Condemnation Theology: An Enemy of Christian Preparation

Part 3 in a 3 Part Series...

Part 1: There Comes a Time in a Person's Life...

Part 2: Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen!

It might seem peculiar to think that the doomed history of the first century Church and the bleeding of youth from the Christian culture have anything in common, but all will soon become clear. I mentioned in part one of the series that many parents and youth groups fail to cause their young to embrace a Christian identity due to a lack of preparation in both a knowledge of God’s Word and a development of a living, breathing relationship with the Heavenly Father. Throughout this article, we will explore the relationship aspect and the role condemnation plays in stunting our ability to see ourselves as children of God.

Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen!

Part 2 in a 3 Part Series 

Part 1: There Comes a Time in a Person's Life...

What do I mean by singling out a Christian zeal for the Law as a problem? Well, that and the condemnation of Christians which followed suit with such a doctrine led to the downfall of the first century Church. We see the beginnings of this downfall in Acts 15.

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. –Acts 15:1-2

There Comes a Time in a Person's Life...

Part 1 in a 3 Part Series...

There is no question that the Church is facing dire circumstances with today’s youth. No matter how one looks at it, it is estimated that between 59% (Barna Group, 2013) and 70% (Stetzer, 2014) of young adults leave the faith right out of high school. Whether they come back to the Church is irrelevant to the fact that we tend to lose these precious individuals during one of the most pivotal moments in their lives. Psychosocial development as outlined by Erik Erikson defines the crisis of individuals between the ages of 12 and 18 years as identity vs. role confusion (McLeod, 2008). During this stage of development, McLeod (2008) observes of adolescents, “They explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon the outcome of their explorations. Failure to establish a sense of identity within society (‘I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up’) can lead to role confusion.” Obviously, something is not clicking in the Church which is translating into a youth whose Christian role becomes confused between the ages of 18 and 19. This youth, in turn, cannot resist the lure of the big words and temptations perpetuated by the evangelical atheist crowd.

A Simple Answer for the Complex Universe

An oldie from my days writing for the Christian Apologetics Alliance. 

A recent article piqued my interest which has brought about much discussion between a whole host of people and me. This article, Can Science Disprove the Existence God? (sorry, the typo was in the title) by Natalie Wolchover, is essentially an interview of a theoretical physicist noting how advances in science are eliminating the evidence for design in our universe. However, I posit the question, “Do these advances really show random chance and tear away belief in God?”

God's Leadership in the Old Testament: A Loving Manager

Part 1: The Many Warnings of Zedekiah

Part 2: Humanity's Disobedience

What many individuals do not understand is that God was practicing the art of progressive discipline in management thousands of years before text books ever described the process. The act of progressive discipline as outlined by Heathfield (2014) is as follows: counseling or oral warning, verbal warning in employee’s file, suspension, and termination. Fallon and McConnell (2014) further add that documentation is key throughout the whole process to ensure a successful and legal process of discipline.

God's Leadership in the Old Testament: Humanity's Disobedience

Check out Part 1: The Many Warnings of Zedekiah

I like to call the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the books of warning because they are filled with warnings against the kings and the people of Judah and Israel of what was about to befall them and even through all of this, God supplied a way to escape the fate he was foretelling through His prophets.

Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. –Isaiah 5:25

God's Leadership in the Old Testament: The Many Warnings of Zedekiah

Richard Dawkins once wrote in his The God Delusion (2006), “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it…” I apologize for alluding to this man however unpleasant his views are, but he seems to be the self-appointed poster boy for all arguments against Christianity in this modern era. In 100 hundreds, if Christ has not returned yet, another man will be appointed by the adversary to do exactly the same as Dawkins does today and one constant will still remain, the Word of God.