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Christianity without Heaven and Hell

If there were no heaven or hell, would you still follow Jesus? Every now and then I come across a blog, article, or sermon with some spiritual type of fellow asking, “If there were no heaven or hell, would you still follow Jesus?” (Maybe it was Tony Campolo, who knows? Anyway…) But what a mind-boggling question to pose! So let me get this right, you’re telling me if there were no ultimate rewards or ultimate punishments for my every action, would I really make an effort to life the Christian life? I suppose living the Christian life without the expectation of seeing a heavenly reward can be considered something noble. Then, again, there are many Americans who don’t think much about heaven or hell, but strangely enough they still hold fast to “Christian” values — they don’t lie, they don’t cheat, they love their kin, they attend church, vote, give to charity, and pay taxes. The stakes, however, could be raised —like say this were country ruled by Muslim extremists, wherein the common lo...

Christianity in Crisis 21st Centudy Edition - Review

Hank Hanegraaff’s Christianity in Crisis 21st Century Edition (CNC21) unveils the truth about the doctrinal flaws propagated by the Word of Faith movement. Updating his previous edition, CNC21 address the flawed theology of the Word of Faith movement, which began with E.W. Kenyon, whose aberrant theology was passed on through past Word of Faith luminaries like Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Fredrick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Robert Tilton, Marilyn Hickey, Paul Yoggi Cho, Charles Capps, Morris Cerullo, and Paul Crouch. CNC21, moreover, highlights the doctrinal errors of new stars in the Word of Faith constellation, such as Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, John Hagee, T.D. Jakes, Rod Parsley, and Paula White. Using the mass media engine of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, Word of Faith teachers dispense their deadly doctrinal poison by the mega-dose. Using cultic term twisting, they teach faith is a force and words are containers of that force. They pronounce man ...

Crux: What is the "Crux" of Christianity?

The crux of a Christianity centers on the resurrection of Jesus. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain,” writes Paul. Without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity. Although many cults, liberal scholars, and atheist have attempted to disprove the resurrection, there is still good reason to believe it to be true. We can believe in the resurrection, because the testimonies recorded in Scripture are reliable. The manuscript evidence attests to the reliability of the Bible. There exist more ancient manuscript copies of the Bible dating near to the originals than any other work from antiquity. Josephus, Tacitus, and other first century non-Christian sources corroborate the historical narratives contained in the Bible. Archeological discoveries (e.g. the finds of William Ramsey) also confirm the people, places, and events of Scripture. Moreover, there are predictive prophecies contained in the Bible that came to pass (e.g. the fall o...

Can we know anything?

When looking at the night sky—at least places where there are not streetlights— on a clear night one can see stars twinkling. Not to be a romance killer, but the twinkling is not from the stars, but by stellar scintillation, which is the refraction of light caused by currents of hot and cold air in the earth’s atmosphere. My point is that our senses can deceive us. We are susceptible to experiencing mirages and dreams. So can we know anything? Although there are many that might boldly assert nothing can be known for certain, it is possible to certainly know something. This inquiry on whether or not one can know anything is the philosophical study of epistemology, which is “The branch of philosophy that is concerned with the theory of knowledge. It is an inquiry into the nature and source of knowledge, the bounds of knowledge, and the justification of claims to knowledge.” [1] Rene Descartes once declared, “I think, therefore I am” ( cogito, ergo sum ). He began by presuming that one ...

What is Truth?

“What is truth?” uttered Pilate uttered to Jesus Christ (John 18:38). Was Pilate being cynical? Perhaps after hearing all the trumped up charges against the accused, he could never figure out why the religious leaders wanted this man dead? Or was he just not interested in knowing anything about the person he was about to pronounce judgment, especially the talk about a kingdom that was not of this world? Whatever the motives of his heart might have been, he stood in the presence of the greatest truth of the ages — the ultimate revelation of God— but he missed it completely. Truth exists. It is one of the most precious commodities in the world, yet it is often missed. Many today would deny its very existence, or at least mistake it for something practical, poignant, or personal, yet truth is something else. Truth is that which corresponds to reality. Whatever claim we make about ultimate reality, such as origins, God, Jesus, morality, or the meaning of life, if those statements corres...

"...being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentelness and reverence..."

I think those words written by Peter sum up what I want to accomplish with this blog. My hope is to address issues related to apologetics, theology, philosophy, and popular culture. Obviously, I will be presenting a Christian point of view on the topics discussed, but my prayer is that I will accurately presenting the issues being discussed. My goal will be to present the truth with gentelness and respect to readers of this blog. So I encourage you to continue visiting this blog, ask questions or join in the conversation. Peace Warren