Nat Crawford - Executive Coach, Speaker, Leader

Are There Any "Good" People? The second issue raised is how could a loving God send "good" people to hell? The nature of this question is troublesome because it is subjective in its understanding and in its measurement. How would someone measure and record their good and bad deeds? It is impossible. Would such a recording, if possible, be subject to bias for at least a 51% ratio of good to bad? It is highly unlikely someone would willingly put forth a case to condemn oneself to eternal punishment. This problem is minor in comparison to the subjective nature man would judge goodness. One must ask, “What is good? What is bad?” Without an objective guide, cultures and individuals will determine good or bad. What this does is put an individual like Osama Bin Laden and his actions behind September 11th in comparison to the child who steals a piece of gum or Hitler’s attempted genocide of the Jews. Some would say “Bin Laden is bad compared to me, but he’s got a few mor...

Again, I will start with an apology for my tardiness in blogging. The selling and purchasing of homes, as well as reading and writing of papers for graduate work, as well as being a father and husband have been my focus for a few months. Moving on, there is much discussion today about hell and its fairness. Today this debate carries on in secular circles as well as "Christian" circles. After a far-too-long hiatus, I want to tackle the topic of the fairness of hell. Do you realize every minute 107 individuals die world-wide.[1] That means on average 154,080 people die every day. The number of people who have died since Adam and Eve is incalculable. The thought of those who will not be saved from God's judgment and hell is a sobering, and frankly depressing. But there are those in today's culture who are challenging the fairness of hell - even the existence of hell. This challenge first comes from the atheist and agnostics. John Lennon encouraged his listener's t...

Can God create an object too big to move? I think we have all given this question audience. Some of us ask out of sincerity and others out of ulterior motives. Regardless, let's look at it. The first problem we find in this question is the premise. God can do anything that is consistent with His nature, therefore cannot do everything. For the Christian who hears this red flags go up. Allow me to explain. First, God cannot be tempted. James 1:13 states, " When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." God cannot lie as seen in Hebrews 6:18: "   God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,  we who have fled to take hold of the hope  set before us may be greatly encouraged." And God cannot fade away,  In the beginning   you laid the foundations of the earth,  and the heavens   are the work of your hands.  They will perish,   bu...

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:14 " For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband..." At first glance it appears this verse implies as long as a spouse is saved, an unbelieving spouse will experience salvation as well. Is this correct? First, sanctified is the Greek transliterated  hagiazo . Here in 1 Corinthians it means " to separate from profane things and dedicate to God." This is very different than being saved. The believer has been set apart from the wickedness of the unbeliever, and the unbeliever is set apart from the total influence of sin in the world. The work of the Holy Spirit is alive in the life of the believer thus impacting the life of the unbeliever. Pastor and theologian John MacArthur stated, " You become set apart unto God and holy when you believe in Christ...but just having been in a home or living in a home where somebody is a Christian, has...

A common statement to defend an atheistic world-view is “There have been more massacres in the name of Christianity than any other religion. Religion is the cause of all our problems.” This is a straw man argument.  It is illogical and frankly worn out. Let me explain: The term Christian is quite loose now days. The term Christian blankets a wide variety of denominations, cults, agnostics, universalists, and pluralists. So what am I saying? There are “Christians” and then there are Christians. I may say “I’m a vegetarian.” But if you see me eating bacon double cheeseburger, you will call me on my hypocrisy.  When a “Christian” creates a heinous crime, rarely is authentic Christianity into question, rather the baby is thrown out with the bath water. Jesus Christ Himself knew His follower’s life would be under radar. That’s why in John 15:8 He said, “ This is to my Father’s glory,   that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” In the same way Ja...

A few months ago I was at local retailer buying a new cell phone. The process took two hours, and I am glad. The young man who helped me engaged in a great conversation. We talked briefly about apologetics and then he asked the question: "Is God a Sexist?" This is not a new question. It can be worded in various ways, but the meaning is the same. "What do you mean?" I asked. "The Bible refers to God as 'He.'" "Ah" I started, "So you are asking is God male or female?   And why does He even use such descriptions?" He said "Yes." We know from Scripture mankind is created in God's own image (Genesis 1:27). This is a sign that men and women are in His image. God is not male or female, but He is above and beyond gender. I often joke with people that the way to understand the Bible thoroughly is to pick up a Bible and read it. A careful study of the Bible will reveal that God refers to Himself both in the male and ...

Continued from " Teleology - A Case for Intelligent Design - Part 1 " Professor Robbin Collins, highlights three examples, out of over thirty, of evidence for fine-tuning. [1]  First, there is production of oxygen and carbon in the stars. The astrophysicist Sir Fred Hoyle said, “I do not believe that any scientist who examined the evidence would fail to draw the inference that the laws of nuclear physics have been deliberately designed with regard to the consequences they produce inside stars.” [2]  Physicist Heinz Oberhummer and fellow scientists recently discovered that only a one percent change of strong nuclear force would create a thirty-to a thousand-fold influence on the creation of carbon and oxygen in stars. Oberhummer explains, “Stars provide the carbon and oxygen needed for life on planets, if you throw that off balance, conditions in the universe would be much less optimal for the existence of life.” [3] Second is gravity. If the fine tuning of the univers...