It is a temptation to judge someone by my own personal or cultural standards. Mr. X is a false prophet. How do I know? He says that homosexual behavior is perverted and calls Islam an evil religion. Obviously, the man’s a narrow-minded bigot. But personal and cultural standards are often seriously flawed. “There is a…

This is an important question. Where does the church of Christ come from? In Caesarea Philippi Jesus promised: “I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). The church is indestructible. Throughout the last two millennia, the church of Jesus Christ has thrived wherever people have truly…

Islam rewrites biblical history. Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, and many other biblical persons are said to be Muslims. Such claims have no basis in reality. Suppose that I were to rewrite Islamic history. I say that Muhammad was a Christian. He was married to one woman for life. He proclaimed Jesus as Son of God. If…

Jesus was a master teacher. His stories have intrigued readers for 2,000 years. Parables are invented stories that illustrate spiritual truths. These stories depict everyday things, but cultural changes can make interpretation more difficult. This is true of the virgins parable in Matthew 25. Jesus is comparing his return at the end of time to…

Atheists turn to evolution to explain religion. As monkeys evolved into men, they were amazed by the world they found themselves in. They invented the notion of gods to explain life’s mysteries. Why does rubbing sticks together make sparks and start fire? We don’t know. There must be a god of fire giving this gift…

Yes. Have you ever heard of “the duck test”? If a bird looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck. This humorous test is an example of logical reasoning. A sensible person makes an observation and reaches the conclusion that most simply explains what is…

Even the best Bible scholars and Christian thinkers wrestle with the idea of God’s becoming a man. The perfect blending of deity and humanity in the person of Jesus is something beyond human understanding. When the Bible makes a difficult claim, we can either deny it or accept it and try to make sense of…

“Progressive revelation” is the idea that God revealed more and more of himself as the scriptures were written. Noah, for example, was a righteous man (Gen. 6:8-9). But he couldn’t have quoted the Ten Commandments. They hadn’t been given yet. And Abraham was a righteous man (15:6). But he didn’t know the name of Jesus.…

Muslims believe that Ishmael is the source of Islam, that Ishmael (and not Isaac) was sacrificed by Abraham, and that Adam built the Kaaba in Mecca, the destination of Muslim pilgrimage. What does the Bible say about these matters? The book of Genesis is naturally the most reliable record of the events in Abraham’s family.…

The Old Testament speaks of arranged marriages. Gifts are given to the father of the bride. In Muslim culture if a man wants a wife, he goes to her parents and asks for her hand. The parents will ask for money or some other gift (a dowry/mar). It’s an ancient custom. Women sometimes don’t know…