Much has been written about the biblical illiteracy of teenage believers and the flight of young people from the Church. Many have observed this trend, and I too have seen it anecdotally as a youth pastor (and shamefully, I contributed to the trend for some time before changing course). Some Christian writers and observers deny […]
A recent podcast listener offered the following objection: Couldn’t the disciples have been wrong about Jesus’ death? After all, when Paul was stoned by the Jews of Antioch and Iconium (in Acts 14 ) they dragged him out of the city and left him for dead. “ But the disciples surrounded him and he got […]
Como no creyente, sospeché que las historias sobre Jesús se volvían más elaboradas y grandiosas con el paso del tiempo. Por eso era tan importante para mí leer los primeros documentos relacionados con Jesús; esperaba que los relatos iniciales retrataran a Jesús como un maestro sabio, pero nada más. Desde luego, no esperaba que Jesús […]
If you search the pages of Scripture looking for a list of “offices” (leadership positions within the Church), you are likely to find eight roles described in the New Testament: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers (Ephesians 4:11), elders, deacons, and bishops (1 Timothy 3:1-7, 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Titus 1:6-9). One thing you will never find […]
By J. Warner Wallace I often wonder precisely when the disciples of Jesus realized their important role in Christian History. As these men sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to everything He had to say, did they realize they would someday testify to everything He said and did? Most eyewitnesses I’ve interviewed in my […]
There are many good reasons to believe we, as humans, are more than simply physical bodies. Humans are “soulish” creatures; we are living souls united to physical bodies. Even without the guidance of Scripture, there are good reasons to believe our lives will not end at the point of our physical death. The existence of […]
Detectives create lists. As a cold-case detective, I’m no different. When investigating an event in the distant past (in my case, an unsolved murder), I collect evidence, make lists and do my best to reach the most reasonable inference. When I began to investigate Christianity at the age of thirty-five, I approached the gospels the […]
Christians claim God is “all-powerful”. Does this mean He can accomplish anything? Skeptics often test this notion by offering the following challenge: “Can the all-powerful Christian God create a stone so heavy he cannot lift it?” The question highlights an apparent dilemma: If God cannot create such a stone (or cannot lift what He has […]
The concept of Hell is daunting for many Christians. It’s not pleasant to think our unbelieving loved ones might spend eternity separated from God, regretting their decision forever. Several religious traditions seek to avoid the problem by offering a second chance to those who reject God’s gift of forgiveness. They envision a place where rebellious […]
Richard Dawkins, una vez famoso dijo: “La fe es la gran mentira, la gran excusa para evadir la necesidad de pensar y evaluar las pruebas. La fe es creer a pesar de, incluso debido a, la falta de pruebas”. También citan de él: “Muchos de nosotros veíamos la religión como un sinsentido dañino. Las creencias […]