Christianity Archives

May 13, 2024May 12, 2024

Biblical Wisdom on Anger

“Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” That’s the advice Paul gives in Ephesians 4:26, and it’s good advice. Recent research offers new meaning to that biblical wisdom on anger. Paul goes on to write, “…and give no opportunity to the devil.” Jesus said concerning the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Anger is one more method the devil uses to murder us.

A team of researchers set out to “examine the acute effects of provoked anger…on endothelial cell health.” Endothelial cells line the interior of the body’s blood vessels and play an essential role in blood flow and blood pressure. Previous research had shown that in the hour before a heart attack, people were more than twice as likely to have experienced anger or emotional upset compared to the same time the previous day.

In this new research, the team recruited 280 healthy adults and put them through an eight-minute anger recall test. They monitored blood samples, blood pressure, and the capacity of blood vessels to dilate. That dilation ability is essential for heart health. Research links lower dilation to a higher chance of heart attacks.

After eight minutes of thinking and speaking about a recent experience that made them angry, the test subjects had reduced blood vessel dilation capacity for forty minutes. If eight minutes of recalling and describing an anger experience can result in forty minutes of reduced blood-vessel capacity, what might be the effect of ruminating on anger to the end of the day, overnight, or even longer? This research gives new reasons for releasing your anger before sunset.

Biblical wisdom on anger gives more evidence for the accuracy of God’s Word.

References: Microsoft News, and Journal of the American Heart Association

May 10, 2024May 7, 2024

Mother’s Day and Motherhood

In 16th century England, a celebration called “Mothering Sunday” was the time for a special dinner in honor of the mother of the children in the family. The American celebration began in 1905 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign for a national day to honor all mothers. On May 10, 1908, a Mother’s Day service was held at a church in Grafton, West Virginia, where the mother of Ms. Jarvis had taught. Then, in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

The Bible holds mothers in high esteem. Exodus 21:15-17 prescribes the death penalty for hitting or cursing one’s mother. In Deuteronomy 21:18-21, stoning is the penalty for refusing to obey one’s mother. Jesus demonstrated the importance of caring for mothers by assigning His mother’s care to John, one of the last things He did while hanging on the cross (John 19:25-27).

Mother’s Day is essential because American society has denigrated the importance of being a m o ther. In American culture, success for women is measured by achieving status in the business or educational community. Caring for children is assigned to daycare centers, and having children is a minor part of a woman’s overall role.

Those of us who teach in the public schools have seen the consequences of denigrating motherhood. I was called to the principal’s office for a parent conference concerning a discipline problem with a young man in my class. His mother came into the conference wearing a business suit and serving notice that she needed to attend an important conference at work, so our meeting must be brief. When the mother heard about the problems some teachers were having with her son, she stood up and yelled at him. Before storming out of the room, she told him that she hated him and wished he had never been born.

I saw tears rolling down the young man’s cheeks. He looked at me and said, “Why doesn’t she love me?” All I could say was that I wanted him to know I loved and cared for him and wanted to help him. I had a special relationship with this student, but his story is repeated over and over in America. Gangs exist and grow because they fill in the hole left in the lives of many young people who lack parental love and support.

There is nothing a woman can do with her life that is more important or meaningful than being a mother. I am glad Mother’s Day gives us at least one day a year when we honor the great women who are the builders of the fabric that makes our lives good and our country great.

Historical data from Old Farmer’s Almanac/A l manac.com

May 7, 2024May 5, 2024

We Need Human Touch

What is the benefit of a hug or a handshake? Researchers in Germany and the Netherlands compiled data from 137 studies involving 13,000 people of all ages. Their research showed significant benefits to those who are regularly touched by others. In other words, we need human touch.

This is not a sexual issue, but touch provides physical and, to a greater extent, mental health benefits. The data shows that the benefits apply to newborns, older people, people with dementia, people struggling with stress, and people who have problems controlling their aggression. Women benefit more than men, and those who are sick or in pain benefit more than those who are healthy.

The New Testament encourages the followers of Jesus to engage in a social practice of that day that involved touching. In Luke 7:45, Jesus pointed out that the host, who was a Pharisee, had not given a warm greeting, but He said a woman in need “has not ceased to kiss my feet.” In Romans 16:16, Paul urges Christians to “greet one another with a sacred kiss.” That instruction is repeated in 1 Corinthians 16:20, 2 Corinthians 13:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:26, 1 Peter 5:14, Luke 15:20, and Acts 20:37. The hug we give one another in times of pain, loss, or separation has real value.

We need human touch, but the study showed that the regularity of touching is more important than the duration. Consensual hugs, kisses, or massages have many mental and physical health benefits. Babies do better when touched by their parents, and the positive effects are more noticeable in premature babies. Adults struggling with illness showed more significant mental health benefits from touch than healthy people in this study.

A hug is a major way of expressing affection and closeness to someone, but even a handshake does wonders for participants. Those who have been abused may not accept a hug well, but a handshake is free of cultural bias or sexual connotation. Our society has gotten so obsessed with sexual abuse and the perception of personal rights that we have thrown the baby out with the bath. We need human touch, and that is a need the Church can help to meet.

Reference: “A systematic review and multivariate meta-analysis of the physical and mental health benefits of touch interventions” in Nature Human Behaviour, April 8, 2024

May 6, 2024May 6, 2024

Is Consciousness an Illusion?

Is consciousness an illusion, or is it real? Philosopher Rene Descartes insisted that consciousness was the only undeniable fact of our existence. He is known for the phrase, “I think, therefore, I am” (cogito, ergo sum). Daniel Dennett was an analytic philosopher who, until his death on April 19, 2024, spent his career suggesting that consciousness is an illusion. He also insisted that God is an illusion, and, in agreement with Richard Dawkins, design in nature is an illusion.

Daniel Dennett was also closely associated with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens as the “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism.” They all wrote best-selling books challenging the existence of God. Dennett was a vocal atheist, a Committee for Skeptical Inquiry member, and served on the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America. He was also awarded the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s board of distinguished achievers.

Dennett believed that evolution by natural selection and adaptation accounts for every aspect of life, including morality. In his book Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon, he attempted to give a naturalistic explanation for religious belief. Is consciousness an illusion? According to Dennett, the answer is “yes.” If you have trouble accepting that concept, Dennett’s 1991 book Consciousness Explained attempted to explain it. His 2017 book From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds expands on Dennett’s concept of “competence without comprehension.”

According to Dennett, the Darwinian theory accounts for all aspects of our existence. No intelligent designer is needed because evolution explains everything. The “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism” alludes to the four horsemen of the apocalypse described in Revelation chapter 6. Those horsemen represent conquest, warfare, famine, and death, bringing judgment on the people of Earth. The four horsemen of atheism are now down to two since the death of Hitchens and now Dennett, but I am sure others will take their place.

What we need today are champions for God who will take the message of God’s love and redemption and peace and hope in Jesus Christ. If consciousness is an illusion, everything is meaningless, but if consciousness is reality, everything changes. Our lives have meaning, purpose, and value because God created and loves us.

May 3, 2024May 2, 2024

Characterizing God as a Vindictive Tyrant

Characterizing God as a vindictive tyrant who wants to send everyone to hell is the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches. God wants everyone to be saved. It would be helpful if writers who condemn Christianity would read and understand the New Testament rather than taking Old Testament passages out of context.

In Matthew 18:12-14, Jesus tells the parable of a shepherd with 100 sheep and one wanders off. The shepherd leaves the 99 and goes after the one that is lost. Christ ends that story by saying, “In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these should be lost.”

In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter writes, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to a change of mind (repentance).”

Many have read John 3:16 without reading verse 17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world.”

Skeptics and some religionists who ask why God doesn’t just save everyone automatically are misunderstanding the purpose of our existence. God created us for a reason, and He gave us a purpose. There is a war going on between good and evil. Despite atheist attempts to deny that evil exists, their claim rings hollow with those who live in the real world.

The impact of evil is clear, and Job 1 & 2, Ephesians 6:12 and 3:10 make the purpose of our existence clear. Only sentient beings can make spiritual choices and be part of the struggle between good and evil. God is not a destroyer, a tyrant, or a bully. Forcing people to embrace His will would only indicate His power. The Bible says, “God is love,” and for that reason, He is allowing time to pass before the creation is dissolved. God wants everyone to be saved and to live in a spiritual existence beyond the grave, but He will not force us to accept His will.

Please reject those who are characterizing God as a vindictive tyrant who takes delight in torturing innocent beings. First Corinthians 1:18 says, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those of us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul tells us that “the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,” so the “light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” cannot shine on them. That explains why they are characterizing God as a vindictive tyrant. Don’t be blinded by the vindictive writing of atheists and skeptics who are agents of destruction of us individually and the United States as a nation.

May 1, 2024April 30, 2024

The War Against Christianity

The war against Christianity has grown in the United States. Here are some examples:

*Fowler United Methodist Church in Annapolis, Maryland, suffered $100,000 in damages. Vandals tore down a wooden cross, shredded Bibles, and slashed upholstery.

*Florida passed a bill to allow public and charter schools to have a chaplain to address student mental health. Opponents called it a vehicle for “Christian nationalism,” and the Satanic Temple indicated it plans to send its chaplains.

*The war against Christianity involves Madison, Wisconsin’s Freedom From Religion Foundation. It has taken out ads in various periodicals calling for the rejection of “Christian nationalism.”

*The “Public Religion Research Institute” reports that 26% of Americans identify themselves as religiously unaffiliated, and 67% of those say they have stopped believing the teaching of their old faith.

*The government continues to issue new rules that violate Christian teachings and precipitate problems for Christian families. One example is the rules prohibiting Christian colleges from having dorms limited to only one sex. Other laws require schools to allow both sexes to use any restroom, resulting in cases where female students complain because males are entering their facilities to “gawk” at them.

Jesus made it clear that His gospel was not political. In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus tells his opponents to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” In Romans 13:1-7, Paul lays down the relationship between Christians and government. He makes positive comments about the role of government and categorizes government as God’s servant. He tells Christians to pay their taxes and show respect and honor to public leaders.

When the government demands immorality or opposes Christian behavior, it seems like a war against Christianity. However, Christians are not called to strike back militarily. The day may come when churches will not have tax exemption, and the government will take over church property. Even then, God’s people will survive and thrive as they did under the pagan Roman government in the first century. There can’t be a war when one side refuses to fight.

We can find comfort in the fact that Jesus said, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come…. You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate one another, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:6-13).

References: USA Today for 4/9/24; The Week for April 12, 2024, page 17; and “Washington Impact Report” from the Family Research Council for April 2024, page 1.

April 19, 2024April 15, 2024

If Religious Books Are Not Widely Circulated

Daniel Webster was an early American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress. He also served as the 14th and 19th U.S. Secretary of State under presidents William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore. Here is a prescient quote from Webster.

“If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, then error will be. If God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendency. If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of this land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.” ― Daniel Webster

Webster’s prediction of what America would be like “if the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of this land” is indeed coming true. We need political leaders today who recognize that.

Reference: Quoted in GoodReads.com

April 16, 2024April 15, 2024

Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena AARO Report

One of the most repeated false media reports is the claim that aliens in spacecraft regularly visit Earth and want to affect human history. In our day of conspiracy theories, there are stories that the United States government has been hiding alien contact. Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick was the director of the U.S. Department of Defense’s All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). Congress charged that agency in 2022 with bringing scientific evidence and clarity to the UFO and UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) mystery.

Dr. Kirkpatrick explained what the AARO found in the April 2024 issue of Scientific American. Here is a brief summary of his report:

#1) There is no record of any president, Department of Defense official, intelligence community leader, or congressional committee knowing about any such conspiracy.
#2) The claims started when “UFOlogist” Robert Bigelow, founder of Bigelow Aerospace, persuaded some senators to call on the Department of Homeland Security to set up an agency to investigate claims.
#3) The people advancing the idea of a government coverup conspiracy are part of a small group, and many of them worked for Bigelow Aerospace.
#4) Dr. Kirkpatrick said of the claims, “Some are misrepresentations; some derive from pure, unsupported beliefs. In many ways, the narrative is a textbook example of circular reporting…”

You can read the report released by Kirkpatrick’s group of qualified scientists, “Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP),” online HERE.

All attempts to tie alien claims to the Bible or alien explanations of history are not supported by evidence or real scientific investigation. We see claims that biblical figures, including Jesus, were aliens and that miracles described in the Bible were the actions of aliens. There is no evidence to support those claims.

The evidence is massive that Jesus lived as the Bible says and that His spiritual promises are real. Our salvation comes from the work of Jesus, and we must study and apply His teachings to our lives. You can see some of that evidence in our videos, including the Beyond Reasonable Doubt series and our correspondence course by the same name. Send us your name and address for the correspondence course, and we will mail you lesson #1 at no cost. You can watch the video series for free on our website, doesgodexist.tv.

Reference: “Observations from a Government UFO Hunter” in Scientific American magazine for April 2024 (pages 67-68)

April 1, 2024March 30, 2024

Clayton Apologetics Reading Room

A recent ceremony at York University in York, Nebraska, dedicated a new facility for students of Christan apologetics. John Clayton accumulated a library of books and materials published by Christians and skeptics over the past fifty years. He was concerned about what to do with his apologetics library and wanted the books, magazines, and pamphlets to be available for reference and study by future students. John donated his entire library to York College where it is now in the Clayton Apologetics Reading Room.

At the ceremony, York vice-president Jared Stark introduced John and revealed that he became a Christian due to one of John’s lectures. John Clayton has been speaking to people in public assemblies for over fifty years, showing evidence for God’s existence. During that time, many lives have been changed as a result of John’s message.

The new Clayton Apologetics Reading Room is adjacent to the Clayton Museum of Ancient History at York University. They are open to the public by appointment. You can watch a video of the dedication statements by Jared Stark and John Clayton on our website, DoesGodExist.tv. Click HERE and then scroll down to see that video and others featuring John Clayton and John Cooper.

March 30, 2024March 27, 2024

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

As Christians remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ, how do we know the story is true? Some unbelievers argue that the resurrection is a myth that arose many years later. The evidence against that idea is numerous and strong. The apostles carried the message of Christ’s resurrection to the ends of the Roman Empire for the rest of their lives, even though they had nothing to gain except a life of persecution ending in execution. They would not have done that unless they had seen the resurrected Christ.

Skeptics have often argued that the gospels were written years later to “prove” the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a myth that developed during those years. However, before any of the four gospels were written, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in A.D. 57. he included an oral tradition that summarizes the gospel message.

In the first century, there were no computers, printed books, or pamphlets, and even simple writing materials were scarce and precious. People memorized important things by summarizing them efficiently and passing them on as oral traditions. The early Christians used that method. Here is the first part of an oral tradition that Paul wrote down in that first letter to the church in Corinth:

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…”

The oral tradition then goes on to list some resurrection appearances of Christ. Then Paul adds himself to the list of those who saw the resurrected Christ. (You can read it for yourself in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.) Of course, the “Scriptures” that Paul refers to are the Old Testament prophecies of Christ since the New Testament was not yet written.

When did Paul receive this tradition? He probably received it no later than A.D. 36 when he first visited Jerusalem. (See Galatians 1:15-18.) He possibly received it earlier than that in Damascus when, as Saul the persecutor, he encountered Ananias and received his sight. Ananias preached the gospel to him, and “Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.” Whether in Jerusalem or Damascus, Paul received the oral tradition of Christ’s resurrection no more than five years after the event. That tradition was not a myth that developed years after eyewitnesses died.

We can trust the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Although we have that oral tradition written down, we would do well to memorize it, as the early Christians did.