givingchrist

[givingchrist]

Embracing Your Continuous Existence

If it were based on my memory (and it shouldn’t be), I didn’t begin to exist until 1967 when I magically appeared in kindergarten. I have some memories of pre-school years, but I think they are false memories created more by pictures than direct memory. I fully trust those who swear I was born in April of 1962, as much as I would like to deny it. I also trust both Scripture and science that tells…

[givingchrist]

Whoever Believes Has Eternal Life

I went to Israel about 10 years ago. In the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (shown above), which houses the traditional place of Jesus’ crucifixion and His burial tomb, I overheard a priest say to his tour group, “I don’t know what eternal life is, but I would like to think that it has something to do with being remembered.” This admission and glaring error shocked me. I want you to know very…

[givingchrist]

And I Will Raise Him Up on the Last Day

Recently, on my other blog (GivingChrist.com), I discussed a very controversial passage–John 6. You can see that discussion here:https://givingchrist.com/2024/09/17/the-mystical-union-lords-supper-and-john-6/. In John 6, Jesus uses a phrase twice. It the title of this article. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44…

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What Is the Purpose of the Lord's Supper?

It probably goes without saying, but it is a rather rare occasion that I attend worship at a church that is not my own or not from my church body. Still, though I am Lutheran, I have observed Catholic mass many times, attended once as a Baptist congregation observing the Lord’s Supper, and twice at an Evangelical Church. The differences were significant. While attending a large Evangelical…

[givingchrist]

When Did Heaven Enter the Plan?

I recently watched a show of the documentary series Frontline about President Biden. It shared how, as a first term Senator, Joe Biden’s world was rocked by the tragic death of his wife and daughter in a car accident. The show interviewed the Catholic priest who ministered to the family at the time. He said something that stunned my wife and me. He started a sentence by saying, “If there is a…

[givingchrist]

Why Has So Much of Humanity Never Heard of Christ?

I did get a few good questions from my last post. Thanks to those who submitted them. One is in the title above. If Jesus is the only solution for sin and consequently the only way of salvation, then why hasn’t everybody throughout history heard of Jesus? Bringing a person to the place where they can be connected to Jesus normally requires our (the Church’s) spreading the Word. Without a doubt,…

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Satan and the Afterlife

In the classic 14th century poem, Dante’s Inferno, “Hell” is pictured as nine descending rings of torment. At the very bottom, Satan is seen frozen in ice and chewing on the worst traitors in history. So, I guess there is a “cold day in Hell”. Ancient poetry and renaissance paintings have influenced our ideas of Hell and Satan in eternity. Understandably, since the Bible was not available to most…

[givingchrist]

Questions Atheists and Others Want Answered

Lately, the algorithm that runs my homepage has pushed articles/blogs that involve questions atheists (and possibly atheist authors) hold against Christianity. The questions are reasonable. Lots of people wonder about these things and a few are bold enough to ask their pastor, if they have one. It has to be very frustrating to get brushed off or told to just believe. If pastors don’t know how to…

[givingchrist]

A Hard Proportion to Accept

I trust the Bible. That is different than saying that I like or want everything that it tells me. Life is predictably like that. It is often not the way I want. Specifically, the Bible shares that the proportion of humanity that will be saved will be small. This is especially tragic and confusing when you consider that the sacrifice that Jesus made for us is big enough to forgive any sin but…

[givingchrist]

What Does It Mean to Be Evangelical?

Today, in our common discourse, “Evangelical” is usually used to refer to a conservative political voting block. In that sense the group is made up of many people of various Christian denominations. In Christian conversation, an Evangelical usually refers to a group of loosely associated congregations that claim belief in the Bible, Jesus as Savior, and are usually non-sacramental. This group…

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The Tree of Life and Abnormally Long Life in the Old Testament

How long do you expect to live in this life? Most would say 80 or 90 years. The average in the United States is 78. That seems young-ish to me. I have no aspirations to live to be 100. Perhaps that is because I visit many people who have significantly cognitively declined by then and I don’t wish to join that group. The actual current maximum lifespan is 120 years, which sounds like a real…

[givingchrist]

Can We Be Trusted with More Advanced Technology?

I have a new car. It is loaded with the newest automobile technology. On a highway, it could basically drive itself. I just have to keep a finger on the wheel. I like it. Many of us also depend on, practically live on, our phones and the newest apps. I can also see new technology that we need to develop: better, smaller batteries, advanced solar, better recycling methods, more advanced medicine,…

[givingchrist]

Looking At the Unseen: Heaven

In my last entry I began to examine the meaning of 2 Corinthians 4:18 where Paul encourages us to “look not to things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.” I do think the main meaning of this passage is that we seek our identity, meaning, and ultimately our happiness from the things that God has prepared for us through the victory of Jesus. These things are for the moment unseen.…

[givingchrist]

Does Science Require Faith?

At one time, I was going to lunch with a very intelligent man who was a devout Atheist. Early on in our relationship, this man claimed that he was raised to only believe in what was observable and testable. He took nothing by faith. I will admit that my worldview depends in part on faith. First, is faith in the Bible. While I have supportive evidence for the faithful transmission of the words of…

[givingchrist]

Looking At the Unseen

For the next two blog entries I would like to ponder with you the meaning of 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, which reads: 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2…

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The Power of Prayer in Salvation: How Long Should We Pray for It?

I want to return to a topic that I had started three entries ago, the topic of what we are specifically asking for when we pray. We have covered healing and peace now I want to turn my attention to salvation. The Apostle Paul had an eye disease that he called a “messenger from Satan”. In 2 Corinthians it says he prayed “three times” that he would be healed. He received an answer. It was…

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Life, Death and Consciousness

What explains our experience of a complex and vast universe? What explains our complex body and the experience of being self-aware and having a free-will? Many religious, philosophical and scientific explanations have been advanced over the centuries. Do they work, do they have proof, and how did we arrive at these ideas? The current scientific orthodoxy has a certain philosophical point of…