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It isn't hard to find religion in the human race. It seems to be "hard-coded", so to speak. Atheists are few. And it takes very little effort to find stories about people who "went on a search for God" and either found Him or didn't. Funny thing, though. The Bible disagrees. The Bible says, "No one seeks for God." (Romans 3:11) Now, wait a minute! We can objectively see that lots of people seek for God. How can the Bible make such a claim? Well, from a biblical perspective, it makes perfect sense. Scripture says that humans "by their unrighteousness…  ( Click for more )

The problem of Theodicy is the problem of evil. If there is a Sovereign God, how can there be evil? Conversely, if there is evil, whether moral or just bad things happening, what does that say about God? Lots of people have taken lots of approaches to this from lots of angles. There is the, "See? Proof that your god doesn't exist" on one end and the "The existence of evil proves the existence of God and, oh, by the way, He intends it for His good purposes" on the other. Of course, most people are somewhere in between. It is my conviction that most people are…  ( Click for more )

This is the key, isn't it? We -- we Christians -- all know it. It is the event, the point, the aim. What we pray for, want, hope, and work toward is to get as many as possible to accept Christ as their personal Savior. That's the phrase. "Accept Christ as your personal Savior." Where did that come from? You see, I find (with my tendency to examine words) that it irritates me, like a seed in my teeth. There's just ... something ... wrong. What is it? It's that word, "accept". It sounds like a condescension. It sounds like someone in a superior position deigning…  ( Click for more )

It appears that we've shifted another word definition -- "hypocrisy". It is a popular accusation against many people with morals, Christians especially. But just what is it? The word used to mean "a feigning to be what one is not : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue." The word comes from the Greek, hupokrisis, which was actually a theatrical term. It referred to the masks that actors wore when they played a part in a play. That's the idea: putting on a mask. Appearing to be what you are not. (Thus the "feigning" in the original definition.)…  ( Click for more )

Remember the story of Job? First, he suffered the loss of all he had -- his livestock, his servants, even his children. His response, while tearing his robe and shaving his head in anguish, was, "The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21) The author of Job says, "In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." (Job 1:22) Next, it became personal. Sitting in ashes, he scraped at the "loathsome sores" that covered him from head to toe (Job 2:7-8). His wife asked, "Do you still hold fast your integrity?…  ( Click for more )

Skeptics and purists alike are quick to point out that December 25th is not Jesus's birthday. Indeed, the singularly most common answer given from all sides as to why Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior on December 25th is that the early church was simply redeeming a pagan holiday. That answer is everywhere. It is true ... right? Maybe not. The truth is that the Bible tells us nothing at all about what time of year Jesus was born. Oh, there are hints. There were, for instance, shepherds in the field. That is not a year-round occurrence. Some suggest it was lambing season,…  ( Click for more )

It is not very often that I actually hear anyone, especially a Christian, voice the idea that "God owes me" something. It is, conversely, very rare that I find anyone who doesn't believe it's true. They believe that God owes them something or other even if they would never say it. A non-Christian friend asked me the other day about a "theological dilemma" that was nagging at him. "Isn't it true," he asked me, "that the Bible has lots of places where God destroyed lots of people? You know, like Noah's Flood or Sodom and Gomorrah or the killing…  ( Click for more )

This is the key, isn't it? We -- we Christians -- all know it. It is the event, the point, the aim. What we pray for, want, hope, and work toward is to get as many as possible to accept Christ as their personal Savior. That's the phrase. "Accept Christ as your personal Savior." Where did that come from? You see, I find (with my tendency to examine words) that it irritates me, like a seed in my teeth. There's just ... something ... wrong. What is it? It's that word, "accept". It sounds like a condescension. It sounds like someone in a superior position deigning…  ( Click for more )

This is a marvelous passage from Hebrews. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

I really like it. I like the imagery of running the race. On one hand, it is work. On the other, it is of limited duration. I love the…  ( Click for more )

Psalm 100 A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

While we give thanks this Thanksgiving Day, let's remember to Whom we are giving thanks…  ( Click for more )

Over the centuries of Christianity there has been an internal debate about whether or not Christians are required to be pacifists. Some have said, for instance, that it's wrong to be a Christian in the military. This was put forth in the early church. Others argue that Jesus said, "All who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matthew 26:52), so we must not bear arms. On the other side, they point out that the early church opposed Christians being in the military because being in the military in their day meant mandated idolatry, and Christians are certainly not to…  ( Click for more )

Last year Hillary Clinton told the Women in the World Summit that there was a problem, and that problem is you. Well, it's you if you're religious. "Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will, and deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed." Hillary believes that law, resources, and political will have the capacity to change religious beliefs. The Left is applying constant pressure for the Right to move. Move from where they stand now to where the Left is. (If anyone sees that as an attack on the Left, I should…  ( Click for more )

(It’s the week before the presidential elections. I’m writing this now for that reason.)

I have long argued from Scripture that God is Sovereign. I’ve also said that it’s a good thing. It becomes very good, for instance, at a time like this, with the current “race to the bottom” for presidency. From a Christian materialist view, we’re out of luck. There are no good choices. Can’t even tell what the least bad one is. Yes, folks, it looks bad for us. But wait! God is on His throne. He is good. And He does what He pleases.

In…  ( Click for more )

I am constantly trying to transform my thinking to align with God's Word. I believe that sin rots the brain (Romans 1:28; Romans 12:2) and that the human heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9) -- and that includes mine. Thus, I am constantly reworking, rethinking, rechecking, and revising my views and their subsequent implications for how I live my life. Predicated first on the reliability of God in His Scriptures, I try to examine my own thinking over against His Word and change my own thinking wherever it becomes divergent. Now, we don't live in a world that thinks this is a good…  ( Click for more )

There is no doubt that our world is becoming more hostile to Christians. Oh, sure, I wouldn't classify it as "persecution". I mean, we're being told we can't practice our faith in some instances, but it's not like other places in the world where they're being tortured and killed for it. I don't even know if it would ever come to that here. But we are long past the days when people thought America was "a Christian nation" and Christian morality was good for everyone. And there are more and louder voices out there calling for our suppression, repression, and oppression.…  ( Click for more )

Anyone who knows of Jonathan Edwards will know that he wrote the definitive work, The Freedom of the Will. I am not writing any such thing. I just want to examine, for a moment, what we know about the human will and its freedom and lack thereof. Free will is important. We know that because if there is no free will, there is no free choice, and if no free choice, no accountability. That is, if humans do not have free will, they can't be held responsible for their sin or credited with their successes and Christianity falls apart. But what exactly is this so-called "free will"? …  ( Click for more )

Talk to any Christian and you will find basic agreement on basic beliefs. We believe in monotheism -- one God. We believe that Jesus lived and died and rose again. Basic. We believe that He was God Incarnate. We believe that the Holy Spirit is God -- the Third Person of the Trinity. We believe that the Bible is the God-breathed Word of God. Basic beliefs. And we agree. It is said that you can tell what a person truly believes by what they do. When, for instance, Al Gore traveled the country with his "inconvenient truth" about the horrors of human-caused global warming,…  ( Click for more )

It is clear (at least to any reasonable reader) that Scripture holds that the husband is to be the head of the household. The Bible repeatedly says that wives are to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24; Colossians 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1-6) -- that the hierarchy is Christ -> man -> wife (1 Corinthians 11:3). It takes a carefully turned blind eye and skillful linguistics to wriggle out of this certainty. And, to be sure, the rise of radical feminism has surely produced many a blind eye and skillful linguist. But the Scriptures are not unclear. It's not surprising,…  ( Click for more )

Paul wrote the definitive piece on biblical love in 1 Corinthians 13. Perhaps it's not as much a definition as a description, still he listed all sorts of aspects of what God calls love. And we get most of them: Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Yes, yes, we get it.…  ( Click for more )

We are commanded, of course, to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." (Mark 16:15) Let no one convince you otherwise. However, that is only the beginning. We aren't sent to make converts; we're sent to make disciples. No, more than that. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

We are to make disciples, baptize them, and…  ( Click for more )

The other day there was someone on the television who spoke of his "husband". (Note the pronoun.) It made me think. What is the meaning of the word, "husband"? I ask myself that because of the apparent connection to the term "husbandry". Husbandry is the conservation and careful management of resources. Usually it's referring to farm management, but not necessarily. And, as it turns out, this is the idea of the verb, "husband". (Did you know there was a verb form?) The verb means precisely that ... to use economically, to conserve. The word…  ( Click for more )

You remember the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. He was a persecuter of the church. He was "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts 9:1) and set out with permission to hunt down anyone "belonging to the Way" (Acts 9:2). Traveling to Damascus to persecute the church there, he ran into an unexpected person -- the person of the Resurrected Christ. There, on the ground, he heard, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9:4) Oh, now, hold on. I think Jesus made a mistake there, didn't He? I mean, the text was…  ( Click for more )

From my youth I've seen many examples of "American heroes" on the TV and movie screens. John Wayne was probably the quintessential hero. He stood alone, strong, individual, fighting for what was right, that sort of thing. Most of them are like that in American lore. In comic books and their television and movie offshoots we have superheroes like Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. And they're not all fictional types. Abraham Lincoln, for instance, stood alone against slavery and, by his positions and choices brought about the emancipation of slaves in America. Heroic. That's…  ( Click for more )

The standard definition for the doctrine of Christian Liberty is something like this. Believers are free to do that which God has not commanded them not to do or to not do that which God has not commanded them to do in accordance with faith. That is, if God didn't say anything about the subject, your conscience (guided by the Holy Spirit, of course) should be your guide. The doctrine comes from a couple of biblical passages. One is Romans 14 and the other is 1 Corinthians 8. And most Christians who have heard of this principle are rather pleased with it. Odd thing, however.…  ( Click for more )