Why does God not only allow evil to exist, but why does he allow it to affect both unbelievers and believers? How can we make sense of evil in our lives as we pursue holiness?
The Beauty of God
It Is Finished: The Law of Love
This video is a commentary on the part that the Law plays in the life of a Christian. All through the New Testament the Law is spoken of as having been completely finished and fulfilled in Christ. However, this idea is apparently very hard to instill in the mind of believers. Whatever the reason that sustains this obsession some have with the Law, the intention of making this video is to help those who need confidence in the Love of God and Christ in having given us all that we need to attain to the perfection that God has set for his sons and daughters in Christ.
Think On These Things
This video addresses the issue of where a Christian needs to focus their attention and attitude. Both Jesus and Paul gives us excellent advice on how to become a mature Christian. It has become too easy to get distracted by the evil that exists in the world today. However, we must not become absorbed into the troubles of the world, but become lights for the world by showing it the goodness of God through our own behavior and character
The Power of Positive Thinking?
What Is Faith?
The Philosophical Trend of the Church
During the early years of the Christian church many of its theologians and bishops were influenced by their training in philosophy when they began to create the doctrine of the church. It was at this time that Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), a polemicist against heresy, made the comment “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”
His concern was that theology was becoming based too much upon philosophical ideals and not enough upon the Scriptures—what he called the Rule of Faith. He considered philosophy to be a form of paganism and something that did not mix well with faith. He did, however, use the tools of philosophy in his argumentation, but did not base his beliefs upon them.
The pattern that Tertullian saw in the late 2nd century existed throughout the history and development of the church. We can see the influences of both Plato and Aristotle in the thinking of the church fathers as well as many theologians to follow. This pattern continued during the time of the Enlightenment when philosophy seemed to be at its heights. And we still see this pattern continue through Modernism and into the Post-modern world.
These various forms of philosophy have had a dramatic and lasting impact upon the church’s theologians that extended into the beliefs of the church itself. Today, if we look carefully, we can see the effects of Post-modern thinking upon the average church-goer who has little experience in Biblical training and who is looking for simple answers to complex questions. Even pastors are assimilating today’s philosophical idealism into their sermons and teaching materials.
We need to rethink this trend and once again ask, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”
What do you think?
PHILOSOPHY & CHRISTIANITY 