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From the Beginning of Time

A common sentiment in love songs and starry-eyed romantics is a promise to love someone "until the end of time". They are unknowingly admitting that time itself has a beginning. There is a related idea that God was bored, sitting there doing nothing since eternity past, so he decided it was time to commence doing some creating. This view erroneously assumes that time always existed. It is fair to ask where time itself came from. Credit: Unsplash / Tim Aterbury It causes some amazement when people stop to consider that Genesis 1:1 describes time, matter, and space in one verse. All three are linked. Some secularists know this, and manufacture their own atheistic creation mythologies involving the Big Bang, the "inflation theory", evolution, and so forth. Only the biblical worldview makes sense of reality. Further, God is outside the limits of those things he created, but he steps in when he sees fit. This is difficult for us to contemplate, because were are ...

Ulrich Zwingli, Neglected Reformer

I suppose you thought that everyone was finished with material about the Reformation. We had the 500th anniversary of what is considered the beginning of the whole thing, where Martin Luther put out his 95 theses on what was the social media of his day.  Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli by Hans Asper , 1531 / Wikimedia Commons The Reformation continued developing and theology was being refined. Newer Reformers appeared on the scene, and not all were in agreement. Sincere, thinking people will disagree (just like not all biblical creationists are in lockstep). Ulrich Zwingly is often tacked on as an afterthought to Christian history, which is unfortunate. He upheld the authority of Scripture and was in trouble for disputing Papal decrees. This was not just a dispute over religion, but was a threat to governmental authority at the time. One reason I delayed posting this was to make an emphasis about how Zwingly is neglected. [S]trangely, one of the leaders of the Reformation, oft...

You Cannot Be Neutral

Neutral is useful for machines and a color palette, but for people, not so much. You can be neutral about a variety of topics, but that kind of neutrality is often hitched up in the team with apathy and ignorance, among others. Will Manchester United win the next FA Cup ? I neither know nor care, so I'm neutral. Do you have an opinion on my picture of the Catskill Mountains near the Ashokan Reservoir, or are you neutral? I am neutral about your opinion. When emotions are involved, it becomes more difficult to remain neutral. From there, we have matters of involving spirituality, origins, and so forth. Whether atheists and evolutionists believe it or not, they have faith-based positions just like Christians have. When discussing God, the Bible, creation, evolution, and other things, unbelievers often say that they want to "leave God out of it" and to discuss on "neutral ground". Sorry, pilgrim, you cannot be neutral. As the late Dr. Greg Bahnsen said abo...

Apostasy, Deconversion, and Atheism

There are people who have actively chosen to leave the Christian faith, using a pretense of intellectual and even moral superiority to those who do believe. Some professing atheists claim that they are "former Christians". These riders of the owlhoot trail exhibit little or no accurate knowledge of the Christian faith, however, and often attack Bible believers, even seeking to destroy us in the public square. Especially biblical creationists, as they need evolution in atheism. Credit: Pixabay / Edward Lich Although atheism is a blatant rebellion against God, another form of rebellion is to "deconvert" from orthodox beliefs. Michael Gungor used to believe in creation, then went on to theistic evolution, and went on record rejecting the inerrancy of the Bible . Singer Don Francisco came out rejecting inerrancy as well. Some pastors and teachers who held to the Bible's teaching on homosexuality jumped on the compromise wagon. Karl Giberson does not exhib...

Logic and the Bible 2: Unbliblical Worldviews

In " Logic and the Bible ", we saw that the three main laws of logic are impossible without God. That does not mean a requirement to believe in God's existence, or to be a believer in Jesus Christ is necessary for logic to work. However, it works because God exists, whether someone believes or not. Now we can saddle up for another part of our journey. Credit: Freeimages / Drew Pendleton It seems like we should be able to file this under "Completed", but some folks will not be satisfied with what Dr. Lisle said before. Just as we see Darwin's disciples use rescuing devices even after deep time and evolution are shown to be insufficient, people try to get around the necessity of God for logic to exist. We cannot assume laws of logic exist because of our experiences, because we may have faulty memories, be deluded, and the irrational assumption that logic will be the same in the future. There is also the claim that logic is a convention ; that is, the ...

The Deity of Jesus

Some people try to do away with the extremely important doctrine of the deity of Jesus. Some will give a simplistic reaction along the lines of, "He never said 'I am God'", somehow demanding that exact phrase in the Bible, and ignoring all the other evidence that Jesus did indeed claim deity. Other owlhoots such as cultists, atheists, and liberal theologians sidestep the truth for their own purposes. Credit: Unsplash / Jacob Meyer The idea that Jesus is not who he claims is an ancient heresy called Arianism , which was made by Arius in the 4th century. It has been around in various forms for all these years, and the most common example is evinced in the Jehovah's Witnesses.  As C.S. Lewis pointed out in Mere Christianity, it is nonsensical to claim that Jesus was a "great moral teacher" while claiming to be God. Indeed, Christianity itself is worthless if Jesus is not God in the flesh, our Creator, who died for our sins and then bodily rose fro...

Astral Beings and Aliens

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Years ago, I had a fascination for occult-related things. Even though I was a Christian (albeit with a weak theological foundation), I studied and thought I could do a "white magic" thing and be a force for good, or something like that. I never had an out-of-the-body experience, saw a ghost, encountered a UFO, or anything like that. God delivered me from occult involvement , but my studies from a Christian worldview have been beneficial at times. This is a very broad topic, and scores of books have been written on it. I have to confine myself to a few comments on some of these subjects. Credit: Pixabay / Karen Smits Every once in a while, I have some odd coincidences happen in my life. Sometimes I think God is trying to get my attention. In this case, I had recently written and posted my review of the movie Alien Intrusion: Unmasking a Deception . The movie makes a very strong case (using science, theology, and more) that personal encounters...

Logic and the Bible

Some people are intimidated by discussions about logic, there is no need for that. We use it all the time. Obviously, most of us do not get formal with it, we just reason our way through problems, play games, and so forth. Although logic discussions can use notations similar to those of algebra, the letters are shorthand and make sense. Credit: Freeimages / Aleksandra P. There are some things about logic that may seem surprising. Laws of logic are intangible, like numbers. If you write "5" or "law of identity" on a board, then erase it, the number or law does not cease to exist. Logic is actually a reflection of the mind of God, and we use it because we are created in his image. Without God, then logic, numbers, and science would be impossible! Dr. Jason Lisle explains the three main laws of logic and their biblical basis in this article. Laws of logic are the rules of correct reasoning.  They reflect the way God thinks and the way we must think if we are t...

Is Christianity Fading Away?

There was a time when church-going had the appearance of being respectable, even if people were insincere about their beliefs. Today, there is open contempt for Christianity, and atheists claim that their numbers are increasing. However, that is a bit difficult to tell, because sometimes not even atheists know the meaning of atheism, such as "Christian atheists". Those folks seem a mite confused, don't you think? In addition, hardcore atheists like to claim that the increase of "nones" in surveys mean that they are "winning". Not hardly! "None" means not affiliated with a particular religion or denomination; it does not mean a rejection of God. I'll let you in on something: I left the church I was attending because of what I considered their "stealth creationism" — they believed in it, but didn't want to be "labeled" . This area has apostate churches or strange gatherings, so this child is, by some measure, a ...

Those Specialized Christian Words

"Excuse me, Cowboy Bob, can you spare a moment?" "Sure." "I am concerned with your conduct a few moments ago. It was not consistent with some biblical principles." "Thanks for bringing that to my attention. My sanctification in that area is rather lacking. Please pray for me." Credit: Pixabay / StockSnap People have their own specialized words and terms in various places, and sometimes they seem to be speaking a somewhat different language. A mechanic can tell you what needed to be repaired on your vehicle, the sergeant gives instructions to the troops, my wife tells me what went on in her workplace, the cowboys on the ranch discuss work that is being done, Christians can write and talk to each other, and so on. Some use "regular" words that have entirely different meanings in various contexts, some words are unique for the people involved. Most of us, even as individuals, have lingo that needs to be explained to other folks...