Skip to main content

Posts

Trust, Confidence and the Ripple Effect

Christians have confidence in God's power for salvation. God is trustworthy because of who he is. Sometimes we have some difficulty trusting in him because we usually cannot see what he is doing, but that improves as our faith grows and we have more experience in our walk with him. Humans are another matter, as trust has to be earned. We often start out small and see if our trust in someone is justified, and then build from there. Unfortunately, trust can be easily shaken or even destroyed. When someone does something to shake our confidence in them and our trust level, it can have a ripple effect, influencing other areas of our relationship with that person. Especially if someone is a respected teacher or apologist. freeimages / Vjeran Lisjak Simple Matters There are nonessentials that some of us prefer, such as eschatology, continuance or cessation of the sign gifts of the Spirit,  pedobaptism, predestination and other doctrines. We can disagree on these without breaki

A Song for Easter

Many Christians around the world are celebrating Easter, the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He defeated death that we may live. Here is a music video, and two links for your edification. First, " The Argument from Easter " for God and the Christian worldview. Next, " What Does the Resurrection of Jesus Have to Do With Creation? "

Wimpy Jesus and Sanctimonious Christians

Thanks to Pete Fiske for giving material that helped with this article — and he doesn't even know it. by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This has been weighing on me for quite some time. Recent articles and comments finally give me the impetus to actually write it. And since I'm a cowboy at heart , I'm going to do some straight shooting. Modified from an unknown source Too many religious people have the idea that Christians have to be "nice" all the time. I have been rebuked for speaking out for the truth, rebuking blaspheming atheists and so forth. "If you're not nice, you'll drive them away and they'll never seek the truth!" (A while back, someone announced that he was going to have a debate with a particularly obstreperous atheist. He was told something along the lines of, "Be careful, we don't want him offended and then he'll be lost".) There are two problems with that idea that come to mind. First, we do not do the sav

For Question Evolution Day — Problems with Theistic Evolution

In observance of the third annual international Question Evolution Day , I am going to focus on biblical authority and worldviews. With the help of a couple of articles, of course. First of all, I do not know of any major creationist organization that says that you must believe in a literal six-day creation and reject evolution in order to be a Christian. This is not a salvation issue, but it is still important. It is my belief that most people simply never gave it a second thought, Genesis is a story but science tells us how life began and evolved, so God used evolution. Of course, they have evolution assumed to be true, are given many fancy stories that may sound plausible on the surface, and if people question evolution, they are subject to ridicule and being called "anti-science". In addition to appealing to emotion with ridicule, they also appeal to emotion by saying that "scientists agree that evolution is true", and, "most rational people believe i

Creation Sunday

Some Christians insist that creationism is divisive . Well, standing for the truth is divisive. But so was Jesus! (Luke 9.62, Matt. 10.34-39, Luke 11.23) People are ignorant (sometimes willingly) that creation is foundational to the gospel message . Many have compromised on a straightforward reading of God's Word , insisting on adding to it so they can have their own interpretations and accommodate atheistic interpretations of scientific evidence for an ancient Earth (Prov. 30.6). The Bible does not teach an ancient Earth , nor does it accommodate theistic evolution . There is no need to please men and dishonor God (Eph. 6.6, Gal. 1.10, Col. 3.23). Christians are to base our faith on God's Word (2 Peter 1.19, 2 Tim. 3.16), which does not change (Isaiah 40.8, Mark 13.31). Consider this: Philosophies of science continually change. If someone bases their faith and their understanding of the Word of God on what "science" has given, what will become of their

Christianity Is Faith In Action

 Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king Do you know what I know? In your palace warm mighty king Do you know what I know A child, a child Shivers in the cold Let us bring him silver and gold... — from "Do You Hear What I Hear", by Noël Regney This article will have two parts. First, some comments about the Christmas holiday itself, and then some practical, year-round observations. The war on Christmas seems to get more intense every year. Atheist organizations put up billboards mocking Christmas (and Christians) , which is a brilliant move to improve the image of atheists. (Good without God? Nope. Waste of money? Yup.) Christmas cards from school children to troops are banned by the US Department of Veterans Affairs for having "religious" content . Santa Monica, California, bans their 60-year nativity tradition . Many merchants are unfriendly to Christmas, and customers are encouraged to avoid them . A Mohammedan bigot says that saying "Me

Pray for the Persecuted Christians

In 2013, November 3 is the International Day of Prayer for persecuted Christians . The majority of the persecution comes from Muslim and atheist regimes. Many countries make a claim to have "freedom of worship", but that is not freedom of religion, it is simply a way to say, "Keep it in the building and then shut up about it". (Some atheists actually say that there is no persecution of Christians, even going as far as to rewrite history, but I believe that they are being antagonistic, willingly ignorant or outright dishonest; even Wikipedia has an article on it .) Persecution comes from many sources. Nero's Torches (Christian Candlesticks) / Henryk Siemiradzki, 1876 / Wikimedia Commons / PD The concept of Christian persecution is long ago and far away to people in the West, with images of the Roman Colosseum in their minds. But it is very real today. Some of us have it very comfortable and take our beliefs for granted. Much of our "persecution&q