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Introduction | |
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Questions About Logic | |
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What are first principles? | |
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Why begin with logic? | |
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What is the first principle of logic? | |
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Is the law of noncontradiction unavoidable? | |
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What if all is nothing but an illusion? | |
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What if logic doesn't apply to reality? | |
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What about the use of Eastern logic? | |
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Can the laws of logic be used as a test for truth? | |
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Questions About Truth | |
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What is truth? | |
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Is truth relative? | |
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Is absolute truth intolerant? | |
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What is pluralism? | |
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Should pluralism be embraced in academics? | |
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Agnosticism: What is that? | |
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Do relativism and pluralism make sense? | |
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Are agnosticism, relativism, and pluralism true? | |
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Is it credible to hold to absolute truth? | |
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How can we know the truth about reality? | |
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Questions About Worldviews | |
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What is a worldview? | |
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Why are worldviews important? | |
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How many worldviews are there? | |
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How do worldviews differ? | |
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What do atheists believe? | |
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What do pantheists believe? | |
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What do theists believe? | |
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What is worldview confusion? | |
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Why are questions so important? | |
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How can we handle worldview questions? | |
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How can we ask the right kinds of questions? | |
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Questions About Science | |
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Is science a matter of faith? | |
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What is the principle of causality? | |
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Is the causality principle reliable? | |
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Does quantum physics disprove causality? | |
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Does causality apply to God? | |
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Is God a self-caused Being? | |
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Can science determine past causes? | |
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Can origin science affirm the existence of God? | |
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Does appealing to a Creator nullify the scientific method? | |
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Questions About the Cosmos | |
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Does the cosmos need a cause? | |
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What's the difference between cosmology and cosmogony? | |
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What is the foremost law of science? | |
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Is the cosmos running out of usable energy? | |
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Can scientists evade the second law of thermodynamics? | |
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What evidence supports belief in a finite universe? | |
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Which origin model best fits the cosmological evidence? | |
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Why did the Superforce bring the cosmos into existence? | |
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Why couldn't the cosmos be oscillating (or pulsating)? | |
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Why couldn't the cosmos be in an eternal steady state? | |
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What about quantum cosmology and Stephen Hawking's model? | |
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Questions About the Origin of Life | |
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Which came first, mind or matter? | |
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What are the two competing origin-of-life models? | |
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Did Darwin understand the complex nature of the cell? | |
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How complex is a single cell, and how does it work? | |
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What kind of coded information does a cell utilize? | |
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How does the DNA molecular-information system work? | |
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What kind of information is stored in the DNA molecule? | |
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When does nonliving matter become a living organism? | |
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What kind of cause produces highly specified complexity? | |
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Why can't the forces of nature account for the origin of life? | |
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How does information theory confirm an intelligent cause? | |
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What kind of intelligent cause designed the genetic text? | |
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What else can we know about this super-intelligent Being? | |
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Which worldview is true (best corresponds to reality)? | |
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Questions About Macroevolution | |
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What is macroevolution? | |
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Are there variations of macroevolution? | |
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What is the design model? | |
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Are there variations of the design model? | |
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How should origin models be evaluated? | |
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Doesn't natural selection support macroevolution? | |
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What about the fruit fly experiments? | |
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What about the use of computer models and analogies? | |
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What about the fossil record (paleontological evidence)? | |
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Isn't the fossil record complete except for a few missing links? | |
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What is the "punctuated equilibria" model, and is it valid? | |
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Questions About Intelligent Design | |
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What about the theistic macroevolutionary model of origins? | |
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Which design model best matches all the scientific evidence? | |
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Why does the progressive view best fit all the evidence? | |
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Does the progressive view fit all the evidence? | |
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Does the biblical age of humanity conflict with modern science? | |
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Questions About Law | |
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What is law? | |
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What caused the rise of positive law theory? | |
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Does positive law jeopardize criminal justice? | |
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How can lawmakers pass good laws? | |
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How does positive law theory threaten basic human rights? | |
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How does education influence law and human rights? | |
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Questions About Justice | |
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Is it wrong to pass laws that deny basic human rights? | |
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Do governments create human rights or discover them? | |
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Are the concepts of legal theory and personal morality related? | |
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Which worldview is true (best corresponds to reality)? | |
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Questions About God and Evil | |
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Why evil? | |
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Where is God? | |
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Who can answer? | |
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What is evil? | |
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Did God create evil? | |
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Why doesn't God stop evil? | |
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What is the purpose of evil and suffering? | |
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Why is there so much evil and suffering? | |
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What about floods, tornadoes, cancer, AIDS, etc.? | |
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Can God be sovereign and still allow for human freedom? | |
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Questions About History and Jesus | |
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What is history? | |
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Are miracles possible? | |
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How can we test the reliability of ancient documents? | |
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Does the New Testament pass the bibliographical test? | |
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Does the New Testament pass the internal test? | |
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Does the New Testament pass the external test? | |
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Are the New Testament authors reliable eyewitnesses? | |
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What can we conclude about the New Testament documents? | |
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Questions About the Deity of Jesus Christ | |
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Who is Jesus Christ? | |
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Who did Jesus Christ claim to be? | |
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What did the apostles say about Jesus Christ? | |
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What about you--who do you say Jesus Christ is? | |
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How can Jesus Christ be both God and man? | |
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Is there any way to illustrate this divine mystery? | |
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How did Jesus Christ substantiate His claim to be God? | |
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Questions About Ethics and Morals | |
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What are ethics and morals? | |
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Do absolute moral laws exist? | |
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Isn't ethics just human instincts? | |
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Isn't ethics just a matter of evincing one's feelings? | |
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What is Jesus' first principle of ethics? | |
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What did Jesus say about moral goodness? | |
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What are Jesus' observations about human nature? | |
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What is Jesus' diagnosis of the condition of humanity? | |
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What is Jesus' prognosis of and prescription for humanity? | |
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Questions About True Meaning and Heaven | |
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What gives ultimate meaning to life? | |
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Why can't true meaning be found apart from God? | |
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Why can't true happiness be found in this world alone? | |
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What does the future hold for someone who accepts Jesus? | |
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What are the temporal consequences of refusing God? | |
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Questions About True Misery and Hell | |
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What are the permanent consequences of refusing God? | |
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Why do "decent" people go to hell? | |
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Why does anyone go to hell? | |
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First Principle Responses to Ethical Questions | |
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What about abortion? | |
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What about euthanasia? | |
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What about biomedical issues? | |
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What about human cloning? | |
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Bibliography | |
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Indices | |