Doubt | TLG Christian News

C. S. Lewis’s View of Women, and How He’s Impacted My Thinking

06/02/2017 0 Comment

The following questions and answers are from my contribution to Women and C. S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal for Today’s Culture, edited by Carolyn Curtis and Mary Pomroy Key. I highly recommend this unique and well-reviewed book, which has excellent contributions by 26 others, including Alister McGrath and Kathy Keller.
Question: The readers of our book are interested in C.S. Lewis’s commentaries, literary treatments and known or apparent attitudes regarding women and girls. It’s ..

A Simple Way to Pray Every Day

06/02/2017 0 Comment

Of all the things Martin Luther is known for, among the foremost is his dedication to prayer. He is famous for commenting, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” He wasn’t exaggerating, either. Many of his friends and students could attest that he would spend several hours on his knees in fervent, daily prayer — often at seemingly inopportune times in the middle of the day.

At one point, Luther’s barber and longtime friend, Peter Beskendorf, asked if he wou..

Letters to the Editor (Parents, Protection, Aging, and More)

05/02/2017 0 Comment

It has been too long since I’ve shared a selection of letters to the editor. Here, then, are a few that have come my way in recent weeks.

Letters on Do Children Have a Financial Obligation Toward Their Parents?
I appreciated your article and feel convicted, as I have in-laws that were frugal, and had the foresight to prepare for their retirement, while my parents were not. I have had conversations with them to consider their future more seriously, only to face argument and hurt feelings. I woul..

Betz: faith over sight

04/02/2017 0 Comment

Saturday, February 4, 2017
Commemoration of Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189
Meditation:
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
—John 20:27-29 (NIV)
Quotation:
Jesus was the representative of the Lord wh..

You Don’t Find Community by Looking for It

03/02/2017 0 Comment

You can learn a lot about a church from its website.

Not long ago I researched a church in another state, and I could tell it cares about community. From the small groups offered to the pictures of smiling people drinking coffee together, this congregation clearly works hard to make connections. After watching a few online interviews, it was obvious they value friendship.

Sadly, it wasn’t obvious they value Christ. I imagine they do. They’re a church, after all. But it wasn’t plain from anyth..

What Is The Word Of Faith Movement?

03/02/2017 0 Comment

What is the “word of faith” movement? Is it biblical?
Miracles in our Mouths?I remember hearing a pastor of a large megachurch say, “You’ve got a miracle in your mouth. You can speak things into being that are not yet.” When I heard it, it actually reminded me of a Bible verse where it says, “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:9), but the “he” wasn’t a man, it was God. It’s similar to when “God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light” (Gen 1:3). W..

Is it Reasonable? (RJS)

02/02/2017 0 Comment

Thus far Tim Keller’s book Making Sense of God : An Invitation to the Skeptical has looked at six aspects of human life, givens that Keller suggests we cannot live without: meaning, satisfaction, freedom, identity, hope, and justice. Each chapter looked at both secular and Christian narratives, and at the specific focus that Christianity offers. In the last two chapters he turns to a broader overview. He begins by asking “is it reasonable to believe in God?” and offers six specific reasons the a..

4 Strong Reasons to Preach to Skeptics in Every Sermon

02/02/2017 0 Comment

Do you remember what it was like to go to church for the first time?

A lot of pastors have been in church for so long that we can’t remember. Maybe you grew up going to church with your family like I did. If so, you can’t remember because you were too young.

If you came to faith in Jesus later in life, you might have an advantage in this area. You know how awkward it was.

Maybe you didn’t know anyone. Maybe you only knew one friend who invited you there. Maybe you were nervous. Maybe you were..

The “Historical” Adam

02/02/2017 0 Comment

From Dennis Venema, Scot McKnight, Adam and the Genome
Before I get to clips from the book, I want to suggest that the best place to begin when it comes to the so-called “historical” Adam issue is not with the word “historical” but with the word “literary.” That is, the only Adam Jews knew was the Adam of the Bible. That’s the literary Adam and the word “literary” does not mean either “historical” or “mythical.” It means the Adam in the Bible.
That Adam takes on a life of his own, and often his ..

Humbling Hezekiahs

01/02/2017 0 Comment

Leaders should reflect that for all their preaching, pastoring, discipling, decisions and actions there is a ‘law of unintended consequences’ to be considered. Hezekiah no doubt was relieved, in some sense, that while in the end future generations would be exiled, in his life time there would be security and peace. Doubtless it was a blessing that God would delay judgment while he was still alive. Personally it was happy that God would spare the godly king sorrow upon sorrow. In one sense, of co..