God has established on Earth three ongoing institutions for the physical, moral, and spiritual well being of humanity. These institutions are 1) marriage and family founded in the heterosexual monogamous relationship, 2) civil government, and 3) the New Testament church. Furthermore, God has provided in the Sacred Scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, the revelation of content which includes divine principles that guide relationships within each of the above institutions (cf. Psalm 19:1-14; 2 Peter 1:2-21; 3:14-16; et al.). Correct thinking results in respect for these institutions and leads to honoring God’s revealed principles that guide and strengthen the institutions (cf. Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-12; Ephesians 5:21-6:4; Mark 12:17; Romans 13:1-7; Proverbs 14:34; 29:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Matthew 16:13-18; 1 Timothy 3:14-15, et al.).
Read MoreWe are warned against being devoured by Satan (1 Peter 5:8). We are instructed to examine ourselves to see if we be in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).
It will not be amiss then for me, motivated I trust by love for God and man, to issue a question about some statements and arguments which have come to my attention during the past few months. Perhaps later I shall consider other matters, but in this article I will consider and, I trust, refute the notion that the existence of God cannot be proved by a consideration of the world, including man.
Read MoreConsider the remarkable words of Jesus Christ spoken to the disciples of the Pharisees who were sent with some Herodians to entangle (Matthew 22:15, NKJ) Jesus in His talk; i.e., “to catch [Him] in a trap, to acquire information about an error or fault, with the purpose of causing harm, to catch [Him] off guard, to catch [Him] in a mistake” (Rogers and Rogers 49-50). Luke wrote, “. . . [T]hey watched Him and sent spies [“their disciples with the Herodians,” cf. Matthew 22:16] who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. It was the last week of Jesus’ life on Earth before He was crucified on Friday. Luke summarizes what was happening: “And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything, for all the people were very attentive to hear Him” [“were hanging on His words,” ESV] (Luke 19:48, NKJ).
Read More“Our whole being by its very nature is one vast need . . . crying for Him” (Lewis 13).
The Christian has need for guidance in all of life. “[L]ead us not into temptation” suggests dealing with our daily trials by praying for God’s guidance. “Lead us not” (eisenegkes) means “Do not let us fall victim” (Rogers and Rogers 13). “Temptation” (peirasmos) has a twofold meaning with the context determining the meaning. Temptation means (1) “trial, proving . . . of man’s fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy” and (2) “An enticement to sin, temptation, whether arising from the desires or from outward circumstances” (Thayer 498). We will discuss the first meaning in this chapter and the second meaning in the following chapter.
Read MoreMortally wounded, a soldier was lying on the battlefield. Realizing the end was near, a chaplain bent over the wounded young man and said, “My boy, you are slipping away. Shall I pray for you?” The soldier replied, “Yes, pray this prayer—‘I thank’—and, as those words were spoken, pain gripped the soldier, and he withered in agony. Moments later, as the pain began to subside, the soldier resumed speaking and said, “I thank thee God for my Mother and Dad.”
Read MoreA while back, President George W. Bush released his book of memoirs titled, Decision Points. Each chapter of the book concerns some point of major decision in his life or presidency. Borrowing from his terminology, I suggest that “Decision Point” sums up the basic message of a passage from the Old Testament prophet Joel which says, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14). The statement is located in the context of an announcement of the judgment of God in time, and at the end of time. I believe Aebi to be correct in his conclusion that this “is [1] primarily descriptive of Pentecost, in which the gospel by which people are judged began to be preached; then [2] it is descriptive of the any judgments of God throughout the Christian era, and [3] finally descriptive of the day of judgment at the end of the world” (75).
Read MoreIn his 1948 essay titled “On Living in an Atomic Age,” C. S. Lewis wrote, “If Nature is all that exists—in other words, if there is no God and no life of some quite different sort somewhere outside Nature—then all will end in the same way. . . . [But] Nature is not the only thing that exists. . . . And that explains why we do not feel at home here. A fish feels at home in the water. If we ‘belonged here’ we should feel at home here” (Present Concerns, 93, 99). Lewis called this “the tyranny . . . of time” (Reflections, 201), by which he meant that “we are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it! ‘How he’s grown!’ we exclaim, ‘How time flies!’ . . . It is as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water. And that would be strange indeed; unless of course the fish were destined to become, one day, a land animal” (201).
Read MoreA few years ago, a well-known gospel preacher advertised a sermon during his gospel meeting as “The Existence of God.” I went intending to hear a faith building lesson but came home disappointed in the speaker and his material.
Read MoreIt has been twenty years since the residents of the mid and upper Ohio Valley have seen major flooding like that experienced thus far in 2024. As the banks of the Ohio River overflowed from heavy rainfall, in conjunction with the river’s flooding tributaries, it has been a humbling sight to behold.
Read More“AMERICAN PRAYER has been behind a number of firsts in the cultural realm. The first book printed in America, for example, was a prayer book, and the first songbook published was a hymnal. . . . Every one of the country’s major anthems, including ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ ‘America,’ and ‘My Country ‘Tis of Thee,’ speaks in some way of prayer.” . . .
Read MoreSheldon Vanauken’s book, A Severe Mercy, has been described as “a real-life love story full of wonder and hope.” It is this, but it is much more. I recall my first reading the story when it was published in an inexpensive paperback reprint edition. It is a true story of faith mixed with sorrow, which includes Vanauken turning to the British author and apologist, C. S. Lewis, for guidance. Vanauken was grappling with tough questions that came from his wife Jean falling prey to a mysterious illness that resulted in her death.
The book includes 18 previously unpublished letters written by C. S. Lewis
Read MoreJust as certain diseases may paralyze the physical body, so sin may cause weakness and/or paralysis of the conscience, of man’s will to do good. The primary need of man is spiritual—the forgiveness of his sins and coming into fellowship with God. All needs of the physical body are secondary to this.
Sin is widespread. It would be difficult, if indeed not impossible, to overestimate the importance of forgiveness. This is the case because the Bible plainly teaches that each accountable person is guilty of sin (Romans 3:9-18, 23). Men living today are in basically the same kind of world as that described by Paul in Romans 1:18-32. Three times in that section Paul says, “God gave them up.” One time he says, “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves!” (Romans 1:24). Again, Paul says, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions” (Romans 1:26). And, finally, Paul said, “And even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28).
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For some, the above words may be a reminder of a popular 1960s song—“What the World Needs Now is Love.” Though I well remember the song, the above title was triggered, not by a song, but a philosophical debate on ethics that occurred in the Fall of 1980 on the campus of what was then North Texas State University, Denton, TX. The participants in the discussion were Thomas B. Warren (1920-2000) and Joe E. Barnhart who died earlier this year (Feb. 5, 2023). In the debate, Dr. Warren affirmed Christian Theism (the ethical system advanced in the New Testament) is superior to the system of utilitarian ethics (the system advanced by the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, 1748-1832), and by Dr. Barnhart who, in the aforementioned debate, affirmed it as being superior to Christian Theism.
Read MoreMore than forty years ago, Cleon Skousen wrote The Naked Communist. Skousen began a study of communism during his 16 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Since Mr. Skousen’s book was first published, we have seen the fall of the Berlin wall, the demise of the former Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, and the birth of democracy behind the Iron Curtain.
On January 10, 1963, a list of 45 “current communist goals” was printed in the Congressional Record. They were taken from Skousen’s book. Here are some of them as they appeared in the Congressional Record. Attention is given to four which were aimed at the moral and spiritual disintegration of our nation.
Read MoreI am reflecting on autumn. The corn is turning brown in the fields. The pumpkins have turned bright orange. The leaves on the trees are changing into their autumn dress. In an 1856 four volume set, Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons, rich in apologetics, Henry Duncan showed the value of natural theology through his marvelous study—more than 1500 pages—of how the four seasons are “a beautiful and striking exhibition of the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Creator” (Winter iii). Although it is dated more than 150 years ago, Duncan’s work is unique.
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The Majesty of God (8: 1, 2, 9)
The Psalmist marvels at the glory of God. God is worthy of every man’s adoration and praise. David calls God “Lord” from the Hebrew, adonai. The term occurs about 300 times in the Old Testament.
Its meaning is “master, sir, lord” and signifies “ownership or mastership” and indicates the great “truth that God is the owner of each member of the human family, and that He consequently claims the unrestricted obedience of all” (Girdlestone, Old Testament Synonyms, 59). Thus, included is the amenability of man to God and His law.
When the term is used of men, it is always singular, adon. When used of God, it is almost always plural, adonai, and possessive, meaning “my Lord’s.” Being plural, it confirms the idea of the Godhead, as in the name, Elohim.
Read MoreThe United States Senate passed (with bipartisan support – 61 to 36), the Respect for Marriage Act (which in political jargon, means the exact opposite). It was then sent to the House of Representatives where it easily passed. The House refused to even debate the act or allow any amendments to the bill to provide protection for those with religious objections, claiming those protections already existed. The purpose, according to the supporters of the bill, was to insure that “gay marriage” will continue even if the Supreme Court reverses its decision regarding the matter. The President enthusiastically signed the bill into law.
Read MoreThe Russian novelist and essayist Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) had a plan that entailed the completion of a literary cycle titled, The Life of a Great Sinner. The plan was to involve a goal of addressing the existence of God, which he once called “the problem that has consciously and unconsciously tormented me all my life” (Great Books of the Western World, vol. 52, vi). The literary cycle was not finished, but what the great writer did complete, just prior to his death, was a masterpiece recognized by many literary scholars as one of the major achievements in world literature titled The Brothers Karamazov. First published as a serial (1879-80), it was then published in a full edition in 1880.
Read MoreIntroduction
1. Some questions from God. (3:9-11). 1) “Where art thou?” 2) “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” and 3) “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Each one of these questions is very important and highly significant in God’s reaction to man’s sin. Let us note in some detail the first question.
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There is a story of a twelve-year-old boy who wrote the Library of Congress requesting two books. He wanted one book on space travel, and another on sane living. The boy concluded his letter by saying, “If you can’t send both books, send the one on space travel ‘cause I’m more interested in that.”
Most of us would agree that it seems normal for a twelve-year-old boy to be “more interested” in space travel than in a topic like “sane living.” However, surely we should also recognize it to be the case that when many U. S. mental health groups are describing what they call
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