A reader asks: What exactly does spiritual warfare look like? What about deliverance ministries? I’m not clear on what I believe about it.
In the words of Rich Mullins, Jacob got two women and a whole house full of kids. Jacob, renamed Israel, had twelve sons by four different women: two wives and two concubines. Those twelve sons had their own families... twelve different tribes of Israel.
For the record, the question was more like 'should Christians just accept the Bible as a whole, or should we be skeptical of different parts of it?'. I'm going with accepting it as a single, trustworthy set of documents.
While a lot of people believe that Melchizedek was an appearance of the pre-existent Son, that can't be established in Scripture. They may be right, but they may not be aware of the other possibilities. Here are some reasons why Melchizedek might not have been Jesus:
In John 6, Jesus tells the crowd to eat His flesh and drink His blood. That's weird, and objectively disgusting... but is that how we should view communion, or the Eucharist?
Adrian or, more famously, Hadrian was the emperor of Rome from 117 to 138. This letter, apparently written to Roman senator Gaius Minicius Fundanus, expresses Hadrian's view on legal proceedings involving Christians. We know of the letter only because it was preserved by Justin Martyr.
When some random internet dude tries to tell you there's no evidence that Jesus even existed, you need to be prepared with at least some knowledge of the facts. Not only did Jesus actually exist - as atheist scholar Bart Ehrman points out - but skeptical scholars go even further.
Apologetics is, simply, making the case for something. Christian apologists make the case that Christianity is true and good and compelling. I appreciate the work of many apologists over the past 40+ years, and present some of them for you in this list.
In Matthew 7:1 Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Most people assume He was teaching that Christians should never judge anyone. Is that true?
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible;
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, Begotten of the Father before all ages
I regularly hear from parents whose children are far from God, or have recently passed away. When asked, I try to remind them that our children ultimately belong to God, and that we are their temporary caretakers. I pray this will provide some comfort for those who, in this life, have suffered loss.
This is, as far as I can tell, a comprehensive list of every proper name in the Bible. That is: every person, every place, the names of each book and mountain, and so on.
This epistle, or letter - also known as The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus - was written by an unknown author during the second or third century. The author calls himself "Mathetes," which is simply the Greek word for disciple.
If you are not a Christian can you still go to heaven? And if you are Baptized will you go to heaven? Find out what Jesus said about this very important topic.
The Apology of Aristides was written in the early 2nd century by Marcianus Aristides of Athens. The text is his explanation for why Hadrian - Roman emperor from 117 - 138 AD - should believe that Christianity is true, and to follow Jesus as a result.
There's a lot of talk about dominion these days, and some comes from a bunch of false teachers. I think it's an important subject, considering the depth of false teaching out there.
Most of us are familiar with the gospel accounts of Jesus cleansing the temple. You know, where He flipped tables and ran out the moneychangers. That happened right before His crucifixion, right? Well... yes, but maybe He did it twice.
There are many arguments for the existence of God. Some suggest that the mere existence of the universe requires a supreme being. Some claim that the order and complexity of the universe is evidence of a creator. Others begin with what it means to be human, and infer the existence of God. Still others rely on simple logic.
I've been asked how much the widow's offering is worth today. There are at least two problems with the question. First, it entirely misses Jesus' point. The widow's offering was a sacrifice, while the offerings of others were apparently not.
Sheep aren't the smartest kind of animal, and there's a reason that Christians are often describes as sheep. As a group, we're pretty easy to manipulate. Jesus taught us to watch out for wolves, but we usually don't.
How many parables did Jesus teach? What are they about? Where can I find them? Jesus taught many times using parables, which are simple, earthly stories that explain a more complex, spiritual truth.
2022 was kind of a weird year. I added more articles than usual, saw more traffic than usual, and answered more personal emails than usual. A reasonable question would be "what changed?" and, to be honest, I'm not happy about what changed.
The Bible isn't one book. It's a collection of 66 books by different authors, in different genres... that is, different categories or kinds of writings. Some are history. Some are biography. Here's a list.
One of the most common questions that Christians ask is how we can know what God wants. We want to hear from Him directly, especially when faced with a difficult decision. So how does God speak to each of us?
