questions and to provide some of the evidence you're looking for.
We want you to reach your own conclusions, so we intend to present the various reasons for and against the different positions as objectively and forcefully as possible. We will use interviews and debates with influential religious and non-religious leaders and thinkers. Also, we want to present your viewpoints and to continue the discussion far beyond the initial article, debate, dialogue, or interview. So we do welcome your letters, email (enc11@earthlink.net), and phone calls. Written correspondence may, with the writer's permission, be used in future Encounter web pages.
We have stated that our own search has brought us to believe biblical Christianity to be true. We need to be very clear as to what we believe this means. Above all else this means that we were created to know our creator and the deep relationship with God we were meant to have can be restored. All that separates us can be removed because of the death of the Messiah, Jesus. This can be ours if we seek and entrust ourselves to God, committing ourselves to and trusting in Jesus and his death to accomplish this, and forsaking all that separates us from God. Our sins, past and present, separate us from God. Our thoughts, words, actions--even our desires and inclinations--which harm others and ourselves or which deny or usurp that which rightfully belongs to God, ourselves, or others would be called sin.
But how is it that this relationship with God can be restored? The God we seek must be absolutely perfect. Anything less would make God unworthy of our ultimate commitment and love. But our sin alienates us from such a perfect God, removing the close relationship we need. Sin must be removed, yet we cannot erase what we have done nor completely cease to do evil. We must find One who is able to remove the sin that we cannot remove. God's Son—a sinless man and yet one who is more than a mere man—was able to remove our sin by becoming our substitute, bearing in our place our sin and death. So God provided the means by which God can see us as sinless.
We come to recognize the extreme cost, the extreme pain God endured (all that Jesus endured, the One he called his Father also endured) to reconcile us and to keep us from the judgment we deserve for any evil we have done. With this awareness we are drawn to seek and to love God, to follow God's will, and to keep from anything that would alienate us from God. God's will is that we cease from evil and that we become deeply involved in the needs of others. Because of God's sacrifice we come to recognize the unimaginable worth of each person, including and especially those we would consider to be of least significance.
We will never be without sin in this life, yet for the follower of Jesus this effort becomes a continuing process. We are to continually seek God's deliverance from anything that would draw us to evil, to harm anyone, to deny anyone's essential human rights.
