Struggling with Prayer? 5 Reasons You Lack the Desire to Pray (and How to Overcome Them!)

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, https://smartfaith.me, Miguel Rodriguez, Prayer, Theology and Christian Apologetics, unanswered prayer
Have you ever felt like prayer is as elusive as losing weight or getting in shape? You know it’s good for you, you know you should do it, but somehow the motivation to bend your knees, clasp your hands, and close your eyes is as elusive as Waldo. Frustrating, isn’t it? But here’s the thing: You already know how to pray. You could stop reading right now and start praying. It’s that simple. So why are you here? It’s not that you don’t know how to pray. It’s that you don’t want to pray. You’re not alone in feeling this way. In his insightful book, “When You Pray… and Nothing Happens,” Maurice Berquist likened prayer to a man’s shadow.[1] If he runs after it to capture it, it flees. If he runs from it to…
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Who Do You Say That I Am, James Talarico? Part I: Two Key Reasons Why Talarico Has Missed the Divine Jesus

Apologetics, Christianity, christology, Deity of Christ, Gospel, James Talarico, Jesus, Ryan M. Crews, Son of God, Son of Man, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Series Introduction: James Talarico is not the first politician to invoke the Christian faith or the Bible to score political points. He is, however, the first I am aware of who has been enrolled in seminary while running for office. Talarico is certainly popular among prospective voters, but he has received significant scrutiny by pastors and academics because of his theological statements. He may be a faithful representative of his denomination, but he has brought the views of that denomination into the limelight due to the widespread publicity of his senatorial race. We do not elect political candidates for their religious beliefs, though we may have reason to support or oppose a candidate when their religious beliefs affect their policy positions. Talarico is a politician and not a pastor, and…
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Be Fruitful and Multiply: A Case Study in Natural and Divine Revelation

alarmism, Apologetics, bellatorchristi.com, Christianity, climate change, family, Genesis 1, Gospel, image of God, population, Stewardship, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tony Williams
My thesis is this: The consequences of defying God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply” are becoming visible in the modern world. I recently heard a pastor say, “Reality is undefeated.” That line captures a powerful apologetic truth: the world God made behaves according to the design God gave. In Christian apologetics, one of the most underused tools is simply pointing to reality: the observable consequences of obeying or rejecting God’s created order. One of the first commands God gave humanity was, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28, ESV). After the flood, God repeated the same mandate to Noah and his sons (Genesis 9:1, 7). The theme continues throughout Scripture as a covenant blessing to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the nation of Israel (Genesis 17:2; 26:4; 28:3; 35:11; Exodus…
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The LDS Can’t Outrun Joseph Smith the Materialist

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, https://drowenanderson.substack.com/, Joseph Smith, Latter Day Saints, LDS, materialism, Mormonism, Owen Anderson, Theology and Christian Apologetics
I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to look into the Mormons or not. I’m here in Arizona, and they tend to enjoy a state just north of me: Utah. I’m not super old, but I’m old enough to remember a few waves of Mormon advertisements, and I’m starting to notice a pattern, or is it a trajectory?  Their current wave is a pivot, if that’s the word I want, away from “we are restoring the church with this third testament we found buried in upstate New York” to “we’re evangelicals with a fun little twist about marriage.” Mormon apologist Jacob Hansen represents this new approach among the LDS in trying to become just one of the guys on the Christian theology social media pages. For some time now,…
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The Horrors of Euthanasia and the Problem of Suffering

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, bioethics, Christian Worldview, Christianity, euthanasia, Gospel, meaning of life, meaninglessness, problem of suffering, Secularism, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Thomas Moller, www.FreeThinkingministries
As I’m writing this blog, on March 26, 2016, a young woman by the name of Noelia Castillo Ramos is being euthanized in Spain.[i] Unfortunately, this is nothing new in our Western society. Medically assisted suicide has been legal in Canada for almost 10 years.[ii] Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United States—yes, even the USA in some states—have legalized medically assisted suicide to some degree.[iii] You may wonder, as I did, what circumstances allow for assistance in suicide? In the United States, the law states that only mentally competent and terminally ill patients, whose illness will kill them within six months, allows for assisted suicide. It is fairly similar in Australia and New Zealand. Despite how extreme…
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Did God Give Adam and Eve Enough Information to Make an “Informed Decision”?

Adam, Apologetics, Christianity, Eve, free will, garden of eden, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, MamaBearApologetics.com, morality, original sin, Theology and Christian Apologetics
In my previous post, I partially answered the question, “Why did God create the tree in the first place?” This question is a big one for little minds to wrap themselves around. For a child, creating the tree in the first place sounds like God was just asking for trouble. For the hardened skeptic, it sounds like God tricked us into needing a Savior by creating the means for us to sin in the first place. I argued in my previous post that this objection does not hold true when you examine it in the context of a loving relationship. For both love and relationship to exist, there must be free-will. For free-will to exist, there must be legitimate means to choose otherwise. God made it as easy as possible for…
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Why did God Create the Tree in the First Place?

Adam & Eve, Apologetics, Christianity, Genesis 3, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, MamaBearApologetics.com, original sin, Sin, Temptation, Theology and Christian Apologetics
A few weeks ago, our church’s 3rd-5th graders were learning about the creation story from Genesis, and I was brought in to the planning process to help address common science misconceptions that the kids will encounter as they get older. (i.e. “Science can disprove God,” “Natural processes alone can produce design,” or “Science uses facts, religion uses faith.”) After completing the unit, the kids were given the opportunity to submit questions about the creation story, so today I went back to answer them. Some questions were simple like, “Why did God create animals and not just people?” Other questions were more theologically gritty, and required longer explanations. One in particular was, “Why did God create the tree in the first place?” (Another student asked “Why couldn’t Adam and Eve eat the…
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If I Were a Mormon: A More Coherent View of God

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, Christianity, God, Gospel, Molinism, Mormonism, Philosophical Theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Theology Proper, Tim Stratton, Who is God?, www.FreeThinkingMinistries.com
Over the past several years—especially since 2018—I’ve made multiple trips to Utah every year. I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve been out there, but it’s starting to feel like a second home. I can understand why Brigham Young reportedly said, “This is the place.” It’s beautiful. One of the things I appreciate most about Utah is the culture of open conversation. In many places, people are told to avoid discussing politics or religion. But that’s not the case in Utah. From a young age, Utahns are encouraged to think about what they believe—and to share it with others (often culminating in a two-year mission going door to door). That creates an extremely unique environment where meaningful conversations can actually happen. Because of this culture, those who reject…
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Dialogue and Christian Apologetics: A Biblical-Theological Overview

Apologetics, bellatorchristi.com, Christianity, dialogue, Evangelism Categories: Theology and Christian Apologetics, Gospel, Leo Percer, Practical Apologetics, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Christian apologetics is often understood as the task of defending the faith—giving reasons why believing in Christ is rational, true, and worthy of commitment. Scripture itself urges believers to be “ready to give an answer” for the hope that is in them (1 Pet. 3:15). Yet the Bible presents this defense not merely as the delivery of arguments, but as something that takes place within dialogue: real conversations with real people. A biblical-theological view shows that dialogue is not a compromise of apologetics, but one of its essential forms. The Pattern    From the start, God’s revelation to humanity unfolds in a dialogical way. God speaks, humans respond; God questions, humans answer; God rebukes, invites, and restores. This pattern reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. Jesus rarely preached…
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Advice to Young Aspiring Apologists

Apologetics, Christianity, Evangelism, Gospel, Jonathan McLatchie.com, ministry, Practical Apologetics, Theology and Christian Apologetics
David Wood recently posted an excellent video featuring a series of short interview clips with various apologists (Douglas Groothuis, Gary Habermas, Craig Hazen, Mike Licona, Nabeel Qureshi, Mary Jo Sharp, and Frank Turek) on advice to future apologists. As one who is of the younger generation myself (I am almost 27)[1], and who has been active in the public apologetics arena from relatively young (from around 20 years of age) I have some experience to speak of when it comes to being a young defender of the Christian faith. In this article, I want to address those who are young, perhaps in their late teens or in their 20’s, and who aspire to do public work in apologetics. In particular, I want to reflect on my observations over the past six or…
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