Why Am I A “Sinner” And Why Do I Need To Be Forgiven?

Apologetics for Parents, Boby Perry, Christianity, Jesus Christ, morality, Sin, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, True Horizon
By Bob Perry Here’s a question I got recently: “It has always bothered me that I am a sinful human. None of my good efforts, leading a good life can deter sin. I was born with sin and I have to be forgiven? I don’t get that. Why am I a ‘sinner’ and why do I need to be forgiven?” This is a difficult question to answer, especially when it comes from a genuine, good-hearted person. Nobody wants to think of themselves as a “sinner.” For the most part, all of us try to be kind, nice, and loving. We’re not serial killers, or bank robbers, or child molesters, or even shady politicians. It seems unfair to call someone a sinner — especially when you also seem to be saying…
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Norman L. Geisler: A Student’s Tribute

Atheism, Christianity, J. Brian Huffling, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Norman Geisler, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Brian Huffling  I first heard about Dr. Norman L. Geisler when I was in high school. I bought his When Skeptics Ask. I glossed over it but thought it was beyond me. During my senior year of college, my wife and I decided to move back to my native Charlotte after graduation and study apologetics under Dr. Geisler at Southern Evangelical Seminary. Before making the move, we visited the seminary. While sitting in the registrar’s office, Dr. Geisler walked by, and I was star struck. After the tour, Dr. Doug Potter introduced us to Dr. Geisler. I was so nervous. He asked if we had lunch plans. I got even more nervous. We said no, and he asked if we would have lunch with him. Of course, we said…
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How We Got Our Bible: New Testament Canonical Reception

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Bible, Canon, Christianity, Church Fathers, Jesus Christ, New Testament, reliability, Ryan Leasure, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure   This article is part 5 in a nine-part series on how we got our Bible. Part 1 considered inspiration and inerrancy. Part 2 looked at the unfolding of the Old Testament. Part 3 examined the Old Testament canon and the Apocrypha. Part 4 considered the canonical attributes for New Testament books. This article will unpack how the early church received the New Testament canon. Marcion (AD 85-160) Before diving into the the corporate reception of the canon, it’s first necessary to say a brief word about Marcion. According to church historian Henry Chadwick, Marcion was “the most radical and to the church the most formidable of heretics.”[1] What was Marcion’s heresy? He promoted Gnosticism—the belief that the god who created the world was evil, and thus the OT was evil. This belief led Marcion to reject the…
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Should Christians Pursue Personal Success?

Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christianity, Comfort, Culture CrossExamined, Jesus, Mike Taylor, success, truth, Wealth
By Mike Taylor Have you ever found yourself looking at someone else’s life on social media and wondering how they’re able to do all that they do? We see people on Instagram taking vacations, buying cars, starting businesses, quitting their jobs, and doing other glamorous things all while simultaneously raising multiple kids and finishing their Master’s degree. Or so it seems, at least. And as we take in their glorious life, we can’t help but wonder: how on earth do they have the time and money and energy to do these things? Then we might start to wonder, “Is living a life focused on material wealth and personal success something God wants for us?” Because it feels like the glorification of wealth is everywhere we look nowadays, and Christians are…
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3 Practical Steps to Help Build Your Kids’ Immunity to Anti-Christian Ideas

Alisa Childers, Another Gospel, Anti-Christian Ideas, Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christian Parents, Christianity, Culture
By Alisa Childers When my daughter Dyllan was a toddler, I exercised quite regularly at the YMCA. (And by “exercised,” I mean that I read a book on the stationary bike and pedaled as slowly as possible while I enjoyed an hour of free childcare. Not gonna lie.) One day when I picked her up from the kid’s room, the childcare worker pulled out the unopened granola bar I had put in Dyllan’s bag, handed it to me, and said, “We can’t give this to her because it contains peanuts. We don’t allow anything with peanuts into the childcare area.” I admit I was a bit surprised because it wasn’t something I had given much thought to. But I quickly learned that there was almost nothing parents feared more in…
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Evolutionary Theory as Magical Thinking

ancient Greeks, Argument from Pique, Aristotelian tradition, atomists, automatism, Baruch Spinoza, bio-logic, Charles Darwin, Christian de Duve, Christianity, Darwin and the Victorian Crisis of Faith (series), Darwin’s Unfinished Business, Erasmus Darwin, Evolution, Faith & Science, freethinking, Life Sciences, logos, magical thinking, moral sensibility, nous, philosophers, Simon Powell, supernatural, Thomas Malthus
Charles Darwin himself exemplified the Argument from Pique, alluded to in past entries in this series, to a tee. Source
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A Myth Come True

Apologetics, Bob Perry, C.S. Lewis, Christianity, Christians, Historicity of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Christ, myth, Skeptics, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, True Horizon, truth
By Bob Perry If you’re anything like me, you probably associate the word “myth” with an ancient fairy tale. The Greek and Roman pantheon of gods comes to mind — magical spells, curses, and multi-headed monsters. But myths are more than just old-fashioned fantasies. They serve a purpose. They appeal to our collective imaginations. Myths may be fantastical but, as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary puts it, they “serve to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon.” They are archetypal stories that help us make sense of the world in which we find ourselves. In other words, there is a connection between myth and reality. The Power of a Story C.S. Lewis grew up a voracious reader. In 1916, while waiting for a train…
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Neil Thomas Takes on Epicurus and the Logical Positivists

agnosticism, Christianity, cosmic fine-tuning, Darwinism, Epicurus, Evolution, Faith & Science, Hank Hanegraaff, history, ID The Future, Intelligent Design, logical positivism, Neil Thomas, nihilism, Orthodox Christians, philosophy, Podcast, rationalists, Richard Dawkins, Taking Leave of Darwin, theism
Hanegraaff and Thomas provide a model of how two men with differing positions on Christianity can challenge each other while remaining cordial. Source
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