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Showing posts from 2015

How should Christians respond to Islamic terrorism?

I’ll cut straight to the chase. In that book by your bedside or on your coffee table – you know the one book that most folks in our culture think is archaic, outdated and not very relevant? There is a verse that has rung out its truthfulness over generations. And that verse is this: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”  (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The years 1095 – 1230 AD have rightly been attributed as the darkest chapters in the history of Christianity. And skeptics today still cite them as their most frequent objections to the Christian faith. And looking at them historically, I would say they have a point to some degree. From 200 to 900 AD, Christians primarily inhabited the lands of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. However, when Islam came upon the scene around 500 AD, it spread, through violence, to the point that they invaded these lands and brutally oppressed, enslaved, de

Should Christians be Republican or Democrat?

With the election cycle in full view and debates raging over who may be the next nominee in each political party, the question of faith and politics will always come up in our dialogue with others. Is there a distinct political party that Christians should be more favorable towards? Can you be a Christian and subscribe to a specific political party? Will God be happy with us if we vote for the Republican candidate rather than the Democrat, or vice versa? These questions are common and reasonable for any Christian who desires to please God in all that they do and in this article we will attempt to answer them from a Biblical perspective. First off it is important to understand the role that our culture and upbringing has on our political preference. Depending on our background and the political preference of our close relatives and friends we all have an underlying propensity toward a certain political party whether we realize it or not. Many people identify with a certain party on

Should Christian public officials disobey laws that go against their conscience?

Much talk concerning Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk of court who was jailed for not issuing gay marriage licenses, has spawned regarding the topic of civil disobedience. In this article we will take a brief look at Kim's specific situation, what the Bible says about civil disobedience, and then how that specifically relates to public officials such as Kim Davis who intend on disobeying laws that go against God's Word and their conscience. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage that happened in June of 2015 Kim Davis took the oath of office as a county clerk in Kentucky (November of 2014), which was an oath to uphold Kentucky law. At the time, Kentucky had a ban on same-sex marriages in place. After the Supreme Court decision took place Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples citing her religious convictions. Other arguments occurred pointing out that Kim took an oath to defend the laws that were in place at the time she took her oath

Why are there so many denominations?

The simple answer to this question really involves acknowledging how the fall of man has caused even Christians to pursue a system of labeling themselves to the point of sectarianism and exclusionary tendencies. Inherent within our sin nature is an urge to puff ourselves up as having the "only correct interpretation."   Some denominationalism arises from a desire to distinguish ourselves according to a certain heritage such as the African American civil rights movement or some other significant historical event that drove people to their faith, but most denominations came about in an attempt to distinguish a certain doctrinal position that a certain church held to. The primary issue with denominationalism is not that different church communities have a different interpretation of the "negotiable doctrines," it's that we tend to slap labels on ourselves which can lead to sectarian divisiveness and lack of overall unity in the body of Christ. The true Churc

Should Christians Support Abortion?

 To start I want to make sure that I make it clear for those who have been through the tragedy of abortion that God loves you tremendously. He died on the cross to bring healing, forgiveness, truth, love, and mercy! If you have had an abortion God stands ready to heal and forgive with arms wide open! Click here to read more about this. The primary factor in answering the question "should Christians support abortion" is whether or not an unborn child is considered alive in the Biblical sense of the word, in other words, "is an unborn baby considered a human being to God?" This is the primary factor because the Bible clearly states that we should not murder someone or shed the blood of an innocent person (Ex. 20:13, Prov. 6:16). So the two things we want to look at in this article are the Biblical data regarding how God views the unborn, and a couple of common arguments related to the abortion issue. There are multiple scriptures that refer to the unborn

What the Bible say about Hell, Judgment, and Eternal Punishment?

Over the centuries Hades, Eternal Judgment, and the Lake of Fire (which is the technical term for Hell) have been issues of great debate within various Christian circles. I myself have long had the struggle of trying to understand exactly what the Bible is attempting to communicate when it speaks of Hell and the eternal punishment of the wicked. This struggle is something that one would expect every Christian to undergo with immense carefulness and cautious openness to how God's word truly addresses it in the original manuscripts. In this paper I will discuss the historical views within the church regarding what hell will be like and also do an analysis regarding what the word “eternal punishment” means in the original language and exegetically. Currently there seems to be three dominant views regarding the Bible's revelation of Hell and Eternal Judgment. Those views are as follows: Eternal Conscious Torment, Universal Reconciliation, and Ultimate Annihilation. The tradi

What is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit means literally "to be fully immersed in the Holy Spirit." The Greek word for baptize which is "baptizo" means "to dip or immerse." Jesus described it to His disciples as an empowerment they would receive which would fully equip them to be witnesses on His behalf. Luke 24:49 KJV says, "and, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."   So the specific purpose of this baptism was to "endue us with power from on high." The Greek word used for "endued" is "enduo" which means "to be fully clothed." The Greek word for "power" is "dunamis" which means "supernatural power to achieve by the Lord's inherent abilities," it is the root word from which we get the English word "dynamite." So apparently this baptism is related to an equipping to do supern