Biblical Examples of Church and State Jurisdictional Separation

Biblical Examples of Church and State Jurisdictional Separation

“Getting to Know Your Church-State Jurisdictions” is Part One in this series, “The Biblical Model of Church and State” is Part Two, and Part Three is “Can Secularism Account for Morality in Government?” To understand the relationship between Church and State we need to go to the source, and that source is not the United States Constitution. Modern-day social theory is based on an evolutionary mode [...]

It's Kind of a Funny Story...

It's Kind of a Funny Story...

Some years ago, Dr. Gary North and Ken Gentry wrote articles for a monthly newsletter titled Dispensationalism in Transition. So much about dispensationalism has changed over the years that C.I. Scofield most likely would not recognize it. The Scofield Reference Bible that first appeared in 1909 and was revised by the author in 1917, has gone through several revisions since then. “In 1967, Oxford [...]

Problem Solving Bible Study and Apologetics

Problem Solving Bible Study and Apologetics

My article “Does the Bible Require Jesus to be Buried for 72 Hours?” garnered some attention. It got people to think, and hopefully helped them deal with an objection that is often raised by skeptics. When I became a Christian, I was always interested in apologetics. My initial curiosity in the topic came by way of people who claimed there were contradictions in the Bible. Studying to find a solut [...]

The Humanist Mind at the End of its Tether

The Humanist Mind at the End of its Tether

The beginning of the twentieth century brought with it the hope for unchallenged optimism. H. G. Wells, the author of numerous popular science fiction thrillers, described a period of “evolutionary idealism, faith in progress, and complete optimism.”[i] He proposed that world leaders should create “a common world religion” that was not linked to Christianity or any other th [...]

Does the Bible Require Jesus to be Buried for 72 Hours?

Does the Bible Require Jesus to be Buried for 72 Hours?

I’ve been reading Dan Kimball’s book How (Not) To Read the Bible. It’s a well-constructed book with lots of illustrations that helps to make sense of the “antiwomen, anti-science, pro-violence, pro-slavery and other crazy-sounding parts of Scripture” that skeptics bring up in attempts to discredit the Bible. Some Christians won’t like all of Kimball’s explanations, especially when it comes to the [...]

The Wheat and the Weeds: When and Whom?

The Wheat and the Weeds: When and Whom?

Sam Waldron who teaches at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary has been writing on the topic of postmillennialism. In his “DatPostmil? #4: Does the Growth of the Kingdom Require Postmillennialism?” he discusses some of the parables of Jesus. While he agrees with the growth imagery of the parables, he dismisses “postmillennial implications of these passages,” in particular “the Parable of the Whe [...]

Son of Man Coming in His Kingdom: Past or Future?

Son of Man Coming in His Kingdom: Past or Future?

A plain reading of Matthew 16:27–28 gives the distinct impression that what is being described by Jesus was going to take place within the time frame of that generation, their generation. (See Part One: “What Did Jesus Mean about His Coming in Matthew 16?”) Some would still be alive but most would have died before Jesus came in judgment against Jerusalem, an event that took place in AD 70 and prop [...]

What Did Jesus Mean About His Coming in Matthew 16?

What Did Jesus Mean About His Coming in Matthew 16?

Matthew 16:27–28 has been interpreted in numerous ways over the centuries. A plain reading of the text gives the impression that what is being described by Jesus was going to take place within the time frame of that generation—their generation. This is Part One of a two-part series titled “What Did Jesus Mean When He said, ‘There are some of those who are standing here who shall not ta [...]

'Foundations of Christian Scholarship': 45 Years Later

'Foundations of Christian Scholarship': 45 Years Later

In 1976, Dr. Gary North edited and published Foundations of Christian Scholarship: Essays in the Van Til Perspective. It included chapters on psychology, history, economics, education, political science, sociology, mathematics, theology, and two chapters written by Dr. Greg Bahnsen on apologetics and philosophy. Bahnsen’s two chapters were written before he received his Ph.D. in 1978 when he turne [...]

Criminals Laugh at Second Amendment Restrictions

Criminals Laugh at Second Amendment Restrictions

The House of Representatives passed an expansive gun control bill that would criminalize firearm sales, gifts, or loans between unlicensed private persons. Some Republicans joined the unconstitutional bill. Criminals are laughing. Do members of Congress believe that such a law is going to stop criminals from selling, loaning, or “gifting” firearms? There are people right now who kill other people [...]

Can Secularism Justify and Account for Anything?

Can Secularism Justify and Account for Anything?

Christian apologetics begins by establishing an authoritative starting point. Like Archimedes (287?–212 B.C.), who once boasted that given the proper lever and a place to stand, he could “move the earth,” the Christian apologist seeks to base his defense on a secure foundation to move the hearts and minds of sinners to embrace the eternal hope found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. But u [...]

Pushing the Absurdity of Irrationality

Pushing the Absurdity of Irrationality

We are experiencing an ongoing war of worldviews. Advocates of a this-world (secular) worldview have set their sights on the destruction of all competing worldviews that transcend the finite world of knowledge and power. Anti-Christian worldviews derive their authority and power exclusively from this temporal time and place controlled by ideological power brokers. R. C. Sproul states the following [...]

Are Computers and Airplanes a Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy?

Are Computers and Airplanes a Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy?

A popular end-time prediction is that Daniel 12 is referring to events in our day, more than 2600 years from the time the prophecy was given to Daniel. For example, Hal Lindsey claims the following: “When Daniel emerged from the vision, the angel instructed him, ‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase [...]

Challenging the Assumptions in an Argument

Challenging the Assumptions in an Argument

If you are going to argue with someone, you must get down to the operating assumptions of what’s being argued. We first heard that homosexuals were born that way, just like heterosexuals are born with desires for those of the opposite sex. Now we are told that people can “identify” as any number of genders. Does this mean that identification determines validity? Some people claim that [...]