Some good reading (and watching) I found today.
“Humility is strong—not bold; quiet—not speechless; sure—not arrogant.” —Estelle Smith
[VIDEO] Ken Davis always cracks me up! When the doctor says, “Don’t drive” … don’t drive!
Feeling beat-up? Max Lucado reminds us to rest in Christ’s finished work.
[VIDEO] Greg Koukl answers the question: What Is Marriage Anyway?
Tim Elmore discusses communicating with youth using pictures, stories and steps.
Some readable reading from today.
I find the science driving “global warming” or “climate change” to be more philosophy than science. A new report notes, “Even if we were to stop emitting greenhouse gas emissions entirely, we would not moderate the Earth’s temperature more than a few tenths of a degree Celsius by the end of the century.” Read more in this post: Obama Hasn’t Healed The Planet.
I love the Bible Overview Project. Here is a cool infographic on the least popular book of the Bible.
“How could it [the Bible], assailed so strongly from every side, have resisted if it had relied upon human protection alone? Rather, by this very fact it is proved to be from God, because, with all human efforts striving against it, still it has of its own power thus far prevailed. Besides this, it is not one state, not one people, that has agreed to receive and embrace it; but, as far and as wide as the earth extends, it has obtained its authority by the holy concord of divers peoples, who otherwise had nothing in common among themselves. Such agreement of minds, so disparate and otherwise disagreeing in everything among themselves, ought to move us greatly, since it is clear that this agreement is brought about by nothing else than the divine will.” —John Calvin
I don’t agree with everything in this post ‘The Idol Of Church Growth,’ but I definitely agree with this statement: “The question churches should be asking is not ‘How do we grow our church?’ but ‘How do we grow His kingdom?’ Sadly, those interests are often kingdoms apart.”
Ask to summarize his theology, Karl Barth said, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
“There must be illumination before revelation can get to a person’s soul. It is not enough that I hold an inspired Book in my hands. I must have an inspired heart.” —A.W. Tozer
Some interesting reading I found today.
“The Bible is not a book for the faint of heart—it is a book full of all the greed and glory and violence and tenderness and sex and betrayal that benefits mankind. It is not the collection of pretty little anecdotes mouthed by pious little church mice—it does not so much nibble at our shoe leather as it cuts to the heart and splits the marrow from the bone. It does not give us answers fitted to our small-minded questions, but truth that goes beyond what we even know to ask.” —Rich Mullins
As I have said before, tolerance is only afforded to those who say “anything goes.” Anyone who says there is a right/wrong, truth/lie is labeled intolerant, as illustrated in this story of the Benham brothers losing their TV show deal…
…and to further prove the point, Yahoo Joins Google In Banning Pro-Life Ads.
“It’s pretty obvious… that the Judeo-Christian concept of God held the key to the rise of the West, and that is the belief in a rational Creator God, because that had the implication, then, that the creation was itself rational—that is to say, it obeys rules” (Rodney Stark). Read more in How Christianity Created Science (And Why Atheism Wouldn’t Have).
Detroit Tiger fans (like me!) will enjoy this: A Numerical Guide To The History Of The Detroit Tigers.
“Has the enemy tried to tell you that God has bypassed you? Have you been tempted to conclude that the Lord isn’t with you? Have you almost given up your faith? Put your hope in the Lord’s Word to you: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). ‘The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Your name will put their trust in You: for You, Lord, have not forsaken them that seek You’ (Psalm 9:9-10).” —David Wilkerson
“… this inscription from Jerusalem may signal widespread—if elementary—literacy during the time of David and Solomon.” Read more about this archeological discovery in Jerusalem.
“Let us meditate on the Lord’s holy name that we may trust Him the better and rejoice the more readily.” —Charles Spurgeon
Did Jesus Rise From The Dead? is an excellent apologetic for both the biblical skeptic and the biblical student. You can read my full book review by clicking here. Below are seven noteworthy quotes and one infographic from this fascinating book.
“One of the most noteworthy facts about the early Christian belief in Jesus’ resurrection was that it flourished in the very city where Jesus had been publicly crucified. So long as the inhabitants of Jerusalem thought that Jesus’ corpse lay in the tomb, few would have been prepared to believe such silliness as the claim that God had raised Jesus from the dead.”
“We have the extraordinary number of at least five independent sources for Jesus’ burial, some of which are extremely early. The Gospels describe Joseph as a rich man, a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. As a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea is unlikely to be a Christian invention. The Sanhedrin was a sort of Jewish high court made up of seventy of the leading men of Judaism, which presided in Jerusalem. There was an understandable hostility among early Christians toward the Jewish Sanhe-drists, for Christians blamed the Sanhedrists for engineering a judicial murder of Jesus at the hands of the Romans. … Therefore, Jesus’ burial by Joseph is very probably historical, since it would be almost inexplicable why Christians would invent a story about a Jewish Sanhedrist who gives Jesus a proper burial.”
“Matthew is clearly working with an independent source, for he includes the story of the guard at the tomb, which is not derived from Mark and is unique to his Gospel; moreover, his comment that the rumor that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body, ‘And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day,’ (Matthew 28:15) shows that the guard is not Matthew’s own creation, but was part of prior tradition. Luke also has an independent source, for he tells the story, not found in Mark, of two disciples’ inspecting the tomb to verify the women’s report that the tomb was vacant. This story cannot be regarded as Luke’s own creation, since the incident is independently reported in John’s Gospel. And, again, given John’s independence of the other three Gospels, we have yet another independent report of the empty tomb.”
(click image for a larger view)
“To appreciate how restrained Mark’s narrative is, we need only read the account in the second-century apocryphal Gospel of Peter. It describes Jesus’ triumphant exit from the tomb as a gigantic figure whose head reaches above the clouds, supported by giant angels, followed by a talking cross, heralded by a voice from heaven, and all witnessed by a Roman guard, the Jewish leaders, and a multitude of spectators! This is how real legends look: They’re richly decorated with theological and apologetical motifs. By contrast, Mark’s account is stark in its simplicity.”
“Think about that: ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away’ [Matthew 28:13]. The Jewish authorities did not deny the fact that Jesus’ tomb was empty; instead they entangled themselves in a hopeless series of absurdities, trying to explain it away. In other words, the Jewish claim that the disciples stole the body presupposes that the body was, in fact, missing. Therefore, we have evidence from the very adversaries of the early Christian movement for the fact of the empty tomb.”
“All the followers of those first century messianic movements were fanatically committed to the cause…. But in no case right across the century before Jesus and the century after Him do we hear of any Jewish group saying that their executed leader had been raised from the dead, and he really was the Messiah after all.” —N.T. Wright
“A supernatural explanation of the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, and the origin of the Christian faith is not contrived given the context of Jesus’ own unparalleled life, ministry, and personal claims.”
Dr. William Lane Craig is a brilliant Christian apologist. Part of his brilliance is in the way he can make complex subject matters so accessible for everyone. This is fully on display in his book Did Jesus Rise From The Dead?
This book is a fairly quick read, but it is packed with powerful information. Point-by-point Dr. Craig leads us through the evidence for the empty tomb of Jesus, laying out all of the independently-corroborated evidence for Christ’s resurrection, and dismantling the arguments against His resurrection.
Next he lists several hypotheses—including the conspiracy hypothesis, the apparent death hypothesis, the displaced body hypothesis and the hallucination hypothesis—and gives us the criteria to analyze each of these hypotheses on our own. These criteria include the explanatory scope, the explanatory power, plausibility, less contrived theories, and the disconfirmation factors. Quite fascinating!
The book is well footnoted to give the reader ample sources to dig deeper on any of the points Dr. Craig covers. I could see this being an ideal book for those skeptical of the biblical claims of Christ’s resurrection, as well as a good study tool for Christians to prepare themselves to answer the objections others may have about the good news of Jesus being raised from the dead.
Some great reading I found today.
[AUDIO] This is a fascinating lecture from Dr. Glenn Sunshine on Christians in history who changed history.
“This day my God will perform all things for me; what can I do for Him? My thoughts ought to run to Him, for He thinketh upon me.” —Charles Spurgeon
This is appalling… Pro-abortion group declares bloody, mangled babies are “safe” for women.
“There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. If a game is played, it must be possible to lose it. If the happiness of a creature lies in self-surrender, no one can make that surrender but himself (though many can help him to make it) and he may refuse. I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully ‘All will be saved.’ But my reason retorts, ‘Without their will, or with it?’ If I say ‘Without their will’ I at once perceive a contradiction; how can the supreme voluntary act of self-surrender be involuntary? If I say ‘With their will,’ my reason replies ‘How if they will not give in?’ … The doors of Hell are locked on the inside. I do not mean that the ghosts may not wish to come out of Hell, in the vague fashion wherein an envious man ‘wishes’ to be happy: but they certainly do not will even the first preliminary stages of that self-abandonment through which alone the soul can reach any good. They enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved: just as the blessed, forever submitting to obedience, become through all eternity more and more free.” —C.S. Lewis
[VIDEO] A great way for Creationists to dialogue with evolutionists.
This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.
Don’t Try To Persuade
You can’t persuade a man to believe in God; belief in God is not an act of the intellect, it is a moral creation produced by the interaction of God’s Spirit and my spirit in willing obedience; intellect comes in afterwards to explain what has happened.
From Conformed To His Image
I love reading and studying apologetics, but it’s important to remember that I’m not reading these arguments to persuade someone to believe in Jesus. Oswald Chambers is right on target: no one can be be persuaded to believe.
The Bible says that faith in Christ comes through hearing God’s Word. So I unabashedly share as much Scripture as I can, refraining from adding my own commentary. The Word speaks for itself. As Charles Spurgeon said, “How do I defend the Bible? I treat it like a lion. I let it out of its cage and it defends itself.”
The apologetic training comes in handy after someone has already placed their faith in Christ to explain what has happened. It works like this:
The Bible → Faith in Christ.
Apologetics → Understanding my faith.
Some great reading from this weekend.
A fragment of a manuscript was found a couple of years ago on which mention is made of Jesus’ wife. This manuscript scrap is hardly credible, and here’s a great post explaining why.
“My brethren, let me say, be ye like Christ at all times. Imitate Him in public. Most of us live in some sort of publicity; many of us are called to work before our fellow men every day. We are watched; our words are caught; our lives are examined—taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do; and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christ in public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master, and not ourselves—so that we can say, ‘It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me.’” —Charles Spurgeon
More ObamaCare nonsense: The Charts Obama Doesn’t Want You To See.
Planned Parenthood is taking your tax dollars to take innocent lives. Check out these numbers.
[VIDEO] Here is why Lois Lerner should be held in contempt of Congress.
“Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.” —C.S. Lewis
Here are links to some interesting reading (and watching) from today.
[VIDEO] Funny, but really sad. I’m not sure what is being taught on college campuses anymore.
[VIDEO] Stephen A. Smith on Arsenio Hall’s show about race relations. Right on target!
Great reminder from Jennilee Goodwin: When The Grace Seems Greener.
[VIDEO] Greg Koukl discusses how Christians should debate evolutionists.
Tim Elmore shares a hilarious but helpful story about a woman involved in her own search party.
[VIDEO] John Maxwell reminds us of the importance of generosity.
The Facts On World Religions is a broad overview of the four major religions of the world—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. You can read my full book review by clicking here. These are some of the passages I found noteworthy….
“Positive criticism: Being critical of other people’s beliefs is necessary for the sake of what is true and what is good. Every idea in the world is not true, regardless of what relativists claim. And some ideas are harmful, including religious ideas. We have also been critical of our own faith when needed, so when we ask adherents of other religions to analyze their own perspectives, we are not requesting that they do something we ourselves have neglected.”
“The Bible’s uniqueness in some 20 different areas—including many specific predictions of the future (especially as to the Messiah), theology and content, textual preservation against all odds, the physical resurrection from the dead of its central character, scientific and medical prevision, the miraculous existence of Israel, historic and archaeological accuracy, victory over all criticism, and massive influence in human history—is virtual proof that the Bible comprises God’s revelation to humanity. Because it alone is evidentially and independently verified, at points of conflict all other scriptures are, by definition, false. … The manuscript evidence proving the New Testament’s accuracy is about a thousand times better than for ancient manuscripts that scholars everywhere concede are reliable.”
“Historical facts confirm that the Qur’an has experienced significant corruption through various means. Texts such as The Origins of the Qur’an (edited by Ibn Warraq), though sometimes displaying a rationalistic bias, nevertheless prove beyond doubt that the Qur’an is not a pure text. … Dr. William Miller reveals that for some years after the death of Muhammad there was great confusion as to what material of all that had been preserved should be included in the Qur’an. Finally, in the caliphate of Uthman (644-656 AD) one text was given official approval, and all other material was destroyed.”
“Buddha did not even claim that his teachings were a unique and original source of wisdom. Buddha always said, ‘Don’t take what I’m saying [that is, on my own authority], just try to analyze as far as possible and see whether what I’m saying makes sense or not. If it doesn’t make sense, discard it. If it does make sense, then pick it up.’” —Clive Erricker
“Internal contradictions in Buddhism make it impossible to know what is true and what is false, leading to an emphasis on subjectivism and experientialism to discover ‘truth,’ rather than upon objective data.”
“Consider the Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation’s ‘Index of Economic Freedom Report.’ From 1995 to 2008, the ‘mostly free’ categories of nations include only some Muslim states, while the ‘mostly unfree’ and ‘repressed’ categories include the large majority of Muslim nations; no Muslim nation exists in the ‘free’ category. Some 600 million souls live in dismal poverty. And it’s not difficult to see why: The average man, woman or child living in a repressed or mostly unfree economy lives a life of poverty on only about $2,800 a year. Compare this with the prosperous residents of the world’s free economies, where the average per-capita income is $21,200, or nearly eight times greater. Put simply, the difference between poverty and prosperity is freedom.”
“Islam may be called a ‘religion of peace,’ but history paints a different picture, no matter how many individual Muslims are peace-loving. The book that most regulates Islam, the Qur’an, is mixed at best in this regard. Entirely different religions, both logically justified, can be extracted from its pages. There are verses about peace and tolerance, but also verses about intolerance, Holy War against non-Muslims, and subjugating the world to the will of Allah. … Evils done in the name of Christian faith have been committed either by nominal Christians who are unbelievers or by deceived believers. In both cases the people are acting inconsistently with Christian faith and the clear teachings of Christian Scripture.”
“Too few appreciate how critically unique biblical Christianity is when compared to other religions—or the implications. For example, Christianity is the only religion based on the death of its founder, a death that forever altered the course of human history. No other religion has the literal physical resurrection of its founder. Biblical Christianity is the only religion having solid evidence to prove it true. It’s the only religion offering eternal life as a free gift through grace, and the only religion demonstrating beyond the shadow of a doubt that God truly loves us—as demonstrated at the Cross. Biblical Christianity is the only religion to dramatically improve the welfare of humanity in a score of areas.”
Craig T. Owens 