Challenge Response: Is Marriage Really Connected to Children?

If marriage is really about having children, then doesn’t it follow that heterosexual couples who can’t (or don’t plan to) have children shouldn’t be allowed to marry? That’s this week’s challenge that I answered today.

Challenge: Is Marriage Really Connected to Children?

For this week’s challenge, here’s an objection that comes up in discussions about same-sex marriage:

If, as you say, the purpose of marriage is to stabilize the relationships that produce children, then by your logic, heterosexuals who can’t (or don’t want to) have children should be prevented from marrying.

Does this objection prove that marriage isn’t really connected to children, or is there an answer to it? How do you respond? We’ll hear from Alan with his answer on Thursday.

Are Ideas Like Santa Just Harmless Deceptions?

http://vimeo.com/41256620

Friday Fun: Christian Pick-Up Lines

Challenge Response: A Fetus Without an Active Brain Is Not Alive

Here’s my response to this week’s challenge.

 

If you want to see  my response to some of the comments, watch the following video.

Jacob’s Story

This is a tragic story of the sex-trafficking of young girls, but a powerful story of the hope and redemption found in the gospel of Jesus Christ:

http://vimeo.com/31795904

Challenge: A Fetus Without an Active Brain Is Not Alive

A few weeks ago, Alan tackled the first part of an argument given on Debate.org to persuade people that a fetus without a brain is not a person, and therefore it’s okay to abort it.

As promised, for this week’s challenge, here’s the second part of the Debate.org argument:

Second, medical death occurs when electrical activity in the brain ceases. A corollary of this would indicate that medical life occurs when electrical activity in the brain STARTS. Thus, an entity without electrical activity in the brain is not alive.

I have heard this argument made several times. What do you think? Let’s hear from you, and then Alan will be here to finish this up on Thursday.

How Do We Know if Films Like Harry Potter Are Okay?

http://vimeo.com/41455136

Friday Fun: Rational Debating

Here’s a graphic I found that was made by an atheist explaining the rules of discussion to religious people. While I agree with the flowchart, it’s also the case that many atheists don’t play by them.

Challenge Response: What Can We Learn about God from Apologetics?

I got my good friend and cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace from Please Convince Me to help answer this week’s challenge: