Why Pray?

There’s an age-old question in Christianity. It goes like this: “Why do we pray?” It’s a fair one to ask. To the casual observer outside of Christianity it makes absolutely no sense, because they have absolutely no sense… of the God to whom we are praying. For the non-Christian this question is really asking, “why do you pray to no one?” For the Christian, however, the question is just as valid and is more layered. Assuming that the Christian understands that you’re not just talking to thin air when you pray, the question they are asking is usually the more … [Read more]

Just How Was the Bible Written? Views on Inspiration

Introduction Determining one’s belief on how the Bible was written is a foundational step in doing theology. With that in mind, the following will attempt to explain and evaluate all of the most prominent views and theories about how the Bible was written, and then construct a logical argument for why verbal plenary inspiration is the correct view of inspiration. Each view of inspiration will be defined and explained and then evaluated. Natural Inspiration Definition and Explanation Natural Inspiration: the belief that the Holy scriptures were written by extraordinary men, and God’s only “role” in the writing of the scriptures … [Read more]

False Teachers in 2 Peter and Jude

Introduction When discussing the false teachers mentioned in the books of 2 Peter and Jude a few essential questions must be answered prior to drawing any applications about them. We need to discuss their teachings, their methods— or tactics, and also their spiritual standing—or trusts. All of this will form a picture for us to look at while ascertaining fundamental truths, and thus applications and reactions to false teachers we can have in today’s world. The first three sections of this paper will cover those attributes, and the final section will discuss biblical responses to false teachers, both in the … [Read more]

The Sunday School Answer

There once was a kindergarten Sunday school class. The teacher was giving a demonstration of how God created everyone, including all the little animals. For her illustration, she asked the kids in her class a question. “What’s brown and furry and has a big bushy tail and eats nuts?” “Jesus!” shouted the children, because as we all know, Jesus is always the answer in Sunday school. The teacher smiled patiently and said, “No… Listen close. What’s brown and furry has a big bushy tail and eats nuts?” Again the entire class shouted “Jesus!” A little bit more impatiently the teacher … [Read more]

God Loves Gays

I was browsing the internet yesterday, looking for a funny meme I could share with my friends, and I stumbled across one of the pages of “funny sign” pictures. You know the type? The ones that have bigoted Americans holding up signs like “We Speek English!” There was a section of these pictures that showed anti gay rights protests. The one that caught my eye was the picture of a boy, about thirteen years old, holding up a sign that said, “God hates fags. Rom. 9:13”. It really got me angry mostly because that is simply not true. Let me … [Read more]