Answers that our churches have forgotten.It can be tempting for Christians to defer to the plain meaning of a verse in the Bible. That concept emerges in blogposts, small groups and internet discussions about various doctrines. The idea of a plain meaning is basically to say that if you read a text, you should be able to understand it immediately… read more »
There is a concept among travelers known as culture shock. If a thoroughly westernized tourist visits a third-world country, they sometimes feel completely disconnected from this new world. The architecture, customs and people are genuinely disorienting. It would not surprise us if literature coming out of this culture were difficult to understand. That is essentially… read more »
I typically do not write about alleged Bible contradictions because there are more interesting things to talk about. There is also the fact that on many atheist blogs, anything that could pass as a contradiction at first glance will make the big list, and to try to respond to all of them would a herculean… read more »
Modern man is regarded as thoughtful and rational when he actively tries to think of the world in scientific terms. He who lays superstition aside and recognizes that the world is compromised of natural causes and effects is the one who has ascended to a staggering intellectual height that would have been unknown to many… read more »
Throughout their poetry, the psalmists would contemplate the character of God. They would marvel about his wisdom, strength, glory, and his righteousness. Even in times of turmoil, they would write what we find in Psalm 145:17. “The LORD is righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds.” Psalm 89:14 says, “Righteousness and… read more »
There are certain aspects of the Christian worldview that many people find objectionable. The man with the unregenerate heart will not enjoy hearing that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation. The individual who aspires for moral autonomy will posit a form of relativism, suggesting that you cannot impose your morals upon them. The… read more »
As biblical scholarship unveils mysteries within biblical history, many find themselves opposed, or discomforted by these revelations, for they contrast their traditional interpretations or seem to remove the divine from the Bible. When Christians encounter a development that explains what we previously regarded as a miracle with natural phenomenon, we tend to view this as… read more »
The ceremony of book burning has prevailed as one of the great tactics meant to silence those with whom certain groups disagree. It has prevailed as the tactic of the coward, lest their enemies have a voice to refute them. Of course, in the event of burning religious text, the motivation is a bit different…. read more »
Christians who indulge in liberal scholarship will hear the testimony that the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are somewhat reliable, while the Gospel of John is not reliable as a historical document. It will be testified that the Gospel of John contains embellished and later details of the Lord Jesus, or that it was… read more »
In his tale The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown mounted heavy charges against the biblical narratives, cutting at the core of the Christian faith. His characters, who were scholars from Oxford and Harvard, criticized the early Christians for manufacturing the deity of Christ, changing the Scripture, removing the prevalence of Mary Magdalene, all for their… read more »
People love uncovering new artifacts that seem to contradict everything that we thought we knew, especially with regard to the common religious belief. That is why Reza Aslan’s book proclaiming that Jesus was a violent revolutionary was such a hit. Authors are given airtime on major networks because they proclaim that the body of Jesus… read more »
The doctrine of inerrancy is almost universally agreed upon among evangelical Christians, throughout local churches. However there are a number of different stances among biblical scholars. Some theologians think that the Bible is inerrant only insofar as it speaks to theological issues. Others think that it is inerrant only in some areas, but we do… read more »
Those who do not read the Bible are often under the impression that it is just not relevant today, that its’ messages are just too archaic to apply to our modern society. Written thousands of years ago, or perhaps even tens of thousands of years ago when referring to the early patriarchs, it can be… read more »