In Defense of the Christian Faith

Happy New Year, everyone! As 2010 comes to a close, I wanted to share some of my favorite posts with you all. I could list many more besides these, so I suggest you browse through the archives for more interesting posts that will build your faith and challenge you spiritually. (I do have plans to make this easier for my readers in the future.) So here they are in no particular order...   1) Discussion With An Atheist On God's Existence  2) Inspiring Story: Finding God 3) Sound Doctrine 4) Once Save Always Saved? 5) Inspiring Story: Move Your Train 6)  God's Pearls 7) Heaven or Hell? Part 2 8) Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? 9) Theistic Evolution and Its Problems 10) An Atheists Denial of the Resurrection vs. A Christian's Rebuttal BONUS: Celebrating TWO Years of Blogging! - In August, I celebrated two years of blogging. I am including this post here, because it includes many of my favorite posts, some of which were not included in the above...

This is one of my favorite scenes from the "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" movie. In this clip, Ben Stein interviews Richard Dawkins... Despite Dawkin's anti-God view, the interview is quite thought-provoking... Speaking of the movie "Expelled," for those of you who liked the film (and haven't heard this yet), the creators of the film are coming out with another film which is set for production in 2011! This film is entitled, " Dr. Dino: "Where Creation and Evolution Collide." The site states,  “Dr. Dino”, Resurrection Pictures’ original film project, is a biopic that dramatizes the life of Kent “Dr. Dino” Hovind, tracing his rise to prominence as one of America’s best known creation evangelists, and his eventual fall from grace due to his conflict with the IRS. The film is written by Kevin Miller, the writer of “EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed.” It is scheduled for production in 2011. Disturbed by the devastating effect Darw...

OK, this is a feature that I haven't done in a while. The point is that if I find a site -- containing some good apologetics material -- that I would like to feature on my blog, it becomes my "featured site." If you'd like to have your blog or site featured, just let me know.... and I am aware of several great sites which I shall feature soon, so sit tight! :D But on to today's featured site... This year, I started a series called "Is Jesus God?" in which I show from the Scriptures that Jesus is indeed God. Many of these Scriptures incorporate the prophecies concerning the Messiah. You can see the first three of the series here (and I will be continuing it soon, I promise). Recently, I found a website that provides almost (if not) all of these Prophecies with Scriptural references so that you can dig into these matters for yourself: Is Jesus really God? Click here to get started, and don't forget to peruse other areas of the site; it contains som...

Christians are "traders," not "traitors." BIG difference! A traitor defects to enemy lines, but a "trader" trades in what he wants for something else. Likewise, as Christians, we trade what we want -- our desires -- for God's will. We put aside self and follow Him. That is the subject of this video. Enjoy! "[N]evertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." ~ Luke 22:42

This week, in joining my friend Renee for Something Beautiful , I am posting a Christmas song by Casting Crowns called "While You Were Sleeping." I posted this song last year, but I found a video that someone made for the song, and I really like it since it brings out the point so well. It's a wake up call to us as Americans to start acknowledging the God who gave us life and the freedom that we enjoy. Happy New Year, everyone!

"Anybody who tries to use the argument that Jesus of Nazareth never existed [as a verifiable historical figure] is simply flaunting his or her ignorance. There is no serious question in the mind of any serious scholar, anywhere in the world that there certainly was a historical personality named Jesus of Nazareth. Now you can argue if he was the Son of God or not, argue about the supernatural aspects of his life, but in terms of the historical character of Jesus, all the evidence is in favour." - Historian Paul L. Maier   Hat Tip: Apologetics315 

There are numerous discrepancies in the Christmas narrative, according to skeptics. Therefore, I wanted to do a special post and tackle some of these objections. Merry Christmas! ----------- "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem... " ~ Matthew 2:1 "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child." ~ Luke 2:1-5 Misconception 1: Matthew states that the census brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great. But Herod...

Merry Christmas, everyone! Today, I have a very Inspiring Story to share with y'all... John 1:1,14 states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word 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." In this video, the Word of God comes to a tribe for the first time! How precious it is to them! Do we take the Word of God for granted? The true meaning of Christmas is that He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly -- so that we might have eternal life! These people get that, and it is so touching and inspiring to see how they respond with love toward the Word of God! Enjoy! Hat tip: The Stand to Reason blog Do you have a favorite inspiring Christmas story that you'd like to share? You can link it up by Clicking here . Don't forget to join me tomorrow for a special Christmas post, as well! From my fa...

Recently, there has been a controversy over the atheists and Christians concerning billboards ; it's a game of sorts, it seems. Well, whether you all believe in the Christmas story or not, I do. And I fully believe in why He came -- not just that He came, but why He did. He came to redeem us, to pay a debt that we could never pay on our own! That is the Good News of the Gospel  -- that is the true Christmas message: Jesus didn't stay a baby in a cradle (as some Christians seem to think or want to believe); He died on the cross for our sins and rose again for our justification! Here is a video describing something that not too many people are familiar with: What happened at the crucifixion during the earthquake? In this video, Jim Pinkoski of ArkDiscovery.com explains a model based on the findings of the late archeologist Ron Wyatt. (I will have more on this soon.) Merry Christmas ! Don't forget to join me Christmas weekend for a special Inspiring Story (And who knows...

Today, I thought I'd share these clips from Living Waters . In these videos, Chad does an excellent job debating an atheist. I love the quick-wit responses; after all, we are commanded in the Word of God to know what we believe and why we believe it. I could go on in commentary, but I'll leave it up to my readers for now. Let me know what y'all think!

As a part of my yearly tradition, I'm posting some of my favorite Christmas songs for you all! The first one is a traditional Christmas carol; it is a beautiful rendition of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" performed by Selah (the video is done to The Nativity film)... Next up is "Here With Us" by Joy Williams... Here is "2000 Decembers Ago" by Joy Williams. I heard this song recently and instantly loved it; hope you all enjoy it! This is a beautiful song by Natalie Grant called "I Believe"... And lastly, a lot of you have by finding my blog by looking for this song... It's Brandon Heath's song "The Night Before Christmas." Enjoy! "Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~ Luke 2:10-11 What are some of YOUR favorite Christmas ...

I am reposting this to coincide with a post done today by my good friend, Jay. Please visit his site when you are through reading this post. Thanks. "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." ~ 3 John 1:2 There are three aspects to this Scripture: 1) Prosperity - financial, including the outward appearance of it (i.e. nice clothes, good job, big house, etc.; in short, blessings), 2) Health -- physical, and 3) Soul - spiritual Now let's elaborate on that. For point 1, most people will shut their ear immediately, because they don't believe in the "prosperity" movement. Why? People have this misconception that prosperity is an evil thing; they think that to be rich is to be proud, and to be proud is to go against God's command to be humble. The problem is that they don't stop to think that being humble does NOT mean that we have to be poor! Jesus said, "Blessed are the...

It's time for another Inspiring Story everyone! Feel free to share your stories using the linky tool below. I found today's story when I was looking for the story behind a beautiful, yet powerful hymn. Here is what I found: -------------------- "Take My Life": Frances Ridley Havergal   by Amos R. Wells Frances Ridley Havergal wrote so many helpful books, and lived a life so earnest and devoted, that she has had a very deep influence over the hearts of Christians. Of all her poems, the one before us meant the most to her, and has meant the most to the world. Miss Havergal was born in Astley, England, December 14, 1836. Her father was an Episcopal clergyman, a skilful composer of music, and himself a hymn-writer. She was baptized by another hymn writer, Rev. John Cawood, who wrote "Hark! what mean those holy voices?" She became also a brilliant singer and piano-player, and a glittering career in society was open before her. But she considered all he...

A few days ago, I received this comment from Heather, who wrote: Ravi is either not being honest here, or doesn't fully understand the atheists view on value.  Sure, its subjective, but so are a lot of the sports in the olympics.  Most people can agree that a 9.7 high dive is better then someone tripping off the high dive board and doing a belly flop - even though its all subjective. Ravi's response wouldn't be as clever or as good if there was an atheist up there next to him discussing ethics and humanism.  Straw man arguments are easy to dismantle... If anyone is interested in discussing objective/subjective morality as it relates to this particular video , I'd love to give my side. My response is below, and I invite anyone wanting to discuss this subject with us to comment (but please keep things respectful, and please watch the video before commenting): Hi Heather, Thank you for your comment. I would be happy to discuss this with you albeit in a dialogue (n...

The other day, I listened to an amazing audio of Holly Ordway and Steven Notman, two former atheists, sharing their testimony of their journeys out of atheism. The audio is approximately 50 minutes, but if you want to quick scoop, you can watch this video. I also recommend that you check out their blogs - Holly's is here , and Steven's is here .

Hi everybody! I just wanted to let you all know that I've created a new blog specifically for the topic of Christian persecution. While I do have a page on this blog set aside for that, I decided it would be easier to move it to its own place. I will slowly but surely move the information to my new blog, Christian Witness Under Fire . Please check it out and follow! Thanks, Miss S.

Matthew 11:18-19 "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." Have you ever wondered what Jesus meant by that last phrase? How is wisdom justified by her children? The Greek words imply that wisdom is innocent "because of" her children. Therefore, it appears that Jesus is saying that He -- WISDOM -- though He hangs out with those whom the world would consider "dirty," is innocent by the fruit He produces: those people who enter into the kingdom of God as a result. This is why Jesus always stressed the importance of bearing fruit; after all, the New Testament tells us that abiding in Him is how we bear the fruit, and that when we are abiding in Him, we are truly loving Him. We need to always be "kingdom-minded": Is what we are ...