Baha'i is a cult of Islam. Its founding occasion is Muhammad’s announcement that he bore a divine revelation destined to transform the spiritual life of the human race.
Religion FactSheets outline the basic information about world religions, cults, and movements, listed alphabetically. They're some of the most popular content on GodWords. If you'd like to request a new FactSheet, feel free to contact me.
First, the Bible does say that God wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Second, every Christian I know would say that God is certainly sovereign. That's found throughout Scripture. So, why would I disagree with the author's conclusion? Simple: he assumes that God's sovereignty gives Him everything He wants. I'm not convinced.
The 2014 movie Noah is clearly The Most Divisive Movie Ever, except for all of the other religious movies ever made. I don't do movie reviews...but, since so many are asking questions about the theological content in the movie, I figured I'd better get to work. WARNING: SPOILERS.
Some like to say that there is no absolute truth. It's a fun mental exercise, but nobody - absolutely nobody - lives that way. How can I be sure? Try a little experiment...
This quote from noted theologian C.S. Lewis highlights a major problem for modern atheists: they borrow heavily from a worldview they reject. When thinking about the process of thinking, atheists assume that their brains can be relied upon to give good answers.
One simple reason is that we tend to think that God loves us for what we do. If God loves us because we're nice, it becomes easy to look down on mean people. If God loves us because we're generous, we have no trouble being critical of stingy people.
Solipsism is the idea that only one's own mind is certain to exist. Very few people are sincere solipsists. Instead, solipsism is generally used as an argumentation tool. For example, one might ask how another knows that something is true, to which a scoffing reply might be "How does anyone know that anything is true?
King James-Only folks make some outlandish statements about God, the Bible, and the King James. It's not a monolithic movement, so you'll find that some are more "out there" than others. Here's a sampling of the kinds of things that KJO folks believe:
Christianity and the teachings of Landmark Forum are not at all compatible! Landmark Forum says that nothing has any value at all, except that which we give it...so there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, no evil, and no sin. A Christian is a follower of Jesus, who taught the opposite.
In Russia, most of the tap water is undrinkable. In Russia, some folks drank the tap water anyway. Why did they do it? Well, they looked at the calendar and assumed that everything would be different. Yes, I know that sounds odd.
I'd like to personally challenge Mr. Camping to act with integrity on May 22, 2011. On that date, it will be refreshing to hear him publicly and undeniably say that he was wrong. I've extended the same challenge to other would-be prophets with little success, so I'm not going to hold my breath.
The Greek word PAN means "all", and THEOS means "god". Simply put, Pantheism is the view that everything is God. Another way a pantheist might explain it is that nature and God are the same thing.
The most radical among us (including those who know the real reason for the creation of Planned Parenthood) believe abortion is a good thing. Some consider pregnancy a form of male tyranny, and abortion is their cure. Some have much more 'noble' reasons for thinking abortion is good. One of these people is an Episcopal minister.
Many atheists and modern philosophers are materialists...that is, they reject the notion that anything non-physical exists. The second law of thermodynamics, however, proves them wrong.
How would your church handle a protest? Opponents of Proposition 8, California's recently-passed marriage amendment, just might show up at your door. It's not just a California issue...here in Denver, a Book of Mormon was placed on the steps of their local temple and lit on fire. Omaha could be next.
A common argument among atheists and the irreligious is that the Ten Commandments doesn't belong in our courthouses. Some say that having the Ten Commandments posted there gives an implicit recommendation of one religion over all others.
Bad People. That's how a 61 year-old woman described her neighbors, the Los Angeles Scientologists. In an attempt to avoid being picketed, they got permits to close the sidewalks around their offices. This lady, without knowing it, demonstrates clearly how militant some Scientologists can be.
I'd like to even give Brown credit for being imaginative...but I can't. I read Holy Blood, Holy Grail in 1986 or so, and it would be kind to only say that Brown plagiarizes heavily from it. That book was interesting fiction too, despite its claims.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I recently spent some time discussing Landmark Education with one of their leaders. I'm meeting him for coffee in the morning, so their teachings are on my mind. I also fielded a phone call from one of their follow-up guys...
There is no truth, no meaning, no value. That's what I learned at last night's Landmark Education meeting. My friend invited me because she's excited about what Landmark has done to help her. I spent a couple of hours with her and a mutual friend and the gentleman who led the discussion.
Imagine you're a healthy young man. Now imagine that you've been in an auto accident, and that you're now a paraplegic. That would be sad and difficult, of course. Now, imagine the Roman Catholic church rubbing salt into your wounds.
In case some of you haven't heard, there's a "revival" going on in Lakeland, Florida. It's led by "man of God" Todd Bentley who does "miracle healings". Yes, I put those things in quotes because I have serious doubts about what's going on there.
Some are shocked at the utter depravity that can lurk in the minds and hearts of seemingly-normal people. I have to admit that I'm rarely surprised to see how much evil one can do. Today's shocking Yahoo News story is about a man in Austria who confessed to holding his adult daughter captive for 24 years.
As I mentioned earlier, Jason Beghe used to be Scientology's poster boy. Now he's speaking out against the sci-fi religion. Enjoy his interview...your comments are welcome.
I don't find it that odd that this sort of thing is happening. The pressure on Scientology is intensifying, and I wouldn't be surprised to see a whole bunch more defections before 2008 is over.
Most Americans know who Jason Beghe is. I wasn't sure until I looked at the movies and TV shows he's been in...then I knew I'd seen him dozens of times. Jason used to be a Scientologist. No, not your run-of-the-mill Scientologist...he was an OT VII.
Christopher and Peter Hitchens are brothers. One is an atheist, and the other is a Christian. Both are are insightful writers who are unafraid to express their points of view. These are the first two of 9,632 video clips of the debate. I'm joking, but only a little.
In the news: the church of Scientology has begun to make their move. Some of their most sensitive documents have been leaked by Wikileaks, a website devoted to transparency in the pursuit of justice.
The search phrase that caught my eye today was bacteria phages vs morality. Odd, yes. Most would have no idea why anyone would search for such a phrase. It's at the heart of a serious theological discussion. Fortunately for you, I've recorded a very funny version of this discussion here at GodWords.
