Jesus warned us: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."
God is "simple." That is, He is not a combination of things that already existed, like a cabinet is made of wood. Instead, He existed before anything else existed. Because of this, anything true of God comes not from His parts, because He has no parts. All things true about God are completely true of Him, in totality.
Alisa Childers grew up in a committed Christian home, and lived her faith for many years... until a pastor undermined almost everything she believed. She began a journey of intellectual honesty that led her back to faith. Video, 4:48
Do humans actually have free will, or is that an illusion created in our brains? It seems silly that anyone would argue that we don't have free will, since the claim implies that they MUST argue that way, rather than that they choose to. What are the implications, and what does the science say?
Richard Rohr is an author, Franciscan, and a controversial figure on the fringes of Christianity. Here, Fred Sanders reviews his book, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation. Despite Rohr's popularity, it doesn't sound like the book will be a net benefit to anyone.
The Bible explains that we have all been created in God's image, but that His image in us has been damaged by sin. This seems evident when we look at the world around us. Some, however, find it offensive to hear that they are sinners.
The Bible spends almost no time on whether God exists. Instead, most of what we read expresses God's character. In a world of competing religions, polytheism, and syncretism, there was no real need for answering atheism.
Christians need to read the Bible. More than that, we need to study the Bible. It should be our primary source for information about God, and about how we should live. Below is a list of articles to help you read, and study, the Bible.
How often do we settle for just 'good enough'? It's easy to become complacent, especially with regard to specific sins that may be difficult to overcome. Following Jesus closely doesn't leave room for us to settle for less than His best... we need to train ourselves to be godly.
Dr. Doug Groothuis offers some help in choosing a quality study Bible.
This is one of the underlying themes throughout all of Scripture: despite our own unfaithfulness, God remains faithful. An appropriate response to God's unending grace and generosity is wonder. Peterson contrasts Jesus' words (why hast thou forsaken me?) with our own: why hast thou accepted me?
Entropy is the principle that, in a closed system, disorder increases over time. Without intervention from an outside organizing force, maximum disorder will result. If our universe, or the earth itself, is a closed system, this implies that the universe is not eternal... that it must have been created by an outside force.
