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Showing posts from November, 2017

Scripture is Given by God and Necessary

It should be obvious that people who identify as Christians must rely on the Bible as their final authority in spiritual matters. Unfortunately, many people elevate man-made traditions, false authority, teachings from teachers they admire, and even their own opinions above God's Word. Credit: Pixabay / StockSnap Many translations translate a word in 2 Timothy 3:16 as inspired , which causes some confusion because people say William Shakespeare, John MacArthur, J.S. Bach, and other writers are inspired. The word in the Bible is θεόπνευστος and is more correctly translated as God-breathed. God gave us his inerrant Word for instruction in righteousness, doctrine, daily living, and other matter essential to Christian life. It is true from the very first verse. Bible-believing Christians who read it on a regular basis and receive sound biblical teachings are less likely to fall under the influence of owlhoots who are bringing false doctrine. The doctrine of Sola Scriptura was a

Thanksgiving Thoughts

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen On this distinctly American holiday where people traditionally celebrate family, friends, and what we have, we need to remember the greater blessings. Many of us have things we take for granted. We have electronic devices that are "essential" to us that didn't even exist ten years ago, and we panic when they're not working. A bit of perspective, people! I can turn on the faucet and get clean water that we put through an attached filter to make it even better, but there are those who have to scrounge for muddy water to drink and hope it doesn't kill them. Even if we're not living in splendor, we need to be thankful for what we have, you savvy? The Thankful Poor ,  Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1894 A thankful spirit is important in the Christian life, and we should focus on giving thanks to God who gave us life, and eternal life. He doesn't have to bless us in so many ways, but he does it out of his love for us — even mockers and bl

Josephus and Genesis History

Some professing Christians are unaware that the Bible means what it says, all the way back to Genesis. Old Earth believers often claim that biblical creationists are being divisive by insisting on actual solar days of creation instead of treating Genesis as allegorical, mythological, or needing deep time interpretation. Such views are false. In fact, the interlopers are those who add millions of years to Scripture! Image of Flavius Josephus obtained from Wikimedia Commons The church fathers almost universally viewed creation as a recent event, and most accepted literal days of creation. Likewise, the Reformers believed in recent creation . If those sources are insufficient for some owlhoots, how about going way back to a respected Jewish Historian, Flavius Josephus?  Many people who compromise on the plain meaning of Genesis claim that the literal interpretation is a modern invention. Instead, they claim that most commentators in the past took a long-age view. On the contrary

Logical Thinking and the Christian

Sometimes it seems that people are intimidated by the word logic. Perhaps they have images of professors making diagrams that resemble algebraic equations and discussing the laws of logic, and that us reg'lar folk cannot relate. While the academic image is real and fine for those who want to study the fine points of logic, you and I use logic on a daily basis. Credit: Pixabay / PIRO4D The auto mechanic who discovers why your vehicle stalls out at a certain point, the baker following a recipe, computer programmers, playing chess and similar games, doing a jigsaw puzzle — these all require the use of logic. When attempting to solve problems or learn the truth, we attempt to gain as much information as we need and then use our reasoning skills to reach answers. We usually do this without thinking about thinking. Logic is actually a part of the mind of God. We are made in his image, and he has given us some knowledge as well as senses and skills to acquire more knowledge so w

Made in the Image of God

We read in Genesis 1:26 that we are created in God's image. That phrase can be a mite confusing, and one angry atheist used it as a "proof" that the Bible is true because we are physical beings, or some such. A photograph or a painting is also an image of something. If I held up a picture and said, "This is my daughter", a rational person would not conclude that she is flat and fits in a wallet. Also, that image would not negate the existence of the real person. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ESA / CXC / STScI (Usage does not imply endorsement of site contents.) The rest of verse 26 says that we're created in God's likeness. That adds a bit of depth, too. He's the creator of the universe, gave us life, is our Redeemer — image and likeness? Kind of hard to lasso the concept, I know. Let's dig a little deeper. This passage shows that man reflects God in some way and represents him.1 The image of God distinguishes mankind from the rest of c