The least pleasant part of a pastor’s job is Titus 1:9, “to refute those who contradict”. But when I think of all those who have loved me enough to warn me, I’m deeply thankful. I shudder to think where I’d be if they had not done so (Jam 5:19-20; Prov....
Environmentalism has risen to the status of a religion, calling all to believe in its dogma, and obey its commands. Many professing Christians have added their voices to this number, claiming that ‘the kingdom’ includes embracing the environmental agenda. Global warming advocates have raised the temperature of the rhetoric by...
In a country with such a racially-charged history, very little discussion of contentious issues can go on without someone bringing up racism as a motive. Racism is by no means something that died with apartheid, nor is it something that one ‘race’ has the monopoly on. How should Christians think...
The Idea of “Just” War Christians have long held that most wars are immoral and unjustifiable, but that some wars are morally acceptable, legitimate or “just.” The following must be true for a war to be just: • The cause must be just. Aggression, revenge, economic gain or the taking...
When it comes to nations waging war on one another, Christians have advocated three positions. Activism: It is always correct to support or fight in a war waged by one’s government. Arguments: – Government has been ordained by God, and we are to submit to it (1 Pet 2:13-14, Rom...
To understand where Christianity and ‘science’ contradict, we must take the time to rightly define science…(continued) 7) It was Christianity’s assumption that the world functioned according to the orderliness of a Creator’s commands that led to the science of Isaac Newton and others. The scientific method did not develop in...
It’s common to hear people accuse Christianity of being ‘anti-science’, or to hear about the war between ‘religion and science’. In recent years, certain prominent atheists have claimed that reason and science are at odds with religion, which they class as superstition. Is there a genuine conflict between science and...
Factors that deliver a nation from tyranny or anarchy: … (continued) 4. Adequate power of government a) Governments must have enough power to maintain their own stability. =a “lack of centralization” in a government leads to disorder and poverty. The Bible recognizes the evil that results when there is no...
The Reason for Government The civil authority “is God’s servant for your good” (Rom 13:4). Government is meant to protect its citizens from certain evils. In the NT believers are invited to pray for their government officials so that they will be protected (1 Tim 2:2). 1. Protection against crime...
Corporal punishment has largely been outlawed in most public institutions: police forces or schools. As the cultural momentum moves away from retributive justice (death penalty) to reformatory justice (prisons/ ‘correctional facilities’), spanking is now viewed as an act of brutality, a vengeful and abusive form of correction. Increasingly, governments are...