Moloch: Bruised but not Defeated

abortion, Apologetics, Bible, Culture, Culture CrossExamined, Free Thinking Ministries, Josh Klein, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Moloch, Old Testament, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Josh Klein For decades our country has been mired by a decision that enshrined the sacrifice of human babies to the god of Moloch (also known as Molech). You might know this practice by its current moniker, abortion, but the practice is essentially the same. Sacrificing our children on the altar of prosperity is a tail as old as human civilization. Instead of molten hands the altar is often a Planned Parenthood operating table. We have chosen, as a nation, to ignore the obvious humanity of the infant in utero and have embraced the lie that sex is a right but having children as a result is anathema.  That is, unless you want the baby. In 1973, possibly the worst decision in the history of the Supreme Court was…
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Why Good Friday is the Best News Ever

Bible, Crucifixion, Culture CrossExamined, Frank Turek, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Resurrection, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Frank Turek Despite intense personal and political division, we all agree on one thing: something is terribly wrong with this world.  Pain, suffering, injustice, and death affect us all at some point because we live in a broken world.  And we live in a broken world because we are all personally broken. Who hasn’t committed any moral wrongs? (If you claim you haven’t, you just committed a moral wrong—lying!)  The truth is we are all fallen.  While we hate the evil done by others, we rarely notice the evil we do. We may call our political opponents hypocrites, but we don’t even live up to our own standards much less God’s.  None of us are perfect.  We are all guilty of something. It’s only when we admit our guilt…
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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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Part 1: Unspeakable Pain

adult children, Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, faith, Jason Jimenez, Millennials, Stand Strong Ministries, theology
By Jason Jimenez This article is adapted from Jason’s book Abandoned Faith. Many millennials have said that although they were raised in a Christian home, Christianity was never at the core of everything they did. I remember one college student tell me, “I think the only reason my parents go to church is to feel better about themselves.” Another said, “The only time we learned about the Bible was when we went to church.” Millennials are saying the gospel was not at the center of their home. Millennials may have received a degree of faith from mom or dad, but it wasn’t enough for them to see the value and importance faith has in their own lives. This is a painful reality for parents. Painful because their millennials are right. Faith went…
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The Fast But Quiet Creeping of Everyday Cancel Culture: 3 Things Christians Need to Know

Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, cancel culture, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Inclusion, Natasha Crain, Shipwright, tolerance, Tripwire
By Natasha Crain Last month, the CEO of video game maker Tripwire Interactive was made to step down from his job just 53 hours after he tweeted support for the new Texas abortion law (which banned abortion after the baby’s heartbeat can be detected). Here’s the offensive tweet that apparently warranted the loss of his job: “Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer.” That’s it. That’s it. He merely stated his view that he supports protecting unborn babies from being killed. But having a different view was too much…
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Confronting Homosexuality in a Culture of Identity (Part 3)

Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, Culture CrossExamined, Free Thinking Ministries, Homosexuality, Josh Klein, Sin, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Josh Klein As we enter into the final section of critiquing the objections to the orthodox view of homosexual activity as a sin, it is important to note, again, why I am spending such a significant amount of time on these particular points.  The rallying cry for the liberal theologian has been grace, mercy and love, but as I established in part one (HERE), I believe that true grace, mercy and love must be based on the Truth established in God’s word. In order to have proper compassion we can not entertain falsehood. We intrinsically know this to be true.  If your child believes with all his heart that he can fly and climbs to the top of your house to prove it do you let him jump because it is…
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Before You Hit Send by Emerson Eggerichs- Audio Book Highlight

Apologetics, Before You Hit Send, Book review, Christian Audio, Christianity, Conversations, Culture CrossExamined, Emmerson Eggerichs, Faithful Thinkers, Luke Nix, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Luke Nix Introduction If you consume a large portion of your material through audio, it is hard to get past a good deal on an excellent audio book. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection, and you can usually pick up these great audio resources for $7.49. The time has come for the first sale of 2021 (and beyond), so I will be highlighting some of my favorite audio books. I’ll include a few of my favorite quotes from the books, my recommendation from my chapter-by-chapter reviews, links to posts that were inspired by the books, and, of course, I will include links to the audio book deal throughout the article. Today, I am highlighting Before You Hit Send: Preventing Headache and Heartache by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. Before…
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Confronting Homosexuality in a Culture of Identity (Part 2)

Apologetics, Bible, Christianity, Christians, Culture, Culture CrossExamined, FreeThinking Ministries, God, Homosexuality, Jesus, Josh Klein, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, morality, theology
By Josh Klein    Previously, we looked at the dichotomy between what it means to declare homosexual activity a sin and how those who believe in Christian orthodoxy deal with it.  We addressed the current cultural movement’s roots and introduced the idea of identity into the argument. It was necessary to do this so that we can have a strong foundation from which to build the following arguments.  We must first know why the liberal theologians seek to glorify homosexuality as an identity to understand why the interpretation of scripture has shifted from condemning obvious sinful behavior to condoning that very same behavior. If you have not read part one you can do so by clicking here. The goal of the believer should not be to convince the unbeliever of individual sins, such…
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How Should The Church Engage Those With Same-Sex Attraction Or Gender Dysphoria?

Apologetics, Christianity, Christians, Church, Culture CrossExamined, Gender Dysphoria, JesusIsNotFakeNews, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Ryan Leasure, Same-Sex Attraction, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure How should the church engage those who experience same-sex attraction or gender dysphoria? In response, I want to highlight seven basic principles that the church must embrace. Affirm The Divine Image Genesis 1 is clear that everyone, without qualification, is made in God’s’s image. That is to say; whether someone is attracted to the opposite sex or the same sex, they are equally image-bearers of God. The same goes for individuals who experience gender dysphoria. One’s’s feelings or attractions in no way mitigates against this universal status. As Christians, we should enthusiastically embrace this truth. Nobody — not the government, the church, or anyone else — can bestow a higher status on each person than God already has. Moreover, not only did God create all people in his…
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The Best Kind of Love

Apologetics, christ, Christianity, Culture CrossExamined, Free Thinking Ministries, free will, God, Gospel, If God why Evil, Jesus, Love, the problem of evil, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tim Stratton
By Tim Stratton Question: Dear Dr. Stratton, In your interview with Jorge Gil on Cross Examined’s Hope One, you attempted to answer “all the problems of evil” by appealing to love. In fact, you said that “the best kind of love requires libertarian free will.”  Surely this is false, for I can think of a counter-example that clearly shows this to be false. After all, the members of the Trinity are the epitome of perfect love and they do not have libertarian free will. They cannot do otherwise. They must love by necessity. So how can “the best kind of love” require libertarian free will? – Phillip Tim’s Response I am thankful for your question, Phillip! When I read it I could have kicked myself for not providing this vital clarification…
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