From my upcoming book Peace With Islam: CHAPTER 1 – America Meets Radical Islam, Our New National Enemy My first encounter with Islam was America’s introduction to Islam during the 444 day hostage crisis that began in 1979 when Jimmy…
The Quran and the Gospel: For Those Who Need It
You may not know it but I do have a few issues with Islam. One is that they have taken what was meant for Arab tribes engaged in blood feuds and virgin sacrifices and have applied it to everyone on…
The Doctrine of the Trinity is Not Orthodox
Many Protestants accept the idea that it was the Church that opted to be Trinitarian. This is a myth taught in numerous seminaries and pulpits. If that’s you – stop! It wasn’t the church that decided to define itself as…
The LOGOS of John 1 – First a Plan, Then a Person
“In the beginning was the LOGOS…and the LOGOS was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn. 1:1,14) The Gospel of…
Israel Statehood: A Catastrophe, Not a Miracle
Al-Nakba – The Catastrophe May 14, 2016 marks the 68th anniversary of the declaration of Israel to become a state. Israel becoming a state is seen by many as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. I used to think so too.…
What [the] Hell?
Ed Christian, Professor of English at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, shows how words about Hell and eternal punishment are misunderstood. This presentation was given at an Evangelical Theological Society annual conference. The topic for the conference was about the boundaries…
Revelation Wasn’t Written to Lukewarm Lutherans
I’m not sure how many proponents of biblical inerrancy are willing to admit that Jesus and the apostles were wrong about something so it would seem much more in line with their Evangelical beliefs to find another interpretation that takes…
$100 to the First Person to Demonstrate the Early Church was Trinitarian
If you believe the doctrine was taught in the church from the beginning what is your proof? I’ve been hearing a lot of people lately who are knowledgeable about church history saying that the doctrine of the Trinity was what…
A Christian’s Plan to Deal with the ISIS Crisis
We need to do this in a way that marks us as being completely different than them, and I don’t mean by that how advanced our military is compared to theirs. I’m talking about a difference in character and mission.…
The Monster God of Calvinism
Christians get into endless debates about free will, predestination, and once-saved-always-saved, get lost in the complexity of it all, and don’t even see the 800 pound gorilla sitting in the room. I feel a need to expose one of the…
Standing With Israel: How Bad Theology Duped us into Supporting Terrorism and Oppression
From Benjamin Corey’s blog: Not many days go by without seeing some sort of “Stand with Israel” image pop up into my Facebook news feed. And, each time it does, my heart grieves over the fact that so many of…
Resources for Understanding Islam and Middle East Conflicts
These resources weigh heavily toward politics rather than theology to explain Islam and the Middle East. I have discovered that trying to understand Middle East conflicts and radical Islam from a purely theological perspective leads one to many wrong and…
Why Christians, and All Americans, Should Support the Palestinians, Not Israel
I was recently asked what I would do about the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinians given that Israel is in a fight for its life and has been under near constant attack by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.…
Were Jesus and His Apostles Mistaken About Jesus’ Soon Return?
It’s hard to imagine Evangelicals saying that Jesus and his apostles were wrong about one of the most important doctrines of the church but that’s exactly what many believe about the return of Christ. Peter, James, John, Paul, the writer…
Jesus Used Fiction to Teach Truth
Any preacher teaching spiritual truths can find within his own popular culture things that the people can relate to. Preachers do this every Sunday when they…use the mythology of [their] day… We never accuse our pastors of being liars for…
Why Obama’s War Does Not Qualify as a Just War
According to Just War Theory, President George Bush Sr.’s war to expel Iraq from Kuwait would qualify as a just war under Just War Theory (except that diplomatic solutions were not only not exhausted but not even employed), but his…
Review of Jay Sekulow’s Rise of ISIS
This book lays out only two options, either negotiate with the enemy or “evil such as this must be met with force. Nothing else will do.” And by force he means try to kill off every extremist Muslim in the…
4 Things That Show Churches Don’t Really Believe God Leads Individuals
Do Christian churches really believe God leads individuals apart from and possibly in contradiction to their own church? Most say they do, but I’m not so sure they all really believe what they say. The Catholic Church comes right out…