It’s no surprise that many people hate hell. Nobody loves punishment! Hell is synonymous with evil, because hell is the abode of those who reject the one true and living God. Those who reject God are, by nature and in essence, evil. They are evil since they have not repented of their sins, so their sins are unforgiven. Heaven and hell are consequences for man’s life on … [Read more...]
What Is Heaven Like?
We care much about any new purchase. If we are to buy a house, we will spend days, if not months, to learn more about the house. We will not ignore any known aspect of the house. We endeavor to learn almost everything about the house before we commence our life in it. We leave no stone unturned while studying about our new home on earth. Similarly let us leave no stone … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Exist? (Part 4: Lucian and Thallus)
Did Jesus exist? While a robust case can be made by appealing to the NT documents (see Evidence Unseen “Part Four,” 2013), we have chosen instead to appeal to hostile non-Christian sources. In earlier articles in this series, we have considered the works of Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, and Josephus. In this edition, we will consider the works of Lucian and Thallus. … [Read more...]
A Cause Worth Dying For: Materialism, Millennials, & the Authentic Mission
Let me ask you something, very simple: Is the Christian God real? If not, then don't waste another minute of your time. There's the door. If the Christian God is simply a family tradition, a nice story, a cultural myth, or a moral teaching then we might as well toss it all aside. It's nothing. But, if the answer is yes then there is a desperate state of urgency. If … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Exist? (Part 3: Josephus)
Did Jesus exist? While a robust case can be made by appealing to the New Testament (NT) documents (see Evidence Unseen “Part Four,” 2013), in this series, we will only appeal to the hostile witnesses of history from outside of the NT. In previous articles, we considered the works of Cornelius Tacitus, as well as Pliny the Younger and Suetonius. In this article, we will consider … [Read more...]
Option C: The Time-Salvation Paradox
There is one aspect about God and our understanding of Him that I felt compelled to write about. This one area has divided Christians for centuries, and that is the subject of God's sovereignty in relation to man's free will. Now, I know this is a topic which has been perpetually argued, but it is because of this fact that I had felt so passionate about the subject. I would … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Exist? (Part 2: Pliny the Younger and Suetonius)
In my previous article, I addressed the subject of Jesus’ existence. While a full and robust case can be made by appealing to the New Testament (NT) documents (see Evidence Unseen “Part Four,” 2013), here we will only appeal to the hostile witnesses of history from outside of the NT. In this article, we will consider the evidence from the Roman governor Pliny the Younger and … [Read more...]
Did Jesus Exist? (Part 1: Tacitus)
Jesus of Nazareth has had more of an impact on world history than any other man to have walked the face of the Earth. In their 2013 book Who’s Bigger? Where Historical Figures Really Rank (published by Cambridge University Press) Steven Skiena and Charles B. Ward place Jesus of Nazareth as the most significant figure in all of human history. And rightly so. Two thousand … [Read more...]
The Young Messiah—Heresy or Homage?
The Young Messiah is an upcoming American biblical drama set to hit theaters in March 2016. The movie portrays a seven-year-old Jesus returning from Egypt to His hometown of Nazareth, and along the way discovers the truth about who He is. In a press release, Director Chis Nowrasteh stated, “[The] film seeks to present a realistic portrait of Jesus as a child both grounded in … [Read more...]
Book Review: Fool’s Talk by Os Guinness
Os Guinness wrote in his new book, Fool’s Talk: Recovering The Art Of Christian Persuasion (IVP Books, 2015), that his own journey to faith was more than intellectual. He said it included a long, slow, critical debate in his mind during his school years. “On one side, I listened to the arguments of such famous atheists as Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus, … [Read more...]