J. Warner Wallace describes why Christians ought to have confidence when talking about the Gospel.

You know what I mean; assumptions like if a person is a Harvard graduate, he or she must be smart. Or anybody who becomes a plumber or a carpenter isn’t likely to be reading philosophy at nig…

I grew up in a Christian home and was so devout as a young girl that I wanted to join a convent and become wedded to God (although I was not Catholic). So it might be surprising to know that I considered myself to be agnostic by the time that I entered college.

In my experience as a youth pastor, I learned the importance of providing intellectual tools and training. I watched my first graduating class of seniors walk away from Christianity in large percentages before I embraced a Case Making approach with my students. After observing the struggle these seniors experienced, I changed the way I prepared my students. I began to draw upon my experience as a police officer for guidance. Young officers are given and number of tools to help us do the job, but even more importantly, we are provided with the necessary training in how to use these tools. When it comes to equipping Christian students, the evidences for God’s existence, the reliability of the Bible, and the truth of the Christian worldview are the tools we must provide (sources like On Guard and Cold-Case Christianity may be helpful). Beyond this, however, young Christians need to know how to think about these evidences and communicate them to others…

We get requests every day from people just like you who are trying to teach the material from Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels . If you’re a pastor, small group leader, or teacher, we’ve assembled everything you’ll need to effectively communicate the case for the reliability of the New Testament Gospels. If you’ve ever had to make a presentation of this kind, you know the important questions:

The listener favorite shares some miraculous stories of healing around the world.  Listen...

To prove that sequoias were real, the tree was cut down and shipped in pieces to the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair where it was reassembled for spectators. Would this be enough to convince skeptics? Nope. Amazingly, the tree was reassembled, and viewers still believed it was a hoax. In fact, it was referred to as the "California hoax." The physical remains of the tree itself was not enough to persuade people of its existence. But why?

See many of Robinson's apologetics books at http://bit.ly/2HxDh9Q - Numerous fresh Apologetics books on Islam, Atheism, Hinduism, Ethics, Trump, etc. There is so much proof and evidence for God, so much so, that it makes author Mike Robinson's job more than a little difficult. Thus, herein Robinson provides some fresh, yet quick proofs for the existence of God. He demonstrates that God's existence is certain.

What to pray for this week: God has formed us in our mothers’ wombs and has plans for us. Pray that the unborn would have nothing to fear in their mothers’ wombs and would experience God’s plans for them. Download 21 Days of Prayer for Life! bit.ly/2CkG6ff pic.twitter.com/BiLqSX6i6s

We know the universe began to exist. That fact is agreed upon by the majority of theists and atheists alike. But what else can we know from that fact? By conceding that the universe has a beginning, does that give us proof of the Christian God? Not really, but it gets us closer than you may initially realize.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Ironically, Niccol’s way to explore a better world is to give us dystopian ones. Maybe he starts with the way things shouldn’t be because it’s a great starting point: No one thinks the world is as it should be. But here’s the problem for secular moviegoers: If there’s no God, then there is not a way “the world should be.” There’s no standard or purpose for anything, so the very idea of the cosmos being “broken" makes no sense. But even though the atheist’s worldview cannot support notions of objective moral “better” or “worse,” they still yearn for a morally “better” world.

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Our goal as Christ-followers is to resemble Him more and more. But sometimes as we study His Word, apply His truth and do what He says, we get stuck. We need the divinely inspired perspective, insight and commentary of others to shed light when we’re not sure what to do next. Sometimes the perfect book with God-centered words read at just the right time can get us moving again.

Cameron Cole knows how he’d respond, because he got the worst news he could imagine on November 11, 2013. That’s when his wife called to tell him that their 3-year-old son, Cam, had died. Cole recounts his reaction and applies biblical wisdom and empathy for all of us in this fallen world with his new book, Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths that Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy , published by Crossway.

An American megachurch has announced a new independent investigation into claims its founding pastor sexually harassed female colleagues and a congregation member, after fresh allegations emerged.

A strong sense of historical skepticism prompts many archaeologists and historians to challenge the reliability of Old Testament narratives. As a result, even ordinary details surrounding biblical stories now raise questions in people’s minds:

Here are just a few things that happened this week, August 5-11, in Church history. They include the arrival of the Shakers in America, the death of one of Martin Luther's notable enemies, and the baptism of Norma McCorvey.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Thank you @HollyStallcup for this. If you're single: Read this article and feel less alone. If you're in a relationship: Read this article and do the things Holly suggests to be a good neighbor and friend to those who are single in your life. christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/august…

For example, we might say, “The long hands of the grandfather clocks in this shop sweep 360 degrees every hour. For the long hands of all clocks that have circular faces sweep 360 degrees every hour.” Nobody would think us reasonable if we said, “From these two sentences all we can learn is that the only clocks whose long hands sweep 360 degrees each hour are the grandfather clocks in this shop, because those are the ones we are talking about.” No. We brought in a universal point to support the specific one.

"The time is now to be guided by this independent council of wisdom to tell the truth about Bill, to tell the truth about the women and Bill's inappropriate, sexual relations, to tell the truth about governance that protected Bill's reputation rather than Willow's congregation, to tell the truth about bullying by the leaders through the Human Resources and buying silence through NDA (non-disclosure agreements), to tell the truth about how the WCA's Board was told by the three who resigned when the WCA refused to investigate Bill Hybels, and to tell the truth about the need for an independent investigation," McKnight said.

A clear case of he said she said, the real woman in this case should’ve refrained from telling the trans “she looked like a clown” or any other abusive language however this man should never go after any woman in a porking lot smh

Lawrence Krauss : "Physics has changed what we mean by 'nothing'...Empty space is a boiling, bubbling brew of virtual particles popping in and out of existence...If you wait long enough, that kind of 'nothing' will always produce particles." [1] J. Warner Wallace : "The evidence demonstrates all space, time, and matter  began  with the origin of the universe.  Whatever preceded the universe  cannot , therefore, have been spatial, temporal, or material,  at least by the definitions we have been using all along .  Emergent models redefine the meaning of "nothing" to include "something" (the primordial vacuum, virtual particles, and time).  While this solves the problem semantically, it doesn't solve the problem evidentially."  [2] To checkout our entire Counterpoints series, go here . To learn more about Jim's new book, see here . Courage and Godspeed, Chad Footnotes: 1. The Colbert Report, Comedy Central, June 21, 2012 as quoted by J. Warner Wallace, God's Crime Scene, p. 212. 2. J. Warner Wallace, God's Crime Scene, p.

John Stonestreet and Andrew Walker discuss the necessity for Christians to develop a creational theology, one that can help us understand gender and sex as part of God’s plan for human flourishing from the very beginning. bit.ly/2Ol8M9c pic.twitter.com/1B7bsFVo64

Tom Schreiner has written an excellent long-form review of Cynthia Westfall’s book PAUL AND GENDER (Baker, 2016). “The perspective... fails to convince, especially in the exegesis of key texts like 1 Cor 11:2–16 and 1 Tim 2:8–15.” ⁦ @DrTomSchreiner ⁩ themelios.thegospelcoalition.org/article/paul-a…

"Exploring Worship: Part 2, Word and Sacrament." In the first article in this series, we looked at the question of form vs. freedom and formal liturgies. In this article, we will examine the balance between Word and Sacrament. bit.ly/2MvTpus pic.twitter.com/D3IMLSStOw

"But $1,000,000 is a God-sized step of faith. We are believing Him for it, and are now in the process of reaching out to our friends around the globe to be the hands of Christ to our city in this moment. We are determined to honor this commitment, whether the generosity comes from gifts from the global community or from our own church finances."

The idea of intelligent design, although congenial to some religious views of the universe, is independent of them. For example, the possibility of intelligent design is quite compatible with common descent, which some religious people disdain. What’s more, although some religious thinkers envision active, continuing intervention in nature, intelligent design is quite compatible with the view that the universe operates by unbroken laws, with the design of life perhaps packed into this initial set-up. In fact, possibilities two and three listed above — where non-randomness was assigned either to complex laws or to the environment — can be viewed as particular examples of this. I think it makes for greater clarity of discussion, however, just to acknowledge explicitly in those cases that the laws or special conditions were purposely designed to produce life.

The “right to die” is always a slippery slope. We continue to see that this includes children. According to a recent report, Belgian doctors have euthanized at least three minors suffering from muscular dystrophy, brain tumors, and cystic fibrosis. bit.ly/2MnDZrU pic.twitter.com/oChztnsXO2

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Carl Lentz is defending John Gray after he was criticized for meeting with Pres. Trump at the White House. He said, "We are not allowed to pick and choose who we lead, who we love, who we influence." relevantmagazine.com/current/carl-l…

After a half-century of searching for alien civilizations, the result is zilch. And now, a new paper published by three researchers at Oxford University casts serious doubt on “Star Trek’s” picture of a crowded universe. #FermiParadox #DrakeEquation bit.ly/2OT7yDA pic.twitter.com/VTgq7MqjM4

These books were the way children learned to read, the way illiterate congregants were able to apply a sermon, the way families instructed their children ... poetic careers began, and the way that disparate individuals became the worshiping people of God. christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/august…

According to that biblical principle of “two or three witnesses,” we shall now select evidences that support the truth and accuracy of God’s Word. In every area, the evidence has been forthcoming: God has vindicated His Word, and His Book is a genuine writing, with prophecies and revelation that must be taken seriously. His Book is unique because it is His Book.

“The grace of God in truth” (Colossians 1:6) is the shock that brings a dead soul to life, and the charge that keeps it living. The gospel is the gas that awakens and energizes the human heart, not mere truth — essential as truth is. Two plus two equals four — that’s true. It just doesn’t do much to jump-start and drive a languishing soul.

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Yes, our eyes will be drawn to what our hearts desire, but they also often hold sway. Our eyes are not neutral. They influence and even drive our hearts. If we feed them what is true, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable, our eyes can grow our faith, heighten our love, and intensify our happiness. But where the eyes wander, the heart quickly follows — and falls. How many of us leave our eyes on too long a leash?

But according to RC @RCSproul We cannot be saved by a "Holy God" unless we're CHOSEN before we are born to be saved or go to hell! That is the HERESY that Sproul and ALL calvinists (cult) believe. Thus, how can anyone repent and CHOOSE God? Hmmmm..... Sproul is suffering now.

You might think this would be small comfort — not being told that I was going to survive this cancer. But that is not the way it worked. What I needed at that moment was a comfort far more solid and lasting and unshakable than a few more years of life after cancer. I needed just what I got: “This is not wrath. You are destined for salvation. And that is true — absolutely true — whether you live or die!”

“They're literally – it's under their fingernails and in their nose and in their mouth and their ears and they're exposing this ancient culture. It becomes one with you. It's sort of like we came out of the soil and as we dig into the soil, we connect with God and with each other, I think, in a very important way," he said.

Week in Review: Warren Cole Smith looks at the headlines from a Christian worldview perspective. University stops selling baby parts, Religious liberty for all, Culture of death in the UK, and Larry Norman speaks. bit.ly/2M2Cm6P pic.twitter.com/VsGob96BFF

This is a famous objection. Notice again it does not target any specific argument, just the concept of God as a whole. There are several problems with this objection. First, it doesn’t argue for atheism at all. It doesn’t undercut the warrant for any of the premises of theistic arguments. What it does is attempt to establish that we do not know which kind of God is the real one. (Of course, this is not its intent: its intent is appeal to ridicule, where it is hoped the theist will quietly abandon his arguments instead of being forced to accept something so ludicrous as a Flying Spaghetti Monster.) Second, the concept is a derivative. That is to say, the objector takes the concept of God and gratuitously tacks on the attribute of its being “spaghetti,” “flying,” and a “monster” (whatever that may mean). Since the objector gets the idea of such a god from the traditional concept of God, we can say it’s really not that plausible after all that the FSM exists to the exclusion of the real God (explanation: view it like a bad remake of your favorite movie.

In this post, we’ll show you how comparing the story of Krishna with the biblical accounts of Jesus show that Jesus’ death and resurrection wasn’t copied from Hinduism. First, we’ll compare the story of Jesus’ death to the story of Krishna’s death. Was Jesus’ death copied from Krishna? Then, we’ll compare the idea of resurrection in each of these stories. Was Krishna really a crucified Savior?