In Defense of the Christian Faith

Welcome to part three of our series on the Resurrection based on  The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus  by Michael Licona and Gary Habermas! Please see parts one and two for ease of following along in this discussion.... All quotes are taken from this book unless otherwise noted. Last time, we talked about two of five facts agreed upon by almost all scholars: Jesus' death by crucifixion and the disciple's firm belief in his death and resurrection. Today, we will begin with what it cost the disciples to hold to such beliefs and what this means in relation to the Resurrection of Christ... Not only did the disciples preach what they believed – Christ’s Resurrection – but they did so boldly, even in the face of intense persecution. This is strongly evidenced in the New Testament; before, the disciples were so scared that they ran away from Jesus in the garden – but after His Resurrection, they boldly proclaimed this Gospel even in the face of persecution. Ac...

In prison, the political officer asked me harshly, “How long will you continue to keep your stupid religion?” I said to him, “I have seen innumerable atheists regretting on their deathbeds that they have been godless; they called on Christ. Can you imagine that a Christian could regret, when death is near, that he has been a Christian and call on Marx or Lenin to rescue him from his faith?” The officer laughed, “A clever answer.” I continued, “When an engineer has built a bridge, the fact that a cat can pass over the bridge is no proof that the bridge is good. A train must pass over it to prove its strength. The fact that you can be an atheist when everything goes well does not prove the truth of atheism. It does not hold up in moments of great crisis.” I used Lenin’s books to prove to him that, even after becoming prime minister of the Soviet Union, Lenin himself prayed when things went wrong. ~ Richard Wurmbrand, Tortured For Christ

In recent weeks, it seems that attacks upon some of Christianity's core beliefs have been escalating in several major areas, so I wanted to share my thoughts on these in today's post -- from a purely Christian perspective. 1) A few months before Christmas last year, the American Atheists erected a billboard claiming that true message of Christmas was all just a myth. Now, an ad stating, "You Can Live Moral, Meaningful Lives without God" has been posted at Farragut West Metro station in Washington, D.C. Craig Hazen made some good points for a moral lawgiver in the article. For my thoughts on this, see a guest post that apologetics speaker and trainer Mikel Del Rosario wrote for the DCF blog. (Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments under that post!) 2) It seems that the issue of homosexuality has taken a turn for the worst recently, with many Christians "coming out of the closet" and claiming to be both Christian...

Here are the DCF blog's top 10 posts of all time (from May 2010 - January 2011) in order of most popular to least popular. Beside each, I have provided a description of the contents. I am aware that a few of these were mentioned in my last post, but those were my favorites; these are YOUR favorites... Enjoy! ----------- 1) Inspiring Story: Dr. Kent Hovind - This is an essay on the Godly character of young-earth-creationist Dr.Kent Hovind. I'm not surprised at all that this made it to the top, since this post generated a lot of comments and traffic (845 searches for "Kent Hovind update," and 44 searches for "Kent Hovind Update 2010"; 914 total pageviews)! I'm grateful to each person who took the time to write a comment in support of Dr. Hovind. 2) Did Pontius Pilate actually exist? - In this post, learn about a remarkable archeaological find that proves that Pontius Pilate exists, lending support to even the small details in the Bible. 3)  Kent H...

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.

A few months ago, I received a free book entitled Clay In the Potter’s Hand , courtesy of Christian Aid . This book details the life of Dorothy Sun, a Chinese Christian in Communist China during the reign of Mao Tzedong. It chronicles her life before, during, and after the Communist takeover of China. I found Dorothy’s autobiography to be a remarkable account of what life is like for Christians in China – then, and now. The book is divided into three parts. In Part one, entitled “Chosen,” Dorothy talks about how God chose her and how her parents influenced her. Dorothy was born to devout Christians David Chang and Miriam Nieh. Her father served in various diplomatic capacities; initiated a Christian newspaper; and founded Self-Governing, Self-Supporting, and Self-Propagating Indigenous Evangelism in China (also known as Three-Self), enabling him to be involved in the indigenous house church movement in China. He also wrote a book on the Christian meanings of the Chinese character...

UPDATE : Something unexpected came up, so I am going to count my WFW as this week's Inspiring Story. I will also be extending the link party through Monday, October 18 this week. This should work out for ALL participants, so if you're thinking that you won't be able to make it, maybe you will! :D Be sure to link up (bottom of post) and then leave me a comment to let me know what you think! -------------- The following is an essay that I wrote after reading The Pastor’s Wife , an inspiring book written by Sabina Wurmbrand, the wife of The Voice of the Martyrs' founder. I am posting it today for the WFW, because I believe it provides a challenge to us as Christians to be set apart for Christ -- to be representative of Him, showing the love of Christ to the world instead of following its ways. As the Scripture says, “Therefore ‘Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, A...

Last week, after thinking about what Alice said in her Word For Wednesday, I decided to do a little reading in Job. I began reading in the middle of the Book of Job to hear Job's side of the story right before his friend Elihu starts speaking the truth to him - this was the friend who actually had some wisdom, unlike the other three friends! Here are my observations... It is obvious to all that Job was going through a huge trial. He had lost everything that he had held dear, and was now fighting for his life, literally. Job's despair is very apparent throughout the discourse in the Book of Job.  But there is another point that is quite evident, as well: Job believed that God was testing him. Job 23:10 states, "But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." This is not entirely true. While it is true that we come out of our trials purified "as gold" if we hold fast to the Word of God through it, it is not true that ...

This is an age-old question that demands an answer; so many people face tragic circumstances every day. "Why did this have to happen to them?" people ask. "So-and-so was a good person. They didn't deserve this!" Well, first, we must define what "good" means. Jesus defines "good" as follows: "And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me." (Luke 18:19-22) To be good, Jesus taught, is to keep the commandments; in fact, He said that no one is good but God! But He didn't stop there; Jesus points to the rea...

Recently, on my twitter page , I mentioned that I was going to get a free book about a Chinese woman who spent 20 years in a labor camp for her faith in Christ. Well, look what finally arrived... and it also comes with a free magazine, courtesy of Christian Aid! Those of you that know me well know that I LOVE reading these books; they give one such a perspective on life. Could we honestly endure 20 years in a labor camp? It's very sobering, but it challenges my faith to "go deeper." It inspires me to be all that I can be for God! Review coming soon, so stay tuned! And hey, why not grab your free copy ? :D Meanwhile, I can't wait to curl up in bed with my book and read away! ;)

Last week, I talked about Richard Wurmbrand and how he forgave his torturer, resulting in that man's salvation. This week, I would again like to use Richard as an example for today's Inspiring Story. I've read the Voice of Martyrs magazines cover-to-cover, because they present the heroic actions of people who have given their all for Christ no matter what the cost. Lately, I've been re-reading some older VOM magazines. Here is an excerpt from the December 2005 issue... --------------- Seventy Christians came together for the secret prayer meeting. It was dangerous to have so many gathered together, but tonight was a special night. They were saying good-bye to their pastor and his wife and son who were leaving the country the next morning. The pastor's family could have left some 20 years earlier, before the inevitable oppression came upon them in full force, but they chose to stay and serve. However, the years of prison and torture had taken their toll, and another ...

Leviticus 19:29 "'Do not prostitute your daughter, to cause her to be a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of wickedness.'" This past Sunday, I was made aware of the horrific reality of human traffiking. Around the world, children are sold by their parents into a life of slavery, which includes prostitution and other heinous acts -- things which such young children should never have to see, let alone partake of. Why? Because poverty is present in many areas of the world, and human traffiking is a lucrative business. Children as young as 5 to 7 years old are caught in the middle of this endless nightmare! Many times, children are even kidnapped by human traffickers! 12.3 million children are sold into slavery, and every 30 seconds one more precious soul is snatched by this giant! I was also shocked to learn that this is not just happening over in places far away like Cambodia; it is happening right here in my hometown! What especiall...

Time for another Inspiring Story! Anyone is welcome to participate, but be sure to check out the guidelines first. Powered by Linky Tools Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links... The following is a repost of an essay that I wrote on God's existence using the remarkable story of a Vietnamese Christian. I was reminded of it while considering my recent post, "Faith: The Stumbling Block." Enjoy! ----------------- Today’s Inspiring Story is an essay I wrote recently about Between Two Tigers, a book published by the Voice of the Martyrs. I am aware that to a skeptic this might not be enough “proof” that there is a God. However, it goes along so well with what I was talking about...: that only when our hearts are pure will we see the Lord. Some people think they’re sincere when they say, “If God exists, prove it to me!” And then when you show them, they shoot down everything you say with their own arguments. This, to me, says that...

I recently read in the VOM (May issue) of a young woman by the name of Esther . Her mother and father are leaders in a church in China. Recently, however, the police dragged off many of the leaders and imprisoned them. Esther's parents were among them. No one is sure where her father is located, but her mother was sentenced to a labor camp in Shanxi province. Esther's mother suffers from arthritis, and she has been sentenced to 15 hours per day of physical labor. On behalf of Esther, VOM requested that everyone send a pre-written letter to Yang, and they sent out six of them with their May newsletter. So what is my dream? I was going to send out my letter after I first decorated it. You know, in labors camps, the people don't usually get to enjoy anything beautiful or colorful. But now, my mission has expanded. As someone who has been greatly touched by the testimonies of the persecuted church, I want to do something more -- something to show them that I love them, greatly ...

Did the title grab your attention? Good! ;) This is hot off the presses! Two days ago, the Associated press released a news article on the earliest paintings of Paul, Andrew, John and Peter! The press reports that these were found in the catacombs in Rome by laser technology! ROME (AP) -- Twenty-first century laser technology has opened a window into the early days of the Catholic Church, guiding researchers through the dank, musty catacombs beneath Rome to a startling find: the first known icons of the apostles Peter and Paul. Vatican officials unveiled the paintings Tuesday, discovered along with the earliest known images of the apostles John and Andrew in an underground burial chamber beneath an office building on a busy street in a working-class Rome neighborhood. The images, which date from the second half of the 4th century, were uncovered using a new laser technique that allows restorers to burn off centuries of thick white calcium carbonate deposits without damaging the b...