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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Who is the Leading Person of Interest?

A Person of Interest, Apologetics, Christianity, Christians, Frank Turek, history, J. Warner Wallace, Jesus, Jesus between other religions, Jesus Christ, Jesus Is God, Religions, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Why Jesus still matters today, Why to believe in Jesus
Why are murders so interesting to us?  Some of the most popular podcasts, videos, and news headlines are about high-profile homicides.  We are often consumed with the primary suspect the cops often call “the person of interest.”  Right now, the headlines are obsessed with Brian Laundrie?  Where is he?  Did he do it?  If so, why?  And will he get justice? Unfortunately, over the long run, the person of interest is usually remembered much more than his victims. We remember names like Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer, and Ted Bundy, but we usually forget those they killed. But what if there is one huge exception to that typical outcome?  What if the most remembered and influential name in human history isn’t a villain but actually a murder victim himself? Cold-Case Homicide…
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Did Religion Evolve, or Was It Designed, to Foster Cooperation?

Aboriginal Australians, Agricultural Revolution, Catholics, Crusades, dead ends, designer, Faith & Science, Fiction, group cohesion, hospital, Human Origins, Jesus, myths, religion, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, selfish genes, shared beliefs, strangers, unguided evolution, Yuval Noah Harari
Harari’s assurance about building group cohesion is simplistic and woefully insufficient to account for common characteristics of religion. Source
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Was Jesus a Jerk? A Response to the Friendly Atheist

Apologetics, Christianity, Erik Manning, IsJesusAlive, Jesus, New Testament, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Erik Manning A few weeks ago, CNN Tonight host Don Lemon said: “But here’s the thing, Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe in Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on the Earth. So why are we deifying the Founders?” As you can imagine, this caused quite a stir over social media and on the blogs, since the Bible clearly teaches Christ’s sinless perfection. While a few right-wing Christian leaders went a little overboard in their denouncements of Lemon,  “The Friendly Atheist” took it as an opportunity to take some jabs at Jesus.  Hemant Mehta, the author of the blog, writes:  “Let’s talk about what Jesus did. * Jesus once got so angry he flipped over tables and benches. * Jesus cursed a fig tree…
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Battling a Disease More Infectious & Deadly Than COVID-19

Adam Tucker, COVID-19, Cross, Cure, disease, Gospel, Infectious Disease, Jesus, Sin, Southern Evangelical Seminary, Theology and Christian Apologetics
As hundreds of thousands of people battle COVID-19 following thousands of deaths, lockdowns, and much fear, the world eagerly awaits a proven treatment plan to cure this dreaded virus. I’m sure many of you, like me, often pray for wisdom and protection for those on the frontlines battling this invisible foe. But there is another invisible enemy, one more formidable than COVID-19, that has wreaked havoc on millions of lives for centuries. This unseen tyrant takes many forms and can often be hard to detect. We are all susceptible to this disease, and without the proper precautions, anyone can fall victim. Sadly, the aftermath of this nemesis is often very visible, making it seem as though it is much more foreboding than it actually is. No, it’s not another novel…
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How Jesus “Emptied Himself”

Apologetics, Christianity, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Deity, JesusIsNotFakeNews, Ryan Leasure, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Ryan Leasure Few biblical texts receive as much attention as Philippians 2:5-8. It reads: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Theologians have spilt much ink over this text. After all, it’s a rich Christological text which proclaims significant truths about the nature of Christ. But far and away, the most controversial part is the phrase “but emptied himself.” What does this statement mean? The Dilemma Does this mean that Jesus…
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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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Have You Thought About Marriage Lately?

Bible, Bob Perry, Bride, Bridegroom, Church, Covenant, Culture, Eternal Life, Familiy, Husbands, Jesus, marriage, The Grand Story, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, True Horizon, Wedding, Wives
By Bob Perry Have you spent much time thinking about marriage lately? You should. It doesn’t matter if a wedding is something in your future or in your past. It doesn’t even matter if you have no intention of ever getting married. The fact is that the institution of marriage is important to us all. Our culture has devalued it in many ways, but marriage is the foundation of a healthy society. For that reason, we all ought to contemplate the true meaning and value of marriage. An Honor And A Privilege My wife and I have been happily married for 33 years. When you’ve done anything for that long, it’s easy to think you have it all figured out. But in July, my son and his fiancé asked me to perform…
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What, Me Worry?

Al Serrato, Apologetics, Christianity, Culture, Doubts, God, Gospel, Jesus, Question, salvation, Security, Sin, soul, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Al Serrato Alfred E. Neumann, the famous face of Mad Magazine for many decades, popularized this slogan. While he wasn’t referring to the question of salvation, this saying does seem to describe the way many people view that question today. Yes, there may be a God; they will concede. But “I’m not worried,” they say. “I’m a good person, after all, and God will judge me accordingly.” In my last post, I considered one of the ways to address this modern mindset, by making the point that expecting God to grade on a curve may not be a smart bet. This time, I’d like to explore a different approach, by examining what people mean when they say they are “good” and why a God they never bothered to get…
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Does Paul’s Silence About Jesus Prove That He Didn’t Exist?

Apologetics, Christianity, Erik Manning, Evidence, God, IsJesusAlive, Jesus, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Paul, Paul's Testimony, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
By Erik Manning Over 99% of historical scholarship acknowledges that Jesus was a real person. It doesn’t matter if that scholar is liberal or conservative, or Christian, atheist, agnostic or Jewish. The <1% of historians that believe Jesus is a myth are mostly atheists or agnostics. And it’s only the ‘internet infidel’ crowd that takes their arguments seriously. One of the arguments that Jesus mythicists will often push is that Paul was mostly silent about the historical Jesus. Here’s GA Wells, one of the minority voices, who writes: “Paul’s letters have no allusion to the parents of Jesus, let alone to the virgin birth. They never refer to a place of birth…. They give no indication of the time or place of his earthly existence. They do not refer to…
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