The biblical and theological issues of predestination and election are a stumbling block to some folks. I have had various Christians, including not a few Catholics, say that they just cannot believe in these things. Sadly, this is normally because
I just penned a piece on women and head coverings, and mentioned that this was part of a much larger debate over the role of women in leadership positions. I mentioned that I had not yet written any direct articles
I could have entitled this article, “Do Christian women today need to wear head coverings?” For that in good measure is what this particular passage addresses. But a simple yes or no answer is not so readily forthcoming, as I
In this passage of Scripture we read about a deceiving spirit sent by God via false prophets to the wicked king Ahab. The major context is 1 Kings 21-22. But the more immediate context is 1 Kings 22:19-25 which reads:
Sadly some Christians have a very low view of art, and in good measure this is due to a faulty understanding and application of the Second Commandment. The prohibition against graven images has been wrongly interpreted and as a result
Around the time of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was asked if God was on his side. His response is a classic: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be
This passage can seem to be rather jarring. That is, it does not appear to fit in with what we know about basic Christian teaching. The passage in question, Matthew 24:36, has Jesus saying this: “But about that day or
It never ceases to amaze me when I hear Christians giving God advice: telling him what he is allowed to do or say. They have put God in the dock and want him to fall in line with their fallen
In Part One of this article I offered around a hundred Bible passages which speak about God hating certain things and certain people, and how his people can also follow him in this. The biblical material on this is pretty
There are so many memorable passages in Scripture, but they can be misused and abused if not handled correctly. Jeremiah 29:11 is one such passage. It is not really a difficult passage to understand, provided it is read in context.
Plenty of debate actually arises over the issue of the monarchy in ancient Israel. Especially when we see imperial presidencies like Obama’s in America (Trump’s could well be the same if he gets in), Christians are now talking a lot
These two rather similar verses are not so much difficult passages as ones that can be easily misused. I have had people tell me for example that if we all just adhered to these passages, everything would be good, and
The main difficulty with this passage is that it is another text which has been utterly mangled by those who seem to delight in twisting God’s word for their own (often evil) ends. The ability of people to distort and
In Leviticus 10:1-3 we find the story of the death of Nadab and Abihu, which is puzzling and troubling to many contemporary believers. God struck these priests down for offering “strange fire” as the KJV puts it. The difficulty here
Whenever Scripture discusses end times scenarios we must take great care. Much of the apocalyptic genre as found in Daniel and Revelation can be laden with mysterious symbolism and so on which can be difficult to accurately interpret.
OK, now you may think I have gone off the deep end: speaking on things that mere mortals must tread so very carefully on. No, I have not gone into a last days’ madness mode, and no, I do not
Is this in fact a difficult passage? Well, not so much – the difficulty arises when it is rather misused and abused by various believers today. The difficulty arises, as usual, when context is ignored and the passage is used
One good test to decide if we really are sons and daughters of the Living God is if we share his heart on important issues. The true child of God will of course think as God thinks and even feel
The main difficulty about the last portion of this verse is pretty evident: Jesus tells us here not to do something which is done repeatedly in Scripture, and even often done by Jesus himself. This threefold warning found here has
One of the most famous and most often recited passages from the Old Testament is 2 Chronicles 7:14. Most Christians know it well and mention it often. It says: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble