Who Does God Say That I Am?

anthropology, Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, Humanism, image of God, John Ferrer, Theology and Christian Apologetics, theology of man
Who Do We Say We Are? Have you ever met someone who thinks too highly of themselves? Of course you have. At some time or another, everyone thinks too highly of themselves. We live in a self-absorbed, screen-addicted, narcissistic age. And with all our time in front of screens, it’s a lot like a mirror. Staring into the internet abyss, eventually we see ourselves, like the proverbial Narcissus, staring back at us with a smirk. Obviously, we could all reduce our screen time, but that’s just one example of a larger problem. The bigger problem is: how do we communicate biblical encouragement about our identity when people tend to think they’re pretty amazing already? This is the plight we’re facing. People in general are not suffering from vanishingly low self-esteem.…
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A Summary of The Problem of Evil for Atheists

2. Does God Exist?, Apologetics, Christianity, ConvincingProof.org, evidential argument from evil., Gospel, John Trapasso, logical problem of evil, Problem of Evil, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Yujin Nagasawa
Yujin Nagasawa’s The Problem of Evil for Atheists seeks to transform the debate on the problem of evil by demonstrating that this topic poses a significant challenge to almost all worldviews—not just traditional theism. In addition, Nagasawa claims traditional theists are better equipped to deal with the problem than their competitors. Part 1 begins with a systematic analysis of the problem of evil for traditional theists. Nagasawa shows the general “scheme” of the problem always consists of three essential variables: (I) God, (II) evil, and (III) an allegedly conflicting relationship between (I) and (II). Different versions of the problem of evil for theism can be created by tweaking variables (II) and (III). For (III), the “conflicting relationship” can be considered either as a logical inconsistency or as constituting strong evidence against (I).…
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What About Other Religions?

Apologetics, bellatorchristi.com, Christianity, Exclusivism, Gospel, Inclusivism, Pluralism, religion, religious tolerance, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Tony Williams, World Religions
One of the challenges skeptics like to level at Christianity is the argument that there are hundreds and hundreds of religions in existence. How could you possibly know which one is the right one? Who are Christians to think that they have the right one? No one could possibly sift through all the possibilities. Perhaps it would be helpful to clarify what a religion is, how many religions there are, and how we can know we have the right one. Religion, Defined        In order to have a meaningful conversation about any topic, we must make sure to clarify our terms. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (1), the definition of “religion” would include [some combination of] the following: an organized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices the religious beliefs, observances,…
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6 Reasons Why It’s OK to Judge

Apologetics, Christianity, Discernment, FreeThinkingMinistries.com, judging, Judgmentalism, Peter Rasor, The5MinuteThinker, theology, Theology and Christian Apologetics
“Hey, stop judging me! You can’t judge me and my beliefs!” How many times have we heard something like this? The implication of such an exclamation is clear: someone’s personal beliefs about religion or morality are off limits—they cannot be discerned to be right or wrong. Beliefs are subjective and thus true for some and not others. Such a sentiment fences off one’s beliefs from being analyzed and weighed for validity. But is it true that we should not judge others’ beliefs? Are religious and moral beliefs really just personal opinions? I suggest we all ought to judge people and their beliefs, and it’s o.k. Really. Here are six reasons why. A real world exists For one thing, a real world exists outside one’s own perceptions. If you disagree, just…
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Are We Living in Satan’s “Short Time” that is Mentioned in Revelation 20:3?

Apologetics, Christianity, Clar Moghadam, ConvincingProof.org, end times, eschatology, Gospel, Postmillenialism, Revelation 20:3, Theology and Christian Apologetics
[Editor’s Note: Crossexamined takes no specific position on end times theology except for what historic Christianity requires: future judgment, Christ’s return, resurrection, heaven, hell, and the inspiration of Scripture. Among the leading schools of thought are: premillenialism, postmillennialism, and amillenialism. This blog post, from ConvincingProof.org, reflects a postmillennial position – wherein Christ’s return will be after the “millennium” which they understand to be a non-literal reference to “a long time.” Postmillennialists often teach that there is or will be a blossoming “golden age” leading up to Christ’s return, and some include Christian Nationalism as part of that golden age (ex., Doug Wilson)] Question: “I have been studying Postmillennialism and have held firmly to this position for some time now. However, I have recently come across an eschatological position that has…
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The Anatomy of Deconversion

Anatomy of Deconversion, Apologetics, apostasy, Christianity, Deconstruction, discipleship, Doubt, Evangelism, Gospel, John Marriott, JonathanMclatchie.com, Theology and Christian Apologetics
For many years, I have had a fascination for the reasons why people deconvert from the Christian faith. I have, without exaggeration, viewed many hundreds of deconversion testimonies on YouTube, purchased and read books by deconverts, followed the blogs of deconverts, and personally interacted with many who have either given up their Christian faith or are considering doing so. I was therefore interested to pick up The Anatomy of Deconversion: Keys to a Lifelong Faith in a Culture Abandoning Christianity, by John Marriott, a professor of philosophy at Biola University. [1] Marriott’s doctoral dissertation focused on the subject of deconversion, so he is certainly well qualified to speak about the issue at hand. In this book review, I will offer a summary of the research conducted by Marriott (outlined in the first…
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Where Do You Go When Your Child Asks a PhD Level Question?

Apologetics, Christianity, Doubt, Family Apologetics, Gospel, Hillary Ferrer, Jonathan McLatchie, MamaBearApologetics.com, moms, Relational Apologetics, TalkAboutDoubts.com, Theology and Christian Apologetics, tough conversations
[Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted at MamaBearApologetics, so its tone and original audience and intent are for moms ministering to their children. That said, the content applies to all sorts of discipleship settings – pastors, parents, teachers, and more]. We all know those conversations are coming. Whether it’s from your college freshman, agnostic uncle, deconstructing niece, or a seasoned atheist brother-in-law, you’re dreading that conversation. You may feel intimidated or just ill-equipped. But guess what!? You are not alone! Too many of us are under the misconception that we have to have the answers for every question, every challenge to Christianity that could come our way. But not having the answer doesn’t mean you have failed, and it doesn’t mean that the answer isn’t out there. We are…
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Nine Clarifications Before Critiquing Old Testament Slavery

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, Is God Good? Biblical Ethics, Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Old Testament, Sean Redfearn, slavery, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Slavery in the Old Testament is a favourite topic among critics who wish to denigrate the moral character of the God of Israel. In my experience, critics will predominantly cite Exodus 21:20-21 or Leviticus 25:44-46 to appeal to a notion of horrendous oppression towards foreign slaves within the nation of ancient Israel – even though there are, by my count, at least 20 other passages in the Torah that are relevant to having a well-informed conversation on the topic. Still, the above two passages need to be engaged with, and I refer readers to a host of excellent resources that respond to the claim that the Old Testament endorses chattel slavery.[1] What do you mean by Old Testament slavery? In this article, I wish to propose a simple tactic for…
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4 Rebuttals to the Muslim Case Against Christianity

4. Is the NT True?, Apologetics, Christianity, christology, debate, Gospel, Islam, Jason Jimenez, Jesus, StandStrongMinistries.Org, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Trinity
What if someone boldly claimed that Jesus himself said He wasn’t God? How would you tackle this intriguing challenge? Let’s dive into this thought-provoking dilemma together. Recently, a viral video titled “Christianity DEBUNKED in Less Than 1 Minute” sparked this very debate presented by a Muslim named Hamza. Essentially, here’s how Hamza frames his argument: If the Father is the only true God, then Jesus cannot be God. If Jesus is God, he must be lying about the Father being the only true God. If Jesus is lying, he cannot be God. Therefore, Jesus debunks Christianity. In this article, I will present four rebuttals to Hamza’s case concerning John 17:3. These responses aim to provide a solid counterargument while offering a reasonable defense and explanation of the divinity of Jesus…
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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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