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.
Melissa Dougherty is a former New-Ager turned Christian apologist. Here she lists a few of the misconceptions she held before becoming a Christian. They're kind of fun to hear, but it's important to remember that most non-Christians - and many new believers - believe a lot of things about Christianity that just aren't true.
God describes Himself in mostly masculine terms: father, husband. The Hebrew names Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Kurios, and Theos are all linguistically masculine. At the same time, God also describes Himself in Job as giving birth, and in Isaiah as a mother. It's more complicated than simply "he" or "she."
