Why, God? On the Problem of Evil & Other Questions

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Zach Putthoff

Why did God create man with the ability to sin? I suspect this is a question that you have asked at some point in your life. I know I have. It is a variation of the age-old “problem of evil.” Is there an answer to this question? And how might it apply to other kinds of God-ward questions beginning with “why”?

In his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin gives a very good two-part answer to the question of why God made man with the ability to sin. I thought I’d pass it on to you in this post, as I have found it helpful, and I believe it is relevant to the other why questions of life.… Continue reading

A Christian Perspective On Mass Shootings

Posted on February 21, 2018 by John Chester

In what has become an all too common occurrence I was recently asked to comment on a mass shooting, specifically I was asked what is the cause of the rise in mass shootings and what can be done to mitigate the risk in the future and how should we a Christians think about mass shootings. While I may have some ideas about the why and how of mass shootings, what I can speak definitively about is a Christian perspective on mass shootings. And we find that perspective in Romans 5.

Before we get to Romans 5 I’ll simply say this, I don’t think any conversation that is limited to guns is a serious discussion about why there has been a drastic increase in mass shootings in the U.S.… Continue reading

Holding Fast to What I Was Taught = Inerrancy Reprise

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Greg Peterson

God has been very gracious to me. He mercifully saved my soul at age 8. He then gave me the strength to go to school everyday as a outcast because I loved Christ more than the world. When I was 14yrs old, I had the desire to be in full-time pastoral ministry. After high school, God granted me schooling at Moody Bible Institute to be trained in full-time ministry. When I first arrived, I had dropped the pastoral-desire and instead wanted to pursue sports-ministry (specifically camp ministry). I was unhappy with that major, because it was more about me than about serving Christ and His church.… Continue reading

Lent (part 2) *Reprise

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Andy Snider

In this discussion of Lent I have attempted to answer some of the key objections evangelicals have raised as they observe other evangelicals observing Lent in some form or other. I have argued that Lent is rooted in the essential Christian practices of discipleship, repentance, and church discipline, and it is not inherently an effort to win favor with God or impress other people. There is much more to be said, but rather than attempt to say it all, I will address a few remaining issues and share some of my own experience as a way of inviting others to explore this historic practice.

Lent (part 1) *Reprise

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Andy Snider

Every February as Ash Wednesday approaches there is a surge of angst among some evangelicals: should we observe the season of Lent? To be sure, many have made up their minds regarding this question, and they also speak up at this same time. So the resolute detractors and the enthusiastic supporters lift up their banners, and the undecided multitude tries to figure out what to do. Having made up my mind about this several years ago, I decided to just observe the discussion and meditate on it for, well, forty days. While I was observing Lent.

In this post I’ve decided to summarize several main arguments against evangelicals observing Lent and respond to each one.