religion Archives

Book Review: The Reason for God by Tim Keller

September 1, 2019February 19, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

Last night, I successfully completed Presbyterian pastor Timothy Keller’s apologetics book The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism. I find it fascinating to read through various apologetics books (like The Case for a Creator, Emails to a Young Seeker, and this), and see how they differ and how they don’t. There were a lot of topics in The Reason for God that were familiar, but as with most apologetics books, the author tweaked a thing or two to try to refresh the tired arguments and make them his own.

9 Annoying Things Atheists Do

July 28, 2019January 18, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

Believe it or not, everyone has their faults—even atheists! I know, I’m shocked too. This week we are going to turn our attention away from creationists and humble ourselves with a little bit of atheist introspection. No one is perfect, and when it comes down to it, most of these points should just serve as a reminder to be a decent person, no matter what your beliefs. Regardless, here are nine things that some (not all) atheists do that they probably shouldn’t.

How Many Creationists Does It Take to Refute Evolution?

July 21, 2019January 1, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

Recently, I came across a post on my old church’s website that a few months back, they hosted a presentation by a creationist on “The Best Evidence Against Evolution.” You may know that a while ago, I wrote a series for this blog trying to discover the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s official stance on evolution. In the end, it seemed that they decisively hold to young earth creationism, although the church still has no definitive stance on whether evolution is actually true.

My First Time Responding to a “Pro-Life” Christian

June 9, 2019January 18, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

This is one of those weeks when I spent days waffling back and forth about what to write about come Saturday. I had considered writing a response to some anti-abortion videos I saw about a month ago, but I had no idea how to go about it. I am not too well-versed within the abortion debate, so I didn’t know if it would be worth trying to put my thoughts on it together in a blog post. But as I was re-watching these videos from Christian YouTuber Becca Eller, I saw that she, too, had been nervous to talk about abortion but decided to give it a try anyway. So I’m giving my response to her videos a try too.

The Bunny Song

April 21, 2019January 18, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

For many of us who were raised Christian, among our favorite memories are those of watching VeggieTales from a VHS tape on a big clunky square TV screen. This was something I did a lot growing up in the 90’s and early 00’s. To be honest, I really enjoyed learning bible stories from talking and singing fruits and vegetables. I fondly remember so many of its silly songs, but there’s one that has always stuck out to me from the rest.

Why the Christian Persecution Complex Hurts Everyone

April 14, 2019January 18, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

The Christian persecution complex is one of the great marvels of American society. It truly is amazing. Read more →

What I Believe as an Atheist

April 7, 2019February 18, 2023Rebekah Kohlhepp

When someone finds out that a loved one is an atheist, they tend to have a lot of questions. One question I was asked when coming out was “If you don’t believe in God, then what do you believe?” I was confused by the question at the time. What do you mean, what do I believe? I thought. About what? Morality? Science? The cosmos? Music? Pineapple on pizza? After thinking about it further, I think that “So, what do you believe?” is a pretty good question to ask an atheist, since all you can assume to know about an atheist is that there’s one thing they certainly don’t believe in, and that’s a god or gods. Everything else is up in the air.

Book Review: Only a Theory by Kenneth Miller

March 31, 2019January 18, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I’ve been wrapping up another book, and this week I finally finished it! I read Kenneth Miller’s Only A Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul, which arose from the 2006 court case Selman v. Cobb County School District.

This dispute began innocently, with textbook publisher Prentice Hall and a run-of-the-mill biology textbook. Frustratingly, but not surprisingly, the religious climate in Georgia at the time made teaching honest biology harder than it should be. The Cobb County School District included with every biology textbook a sticker:

Is the LCMS a Cult?

March 17, 2019October 24, 2022Rebekah Kohlhepp

I’m excited to find out whether the LCMS could really be called a cult, especially since in a time of extreme frustration, I once made the claim that I thought it was a cult. That being said, my own analysis will be based off of my personal experience and various Lutheran doctrine that I’ve had the chance to read. I do have a personal dislike and deep disdain for the LCMS, but I’m going to do my very best to be fair and objective when pitting it against the BITE Model. Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean it’s a cult. Maybe it is, but maybe it’s not. Let’s find out.
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Book Review: Why There Is No God by Armin Navabi

March 3, 2019October 13, 2021Rebekah Kohlhepp

If you’re familiar with the online atheist superpower Atheist Republic, then you’ve probably heard of their book Why There Is No God, written by their founder Armin Navabi. I’ve had this book for a while, and I decided this weekend to finally read it and give my opinion here on my blog!