The so-called "Gospel of Judas" is neither a gospel nor written by Judas. It's a second-century document that was created to promote gnostic ideas that directly contradict what Jesus' disciples wrote in the New Testament.
The word Israel appears in the Bible over 2,400 times, and it's used in a number of different ways. The word itself is difficult to precisely define. The el part of the word refers to God, as in Elohim. The rest of the word comes from the Hebrew sara, usually defined as to wrestle, or compete.
GodWords readers ask a LOT of questions. That's good! Unfortunately, many of the questions (and arguments) betray a certain level of ignorance about what the Bible says, and what it means. They show that many don't know how to study theology.
The word trinity comes from the Latin trinitas, which means "triad." The doctrine of the Trinity is a primary belief of Christians, in which God is understood to be one God who is three persons.
However, the Bible does not teach any kind of "blind faith." We are given evidence, again and again, that God is who He says He is. Faith in God is the result of examining the evidence. We can't please God without faith, so we must examine the evidence in order to please Him.
Many, even non-Christians, believe that God is love. However: only those who believe in the Trinity can substantiate the claim. It's not arrogance that makes me say that... it's simple logic.
Can a person be TOO religious? In much of the world, being a Christian doesn't present any real social problems... but being vocal about your faith is often seen as going too far. How much is too much, and how much is just right?
I recently witnessed a "blood moon." That is, I saw a full lunar eclipse where the moon appeared red. A lot of people believe that there is some spiritual significance in the occurrences of blood moons... that they accompany important events related to the nation of Israel. Is that true?
A lot of people believe in the 'law of attraction.' It's been promoted by people like Robert Schuller and Oprah Winfrey, and it's the foundational idea behind most Word of Faith preachers. What is it? How does it work, if it works at all? Should Christians study it?
Pantheism, coined in 1697, comes from Greek. Pan means "everything" and theos means "god." Pantheism is the belief that everything is divine... that everything that exists is god, or part of god. This belief is held by many, but not all, Hindus and Buddhists. Elements of pantheism also exist in other religions, including Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and more.
"Progressive Christianity" is difficult to define, but easy to spot. There are a variety of different ideas in progressive churches, but the one thing they have in common is that they have abandoned the idea that the Bible is true and reliable.
Abortion is always a hot topic. Some see the debate as between religious people and non-religious people, but that's hardly accurate. There are a lot of atheists who oppose abortion, for example. The question at hand is whether abortion is a moral good, a moral evil, or a neutral act.
I hear it all the time from skeptics: the Bible didn't exist for hundreds of years after Jesus died. If true, that would imply that "established Christianity" differs from "original Christianity." This opens the door to all kinds of other nonsense, like Jesus not existing, Jesus not being God, and more.
Do people end up in Hell because they're ignorant? It's easy to assume that those who refuse to be saved simply lack information. "If they had only understood," we say. "If only they had known." At first glance, these words feel compassionate, but they really expose an insufficient view of God.
The Bible speaks regularly about demons, and about the healing of physical illnesses. Sometimes, both are included in the same verse. Some conclude that demons cause illnesses, and that casting out the demons will heal the illnesses. Is this true?
Do people become angels? Are God and Satan opposites? Are unicorns in the Bible? Melissa Dougherty explains twenty more things she wish she'd known... and points out again that many non-believers - and new believers - may believe a lot of things that just aren't so.
