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January 12, 2016
The Bible teaches that God is sovereign over all of history (Daniel 4:17, Acts 4:27–28). So when it comes to the origin and development of historic Christianity, believers in Christ undoubtedly accept the words of Galatians 4:4–5: "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."
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January 4, 2016
Jesus Christ lived the most consequential life in human history. As Christian theologian Michael Green notes, “His coming split history into two: everything is dated before or after this man.”1 But the religion that bears his name started small and slow in the backwater of the Roman Empire. What factors contributed to its subsequent rapid spread?
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December 28, 2015
Why do you go to the movies? For many, it’s for entertainment. Movies certainly possess a remarkable ability to make us laugh and cry. Others go to the movies to escape from the pressures and difficulties of daily life.
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December 22, 2015
The doctrine of the Incarnation (God became man in Jesus of Nazareth) lies at the heart of Christianity; it’s a truth-claim celebrated all over the world at Christmastime. Historic Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ is a single person with both a fully divine nature and a fully human nature. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”1
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World Religions
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Incarnation
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December 15, 2015
Imagination and storytelling are very powerful ways of drawing attention to important ideas and questions. A good book or movie provokes people to think in a way unlike hearing a lecture. This is one reason why Jesus spoke in parables.
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December 7, 2015
Upon losing his wife to cancer, C. S. Lewis wrote, “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing.”1
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December 1, 2015
I have two older sisters, and I love them both, but I am often stumped by how very different the three of us are from each other. Although our ages are several years apart, I still find it astonishing that I am genetically more similar to them than to anyone else on this planet. In fact, only if we were identical triplets would we have greater genetic identity.
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November 23, 2015
The God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and in sacred Scripture wants his children to be grateful. God’s incredible majesty, goodness, and love make it perfectly appropriate for us to continually give thanks to the Lord.
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November 16, 2015
As my friends and family know, I’m clearly an introvert. Growing up, I struggled with shyness, and even today I’m still more at ease among books than I am among people. Upon reflection, I suspect I even battle a certain amount of social anxiety. Nevertheless, as a public speaker and teacher I’ve learned how to be at ease even when addressing and interacting with large audiences. Yet engaging in small talk with strangers remains a challenge.
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November 10, 2015
Christianity has had a profound impact on Western culture. Rule of law in particular has deeply influenced virtually everything that makes the West unique. From the early stages of Western civilization, through America’s founding fathers, and up until recently, the Christian foundations of rule of law have been acknowledged.
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November 2, 2015
I have heard it said that the only thing warriors fear more than death is cowardice. I have been thinking about the meaning of courage for a long time. When I was a boy I wondered how my ordinary father was able to do extraordinary things as an American combat soldier in World War II and receive the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals. When I asked my father if he was afraid during battle he said yes—but he also said that he deemed there were more important things at stake than his personal safety and he was determined to do his job as a soldier. Thus courage can be defined as the mental or moral willingness to face or withstand danger, difficulty, or trial.
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October 26, 2015
This might sound morbid to some people, but I’ve always been fascinated by the subject of death. As a youth, I found funerals much more interesting than weddings. And growing up in the Roman Catholic tradition, I thought Catholic funerals were particularly remarkable ceremonies. I can still remember the unique smell of incense filling the church at the first funeral mass I ever attended.
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October 19, 2015
As a child, the first time death hit home for me was when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. And even though more than 50 years have passed, I still distinctly remember two things about the event.
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October 12, 2015
Many of today’s critics of Christianity view believers in Christ as feelers instead of thinkers. The skeptical charge is often that the faith of most Christians is grounded more in emotional experience than rational considerations. Christians are viewed as people who follow their hearts instead of their heads.
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October 5, 2015
There seems to be a tendency in human beings to draw the logical conclusion that each of us prefers to be true. So when it comes to evaluating arguments for reasonableness and explanatory power, preference tends to weigh heavily in our final assessment. Preference can even at times trump solid evidence that points to the truth of an alternative conclusion.
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September 30, 2015
This Friday, the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s highly successful debut novel The Martian hits theaters. In anticipation of the film’s release, I met with editor Sandra Dimas to discuss how The Martian might help remind others of a different kind of rescue mission.
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