GOT HOPE? Christianity Delivers
I recently debated an atheist on the merits of religion and whether it is needed in modern society. The debate can be accessed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ4FL-9Z3x8 I had researched findings from a variety of studies, including meta-analytic studies. Meta-analytic studies are studies that analyze the empirical results from other studies on the same variables to determine …
Continue reading "Abstracts from Meta-Analytic Studies on the Health Benefits of Religiosity"
Some may be cheering as they witness the rising wave of Euro-secularization, where many in western societies have become increasingly atheistic, post-material, and secular. Ron Inglehart of the University of Michigan’s World Values Surveys has distinguished these “secular/rational and self-expressive” countries from the “traditional/religious and survival” countries in other poorer parts of the world (Inglehart, …
Continue reading "The (Frightening) Moral Implications of a World without Christianity"
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – St. Paul in Romans 12:2 One of the most well-attested and undisputed facts of Christianity is the fact the early Christian martyrs …
Continue reading "Do We Have Enough Evidence to Support Jesus’ Divinity Today?"
When Herod the Great became aware of the birth of the Messiah, he ordered the slaughter of all children under the age of two in Bethlehem. But how did he know the Messiah was to be born at that particular time? Which prophecies in the Old Testament or other sources supported this claim? Jesus’ birth …
Continue reading "How Did Herod the Great Know the Timing of the Messiah’s Birth?"
Prior to his decades-long ministry, Luke reports in the book of Acts that St. Paul (who was then called Saul) hunted and persecuted people of “the Way,” which he considered to be a false and blasphemous movement against the God of the Jewish people, whom he dutifully worshipped. He stood at the feet of St. …
Continue reading "10 Tips from St. Paul for Christian Debates with Nonbelievers"
In his letter to the Romans (2:15), Paul wrote: “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them.” Thankfully, we all have a conscience that can help us distinguish what is right from what is wrong …
Continue reading "Is Our Conscience Evidence of a Benevolent God?"
God disrupts lives to build heroes. Modern skeptics sometimes question whether Moses really existed. They cite a lack of much archaeological evidence for the Exodus and disputes among scholars on its timing and which Pharaoh was in power. The oldest piece of extra-Biblical evidence we have is the Merenptah Stele, which places Israel in Canaan …
An important lesson can be learned when considering what we know of Joseph of Arimathea. The Bible tells us that he was a member of the Sanhedrin, which is the group of Jewish leaders who convicted Jesus to death on the cross. The Bible also tells us that he asked Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body, …
People sometimes question God’s wisdom and sovereignty when they witness suffering in the world, wondering why God would permit human suffering. Anyone who has witnessed human poverty, pediatric cancer or the deaths and injuries resulting from catastrophic weather events has likely had these questions in his or her mind. Why would God allow suffering? The …
Last week, I decided to leave the Democratic party in the United States. I have been a staunch Democrat since my early twenties due to the Democrats’ typical positions on the environment, education, anti-war, universal healthcare, anti-guns, immigration reform, feminism (defined only as equality of opportunity for women), equal rights for gay people, and more. …
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