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3 Ways to be Thankful in a Thankless Culture
One of the hallmarks of a degenerate society is the lack of thankfulness. This makes sense since giving thanks is an acknowledgment of God’s praiseworthiness and His goodness. Therefore, those who reject God are marked by a refusal to give thanks to God (cf. Rom 1:21). In contrast to thankless unbelievers, Christians are to be marked by constantly being thankful (Phil 4:6; 1 Tim 4:4). Thus, in honor of American Thanksgiving (sorry Canada), I want to give a few practical ways to promote a thankful heart during this season. Here are three practical ways you can stimulate thankfulness in your heart. Focus on what you deserve. This should be the ultimate prompt for Christians. As Christians, we are recipients of a thing called grace. We deserve hell and eternal damnation. We deserve nothing good, only judgment for rebelling against the Creator. Thus, how much do we have to be thankful…
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Two Simple Questions for the Atheist
I’m not very good at witnessing to unbelieving atheists, but I try to do the best I can. I have studied different apologetic methods, and try to practice certain helpful things I pick up. The problem that I find in talking to an atheist is that they are usually not committed to a consistent worldview. They pick and choose what to believe, based not on a foundational conviction, but on popular opinion (never mind if their beliefs contradict). Although reasoning with nonbelievers can be difficult, here are two questions that I think can help demonstrate the inconsistency of an atheist’s worldview. What is the basis for logical thought or meaningful reasoning for the atheist? The premise behind this question is that true wisdom and rational capability is only found in the reality of God’s creation. Logic and reason are only possible because God has designed the world to operate in…
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The Biblical Problems and Physical Dangers of Transgender Ideology
It is a popular trend today to support the belief that anyone can choose any gender. Transgender ideology has become mainstream, and that mainstream culture promotes the idea that people should be able to identify gender by feeling and not by biological sex. This same culture also teaches that society needs to support those individuals who make the decision to switch genders. If you do not support gender transitions, you are viewed as a bigot and unloving. However, supporting transgender ideology has significant biblical problems as well as physical dangers. The Biblical Problems of Transgender Ideology Scripture is clear—God created mankind in the image of God as male and female (Gen 1:27). It is God who determined the sexes. Hence, God determines gender. Gender cannot be separated from one’s biological sex. Any attempt to do so is a modern rejection of God’s created order. From a Christian worldview, we know…
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Are All Cultures Equal? A Biblical Paradigm
There is a growing belief today that all cultures are equal and that differences between groups are cultural, but not moral. In other words, no culture can claim moral superiority over another because it is just cultural expression. Although this is a common idea, it has met resistance from some who have demonstrated that, on a pragmatic level, productivity and the standard of living are better in some cultures than in others. Although that is undoubtedly true, that in and of itself does not necessarily mean a certain culture is better than another. As Christians, I think it is important to be in the habit of using Scripture to inform any kind of comparison—including culture. Speaking from a biblical standpoint, there are cultures that are better than others. The cultures which are better are the cultures that are more closely aligned with God’s standard for living, and these cultures thereby…
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Christian Ethics and Worldview Systems
Everyone is responsible for their actions, thus ultimately everyone has to decide whether an action is right or whether it is wrong. Even those who reject God must still have a system for determining whether something is right or wrong. One name for this systematic reasoning is called ethics. Ethics is simply a philosophy of determining what is morally right and what is morally wrong. There are two basic systems which people hold to in determining right and wrong. Consequential Ethics The first kind of system is called consequential ethics. Consequential ethics determines what is right or wrong based on the outcome. According to this system of thinking, no act is inherently good or bad in and of itself. It is the result that matters. In other words, consequential ethics believes that the end justifies the means. The underlying assumption of consequential ethics can take various forms, but ultimately proponents…
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Trump, Biden, and the Christian Vote
I had intended to stay out of the foray of political postings. However, I have been compelled to write on the issue because I have seen some very poor reasoning among my Christian friends, and I have been asked by a few people to share my thoughts. So, even though it is an area where bitter disagreement is prone to exist, I have become convinced that it is very necessary to think through these issues as an exercise in Christian discernment. Two Reasons Not to Vote for Trump Trump is not a Christian. Some people might disagree on that, but if vulgar and pompous speech is an indication of character, it seems unlikely to me that Trump has submitted to the Lord. As such, it should come as no surprise that Trump does not act like a Christian. Further, he does not prize certain character traits which Christians prize. Does…
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The Connection between Evolution and Transgenderism
If one were to turn back the clock 15 or 20 years, the words transgender or transgenderism would not have much (if any) meaning to most people. The push for the cultural acceptance of transgenderism is a relatively recent phenomenon. However, if we think through the secular worldview, which is based in evolution, transgenderism is a consistent outworking of that worldview. The Bible teaches the that the Creator created the entire universe and everything in it in 6 days (Genesis 1). The Bible also teaches that the Creator has ultimate authority over the universe and governs it as He sees fit. Every creature within creation must ultimately submit to the Creator’s law governing that creation. In contrast, the worldview of evolution emphasizes the absence of any design or Creator who gives law and direction. In this worldview, life originated through random chance, and continues to evolve through the principle of…
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Why Everyone Should Discriminate
“We never discriminate!” “Discrimination is evil!” Such cries are part of the culture today, yet I challenge the sanity of such claims. First of all, what exactly is discrimination? Meriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the verb “discriminate” as follows: As transitive verb: • to mark or perceive the distinguishing or peculiar features of • to distinguish, differentiate • to distinguish by discerning or exposing differences: to recognize or identify as separate and distinct As intransitive verb: • To make a distinction • To make a difference in treatment or favor on a basis other than individual merit Can we all agree on one obvious observation? None of these definitions are inherently negative. In fact, the core idea of discrimination comes from the Latin word discriminare, which simply means to divide or separate. In other words, discrimination is simply, in the words of Webster, “making a distinction.” Imagine the nonsensical idea of someone…