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When confronting opposing views it is often easy to fall into the trap of attempting to win by shooting at the messenger rather than the argument. It is also tempting, especially in evangelism (This observation is also heavily grounded in my years of experience in FAITH evangelism where part of the training stipulates that not more than 5 minutes in a 15minute encounter should be spent on your personal testimony.), to try and base your primary point of persuasion on your own personal experiences via your testimony. ...

The age of accountability is a teaching in Christianity which posits an age at which children are deemed responsible for their actions. Proponents believe that before this age where sufficient cognitive awareness of self-determined actions is reached, sins and the ensuing punishment is not charged to the unconscious child’s account. The exact age at which one acquires sufficient cognitive awareness of their actions (which, in turn makes them accountable for their actions) is not known. Jewish tradition holds to it being around the age of 12 ( bar mitzvah). Other traditions such as Methodists have confirmation at the age of 13 (a commonly accepted age). ...

In a recent conversation on a Calvinistic friend’s Facebook page (Who subsequently banned me for the conversation described here. In his mind, it is far better to call one of your brothers in Christ a devil for saying God didn’t kill someone’s child for no reason than it is to admit your pet theological system may have a flaw in it. Gotta love those ‘doctrines of grace’!) I read a comment by a lady who claimed assurance and comfort in the midst of loosing her child (Not recently mind you. From what I gathered, this happened a few years ago giving her time enough to get the reflection stage of grief which allows for a more objective and rational analysis of events and circumstances.) through the notion that God causally directs all events that come to pass. ...

According to surveys, only 12% of new-year’s resolutions are actually kept. So I’m not going to try and beat the odds by offering another list of items here. However as someone who loves getting things done, I figured I would switch gears a bit and offer some productivity tools/methods I’ve found to be particularly helpful. Inbox Zero I went to lunch once with a well known speaker, Mike Licona, who lamented that he had almost 2,000 unread and unprocessed emails in his inbox. ...

Earlier I posted a portion of a conversation I recently had with a friend (Mike) regarding salvation’s availability. Here is the continuation of that conversation (reposted with premission) where our conversation logically turns to whether everyone has the ability to accept the offer of salvation if it were freely offered. Mike: I see your questions (He is referring to the questions I raised towards the end of my previous correspondence which can be found here.), and wanted to ask a few others for my clarification before progressing any further. ...

What it means Greek ἐκκλησία Transliteration/Pronunciation ekklēsia/ek-klā-sē’-ä Strong’s G1577 Definition This word is generally rendered “Church” in the New Testament and pastors like to make a big deal about part of this word’s meaning as “the called out ones” but few go further and point out that the “called out ones” referred to a political assembly that met primarily to make decisions (which sheds more light on Jesus’s comment about agreeing with one another in Matthew 18:19). ...

I love the field of study known as epistemology or the study of knowledge. Basically answering the question, “How do you know what you think you know?” Especially in a culture that tends to deny objective reality, particularly as it pertains to non-material objects/ideas, I find it helpful to be able to answer the skeptic’s critique of faith in metaphysical realities as being intellectually vacuous or as many like to claim, a “leap of faith”. ...

It’s all too common this time of year to hear people bemoaning the commercialization of Christmas and how “the reason for the season” is being forgotten. Wrapped up in our rampant consumerism. People getting upset at department stores selling “Holiday Trees” as opposed to “Christmas Trees” or the State Department’s insistence that the tree on the White House lawn be known as a Holiday Tree. Such skirmishes like these have led to major initiates within the Christian community to curb what they see as a rising tide of secularization that threatens to destroy “the true meaning of Christmas”. ...

What it means Greek τιμή Transliteration/Pronunciation timē/tē-mā' Strong’s G5092 Definition This word has two distinct categories of meanings. 1.) a “valueing by which the price is affixed” or 2.) honor due someone. The range of this word is best seen in Paul’s first letter to Timothy where Paul tells Timothy that elders who labor in preaching and teaching are worthy of a “double honor” which is commonly taken as a proof-text for paid clergy positions within the body of Christ. However the word Paul uses is “timē” which Paul also uses in 1 Timothy 6:1. (Incidentally, the Greek word for “pay” (misthos) is used in 1 Timothy 5:18). ...

My wife and I recently got a chance to see Disney’s remake of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol. We opted not to take the kids since we were warned that this version was a lot more true to Dicken’s original intent, which was largely to expose the brutal cruelty industrialization coupled with mindless material obsession. Such a warning was certainly much deserved as the storytellers don’t hesitate to portray the harsh realities of life and the ugliness of man’s greed through Jim Carey’s character, Scrooge, with frightening (literally at points) clarity. ...