The Trinity may be a rather neglected doctrine in the church today, even seen as secondary by many. In this article, we'll consider some of the responses from Christians and non-Christians objecting to the importance of the necessary doctrine of the Trinity and evaluate them. … [Read more...]
Resurrection of Jesus – Answers to the Common Challenges
Like many ideas or systems, Christianity has a central theme to it, which without causes it to collapse. Whether it be a car, a watch or a refrigerator, there are critical components which if removed cause it to be something else. Moses seems to have recognized he was a contingent component in God’s plan, which could have gone on without him, when he said, "Send someone else…" … [Read more...]
Got Karma? Misses and Misuses
The Hindu word “karma” is used more and more often with a Western twist in meaning. Often people say it to mean “luck” (good or bad) or even as a gleeful expression of revenge. I myself once held a belief in karma when I was following Eastern and New Age beliefs and often thought of how someone who had wronged me would eventually suffer karma for what they had done. … [Read more...]
Nabeel Qureshi, Christian Apologist – and Bridge Between Christians and Muslims?
Introduction I am not usually a big fan of apologetics. As a progressive Christian passionate about interreligious dialogue, far too often I have seen apologists distort other religious traditions, presenting them in an uncharitable light or only discussing their worst manifestations. So when I picked up ex-Muslim and Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi’s Seeking Allah, … [Read more...]
Who Wrote the Pastoral Letters Of The New Testament? Part 3 of 3
Part 1 | Part 2 E. THE IMPACT OF TIME: These letters are written over a period of 10 to 15 years. Time changes all of us. Can you remember what you were doing ten or fifteen years ago? Think about how you have changed since that time. If I ever find those seminary papers I've been mentioning, maybe I'll compare them to this article. I can only imagine the differences after … [Read more...]
Who Wrote the Pastoral Letters Of The New Testament? Part 2 of 3
Part 1 of 3 2. BASIC PROBLEMS WITH THIS ARGUMENT: Carson and Moo show some of the basic flaws with this statistical analysis: The arguments sound impressive, but they are not as convincing as they seem to be at first sight. Those who put them forward do not always notice, for example, that most of the words shared by the Pastorals and the second-century writers are also … [Read more...]
Per Fillium: A Biblical Alternative to the Filioque Clause and a Via Media between Rome and Constantinople: Part 5 of 6
(Originally Presented at the 2014 Meeting of the Northeast Region of the Evangelical Society) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Systematic Support As I have established in my previous exegetical analysis. The mediatorial work of the Son is not exclusively a matter of salvation. However we see this development is not novel to my own interpretation. Calvin argues along similar … [Read more...]
EQUIPPED: Vol. 1, No. 4 – Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible
Vol. 1, No. 4 Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible "All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness." The next time someone raises the telephone game objection, ask them to explain the rules. Then, send them: "Evidence for the Reliability of the Bible." –Glen Richmond, Editor Get more … [Read more...]
Who Wrote the Pastoral Letters Of The New Testament? Part 1 of 3
Back in the early 1990s while pastoring in a mainline denomination, I attended one of their liberal seminaries. It was there that I first encountered the idea that some of the books of the New Testament were not written by the authors that they said they were written by. At the time, I thought that this idea would never be more than an academic concern--an annoying issue among … [Read more...]
Per Fillium: A Biblical Alternative to the Filioque Clause and a Via Media between Rome and Constantinople: Part 4 of 6
(Originally Presented at the 2014 Meeting of the Northeast Region of the Evangelical Society) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Per Fillium - The Way Forward In the previous section, I established both exegetical and systematic objections to both the Double- and Single- procession views. Apart from a non-procession view, which I do not find to be tenable in the least, there may … [Read more...]