Blog Search Results

Doubting Defying Jihad: Questioning the Popular Conversion Story

...placing a Bible and Quran on scales and pointing out the Quran was heavier! It seems that none of the common muslim arguments against Christianity were made at these occasions, which is particularly surprising since the most popular muslim debater in the world, Zakir Naik, is from India and has an immense audience of millions in Pakistan.3 So are these points conclusive that her story is fraudulent? I’ll leave that decision with you. I find it reasonable to think that if what happened is as she described, there would be people who know the identity of Anwar, of her Father, the militant group they were involved with, the madrassa she attended and at least so...

When Church History and Science Collide

...ghout the Bible which talk of God making the stars as signs in the heavens for important events. There’s plenty that speak about the stars in various ways and for different reasons signifying things God was doing, or events on the earth. The first main reference happens during the creation narrative: Genesis 1:14And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years Then also there’s the important one signifying the birth of Christ, which the magi saw and recognised as important: Matthew 2:1–2In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethl...

The World's Oldest Anti-Christian Meme

...I first came across the Alexamenos graffito back in Bible college in the early 2000s. It was one of those “fun facts” that gets dropped into a church history lecture and sticks with you — the ancient Roman equivalent of someone spray-painting an insult on a wall. I filed it away, thought it was fascinating, and largely forgot about it for two decades. Then, recently, I discovered something about it I had never known. There’s a response to it. Scratched in a different room, in a different hand. So I started digging into this more to verify the information and discovered more historical curiosities surrounding the graffiti than I ever knew existed wh...

Was the omniscience of God a developed idea?

...u see the Bible and some of the earlier stories, and if it says "the Lord said.." then he really did say it verbatim, and therefore God did need to go and check things out for himself in order to know something. I'm more inclined to think that this could all be brought under the umbrella of progressive revelation again. The New Testament would appear to show God in an all-knowing way completely, without leaving much room for anything but omniscience, for example: Matthew 10:29-30; Matthew 6:3-4; Acts 15:8; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 1:1-14; 1 Jn 3:19-20. I think it's safe to say that most of Scripture confirms God's omniscience. Especially since Jesu...

Humble without the #hashtag

...d and the Bible speak a lot about and places a high level of importance on as ways of living out your faith in a way that pleases God. Getting all offended and upset over coffee cups just seems to be missing the point really. This whole thing is just ridiculous at the end of the day. I suggest starting a better movement. A movement of people who practically live out and demonstrate their faith by caring and aiding those less fortunate; a movement that if done consistently by everyone who follows Jesus (and not just leaving it to the charities and organisations to deal with) then it could very well make a change and difference in our societies. I won't sugges...

Did Jesus lead the first youth group?

...The Bible can be a complex thing, with many interwoven connections not always immediately apparent, linking topics and themes together across the ages. One such intriguing relationship lies between Exodus 30:14 and Matthew 17:24–27, offering valuable perspectives on the age dynamics among Jesus’ disciples with a hidden clue in the brief encounter about paying temple tax. Exodus 30:14 — The Age of Accountability Exodus 30:14 establishes a significant criterion for temple tax payment: “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the offering to the Lord.” This biblical guideline sets what might be considered a standard for...