Religious wars are the strangest wars of all. You can halfway understand nations going to war over boundaries, oil, or economics. At least when you are fighting over money, there is something on the table …
Christian Holidays #15
If you have read much of the Bible at all, or if you have gone to church very long, you know that somewhere, out there in the future, there is a day of judgment coming. …
Christian Origins #59 - Acts
It is easy, when you read the New Testament, to lose track of what the argument is about. (And there was an argument going on.) It was an argument for the heart and soul of …
Christian Origins #58 - Acts
Most Christian churches at least make a stab at imitating the churches of the New Testament, but no one really makes it. That’s not very surprising, given the change in culture and technology—especially in the …
Christian Origins #57 - Acts
Being a Christian evangelist in the early years was a real adventure. By the early years, I mean, the first 100 years of Christianity. It was a dangerous and violent time in many ways, and …
Christian Origins #56 - Romans
What is it about us that we have so much trouble minding our own business? Isn’t managing your own life a full time job? How is it then that you can give so much time …
Christian Holidays #11
One would presume that Christian people would like to know more about God. And yet there is a treasure trove in the Bible of which most Christian folk are blissfully unaware. In the first place, …
Christian Origins #55 - Romans
Since Religion and Faith are the very core and purpose of life. Since there is nothing that is more important, nothing else that is eternal, why are they so mysterious? Why doesn’t God just come …
Christian Origins #54 - Romans
What is the state of the billions of people who have lived and died who have never heard the name of Jesus? The apostle Paul was wrestling with this question in chapter 10 of his …
Christian Origins #53 - Romans
As you read through the book of Acts, one thing is abundantly clear. Paul was persistent in taking the gospel to the Jews first, everywhere he went, and the Jews were nearly as persistent in …
Christian Origins #52 - Romans
I don’t know what Paul expected when he set out on his first missionary journey, but I don’t think it was what he got. He does not seem to be prepared for the rejection he …
In His Name
Over the years, I have been unclear in my mind about the meaning of one phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. You know how it begins: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. …
Christian Origins #51 - Romans
Do you believe in predestination? And if you do, what sort of predestination? Does a man really have a choice in all this, or has God long ago decided who should be saved and who …
Romans: The Heart of the Gospel
My perspective has changed on the Book of Romans. It’s not that I didn’t understand it before, but there are a lot of different ways of looking at this book. There are a lot of …
Doctrines, Creeds, and Dogmas
If you are a Christian, and a member of a church, your church probably has some set of beliefs that it expects all of its members to hold. That’s probably not as big a deal …
Christian Origins #50 - Romans
I don’t know what it is, but preachers of every stripe, myself included, are prone to lay a guilt trip on people from time to time. It is almost as though we were your mother. …
Christian Origins #49 - Romans
Imagine for a moment that you are a highly successful cat burglar. Then one rainy night, you discover that you are not as good a driver as you are a cat burglar, and you are …
Christian Origins #48 - Romans
I am surprised at how often Christian people are conflicted on ethical and moral principles. I am not surprised that we struggle over some of the choices we have to make, but that people don’t …
Christian Origins #47 - Romans
Do you think you would ever be willing to die in someone else’s place? Can you imagine a really good person whose life and lifestyle was so worthy, that you would say “No, let them …
On Predestination
What did the First Christians believe about predestination? Did the First Christians believe that a persons life is completely mapped out before they are born? Did they believe that one person is born destined to …