"Thou are He, thou alone, Jehovah, who hast
made the heaven of heavens, and all their host, the earth and all that is
therein, the seas and all that is therein. And thou quickenest them
all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee" (Nehemiah 9:6)
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Articles for Christians Note: We present the following articles because they have been helpful to others. The material comes from various sources and a few statements might not pass the "Berean" test. You must, like the "more noble" Bereans, search the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. Christian fiction: Basileia, The Isle of Androck, a 178 page story of a lush tropical island gripped in the clutches of crime lords. Read how God uses a young Christian bookstore owner to address this situation. And follow this youth's quest to find the perfect Christian mate. [556kb pdf file] - R.L.B. |
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Articles
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Names and Order of the Books of the Bible - R.L.B. What Does God Look Like? - R.L.B. Kingdom, Repentance and other terms - R.L.B.
Two Themes from an Evangelical Stance: A Professor in Dialogue with his Faith - Gary D. Patterson, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (Two important topics are covered in this in-depth article, "An Evangelical Natural Philosophy" and "An Evangelical Anthropology.") In a desire to defend the faith, well-meaning Christians have sometimes taken positions that attack well established scientific principles. By doing this it is possible that Biblical Christianity could be discredited by the very people who are trying to support it. Because God is the Author and Creator of both science and theology, theology and science must necessarily be in agreement with each other. This article is a talk previewing a forthcoming book by Dr. Patterson, a Professor of Chemical Physics and Polymer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, and former Member of the Technical Staff at Bell Laboratories. Gary is an active Bible teacher and fellowships with a group of Christians in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. He is a major contributor to the recent in-depth book Science & Christianity: Four Views, (InterVarsity Press). In Praise of Entropy - Gary D. Patterson, PhD [pdf file]. Here Dr. Patterson responds to a Christian magazine article that had wrongly vilified a fundamental chemical principle.
The Bible and Science: How they Go Together - George S. Christian [pdf file] What Jesus Christ Has To Do With 2 x 2 = 4 - George S. Christian [pdf file] Safety, Certainty and Enjoyment - George Cutting [pdf file]
Future articles are planned on a number of topics, in
the will of the Lord. In the meantime, give some prayerful thought to the
following "thought questions."
Thought questions: Which "Church" should I join, (if any)? Free will and Divine sovereignty. Are these Biblical concepts compatible with one another? [see Questions and Answers] Is Israel still "first"? (See Acts 3:26; 13:46; Rom. 1:16; 2:9-10). If not why not? In either case, why were they "first" throughout the book of Acts? When Paul, on his missionary journeys, stopped at a new city, why was it "necessary" for Him to preach the gospel first to the Jew, even though he was specifically the apostle to the Gentiles? (see Acts 13:46). In our Christian outreach must we still preach "to the Jew first?" The Lord Jesus told His disciples to "shake off the dust of your feet" against any city that rejected them (Mat. 10:14). Paul & Barnabas also did this (Acts 13:51), but is this a practice we should be following today? What is the "Mystery?" Is it in the Old Testament? Is there a "church" (gathering) mentioned in the Old Testament? When was this "Mystery" revealed? What is the nature of the "church" in Acts chapters 2 - 9?
Is it possible for 'Elders' to misuse their position by essentially become 'Clergy,' thus completely distorting God's original purpose for 'Elders?' Why does Paul's list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 radically differ from his parallel list in Ephesians 4? What is the "sin against the Holy Spirit?" Who committed it, and how does this affect God's program for us today? What are "The Miracles, Signs and Wonders of the Great Commission?" Are they for today? If not, when and why did they cease? [see our article on the subject]
Are we under the New Covenant today? What similarities and differences exist between blessings promised under the New Covenant, and blessings dispensed to believers today? Did Peter and John misinterpret God's message when they called upon Israel to repent so that the Messiah would return to set up an earthly millennial kingdom? (see Acts 3:19-21) Why did these apostles not promise the Jews spiritual blessings in the heavenly places? (see Eph. 1:3) What expectation did the "church" (ekklesia) hold throughout the Acts? Did they expect to "go to heaven" or did they expect to participate in a physical kingdom on the earth? If the sermons of Acts 2 and 3 offer only a physical blessing on earth, when (and why) was this earthly expectation replaced by "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ?" Since the Lord Jesus commanded the disciples to go into "all the world and preach the glad tidings to every creature," why did they for several years preach the word "to none but the Jews only" (Acts 11:19)? How do we determine which early church practices to follow today? And which not to follow? Is the Sunday School song "Every promise in the book is mine" scriptural? The apostle Paul stated that in Christ there is "neither male nor female" (Gal. 3:28). But he also stated "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak" (1 Cor. 14:34). How should we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements? Does water baptism give you eternal life? If not, in what sense did water baptism "save" and "wash away" sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21)? Was water baptism meant to be a symbol of life, of death, or of a separation and cleansing from an unclean religious system? Was it to be a "testimony" of a believer's faith or a ceremonial cleansing from an 'uncleanness' they had been part of? Were "witnesses" required for baptism? Was a time of instruction required before baptism? (What saith the Scriptures?) Was the mode of water baptism practiced in the Acts sprinkling, pouring, or immersion? Check out the relationship between John's baptism with water and Christ's baptism with Holy Spirit (Mat. 3:11; Mk. 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:26, 33; Acts 1:5; 11:16. Note the word "pour" (Acts 2:17-18; 10:45) and "fell on" (Acts 11:15). What was the connection between water baptism and the "purification of the Jews," (a Jewish ceremony known today as the Mikveh)? See John 3:25. Did Peter and Paul proclaim different plans of salvation? Did Paul "change churches" after he arrived at Rome? How old is the universe? (6,000 years, 10,000 years, 13.7 billion years)? See the above article by Gary Patterson on this subject. Christ is both Divine and human. Why is this not a contradiction? And why is this fact absolutely necessary for the doctrine of the atonement? Why are Christianity and reincarnation incompatible? Is sectarianism permitted or condemned by the Scriptures? What about denominationalism? What about sectarian terminology? Think about whether you or your local church use sectarian ideas and terminology. When the Bible uses the word "all," does it always mean "all" without exception? Or does Biblical context sometimes define "all" as meaning "all of a particular thing or people," or "all of a particular class of people," or "all kinds of things or people?" Did the Lord Jesus bear the sins "of many", or did He bear the sins of every man, woman, and child who has been born into the world? If the latter, does this not lead to the unscriptural doctrine of universal reconciliation? What truth is hidden by some Bible translations that say "faith in Christ" when a more literal rendering is "faith of Christ?" Some Bible translations use an initial capital letter on certain pronouns to indicate that the word refers to God, or to Christ. Why is this practice an 'interpretation' of the passage by a translator, rather than an accurate 'translation'? Why are the Greek words baptizo, baptisma, baptismos and baptistees properly translated using the word "wash" only 5 times, (Mk. 7:4 [twice]; 7:8; Luke 11:38; and Heb 9:10), but left untranslated (i.e., transliterated using the form "baptize") approximately 115 times? When the word refers to the purification of the Jews it is properly translated "wash." However, when it refers to the "baptisms" of John, or to so-called 'Christian' "baptism' it is not translated. How does this common [mal]-practice of most translators put a false "spin" on this doctrine and cause us to miss out on a very important Biblical concept? Is it more reverent to pray in 'old English,' using the expressions 'Thee' and 'Thou' instead of using the modern English term 'You?' What is the significance of the differing expressions "before the foundation of the world," and "from (or since) the foundation of the world?" Quotes: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (Philosopher George Santayana) "Would you know for certain whether you have justifying faith? Here is the way to find the answer: are you looking in any sense to yourself? Are you in any sense relying even to the slightest extent upon any good you have ever done, or anything you have ever been? Are you even relying upon your own faith? Do you think that it is your belief that saves you? Is it that? Is that your righteousness? If it is, you are not saved, you are not a Christian, because the Christian is a man who looks only and entirely to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. His entire righteousness is in Christ. Christian faith is a faith that looks only to the Lord Jesus Christ and to nothing and to nobody else." (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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