The Consequences of Making God in Our Image
A dangerous trend is accelerating in our culture among Christians and non-Christians alike. We are streaming hours of content that fill our screens and our minds with messages that celebrate the decay of truth, approve of all lifestyle decisions, and prescribe self affirmation as the best medication for any mental or spiritual struggles. We bathe […]
God’s Love vs. Culture’s Love: Unmasking 3 Dangerous Lies
Our culture is lovesick. Partly because we are created to love, and partly because the modern understanding of love is greatly distorted. Our media is filled with stories that shape our expectations of what love should be, and it’s not always for the better. We hope for love, try it out, and are often left […]
Why You Can’t Use the Bible to Challenge God’s Goodness
One of the most common objections to Christianity is that God is not good. Critics point to passages of God’s judgment, his commanding the Israelites to engage in warfare, or a host of stories where God’s actions seem cruel or uncaring. The attribute of God’s goodness is one of my deepest passions. It’s so critical […]
How to Offer a Christian Response to Cancel Culture: 3 Steps to Lead with Grace
In the age of cancel culture and condemnation, as believers, how should we be responding and engaging? The Culture of Condemnation vs. The Example of Jesus In New Testament times, amidst a society which held to punitive action in response to wrongdoing, Jesus entered the scene – with mercy. That must have been earth […]
What Is God’s Justice and Why Is It Truly Fair?
In today’s society, discussion around justice mostly involves either fair distribution of resources or punishment of lawbreakers. God’s justice reveals a bigger picture that involves how we treat one another, especially those in need, and how we deal with sin. The Problem with a Human-Centered View of Justice What it means to be just has […]
10 Emotional Needs only God can Meet
The Root of Our Insecurity: Unmet Emotional Needs According to Dr. David Ferguson, we have 10 essential emotional needs that we are seeking to fulfill: Attention, Acceptance, Appreciation, Support, Encouragement, Affection, Respect, Security, Comfort, and Approval. Much research has been done to identify why people struggle with unwanted behaviors such as addictions and compulsive behaviors. […]
The Road to Disenchantment: How We Lost the Wonder of God
Staring at Screens, Not Stars In ancient times people would look up at the stars at night. Now, we look down at our phones. Stars make the world feel big, screens make the world feel small. I wonder how this is affecting us? I remember seeing a recent post on X encompassing this idea and […]
The Truth About Beauty: Rediscovering Its Objective Meaning
Beauty is a concept that touches many different areas of our lives: art, nature, morality, etc. Beauty has historically been seen as whatever is good or whatever is pleasing to the senses. But what truly makes something beautiful? Most of modern culture sees beauty as best defined in the eye of the beholder. Whether it […]
3 Myths People Believe About God
Why Our View of God Matters People have all kinds of opinions about God. Pantheists say God is everything; polytheists believe in multiple gods and goddesses; deists believe that He created everything but isn’t involved with creation. Even some Christians teach things about God that don’t line up with the Bible. That’s why we need […]
When God Feels Distant
“Lord, my God, who am I that you should forsake me? The child of your love – And now I become as the most hated one-the one you have thrown away as unwanted-unloved. I call, I cling, I want-and there is no one to answer- no one on whom I can cling- no, no one.-alone. […]
Two Reasons Skeptics Believe Jesus is not God
One of the most important features of Christian faith is accepting that Jesus is God. Christians are in trouble, then, if Jesus never made such a claim of himself! Yet many have argued that this is exactly the case: Jesus never claimed to be God, they say, and his divinity is an invention of the […]
Happy, Loving People
Happy, loving people are people who share the most love. “Make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life.” 2 Peter 1:5 For 50+ years, Josh McDowell Ministry has been leading seekers into a deeper knowledge of God’s truth and power. We offer you our accumulated knowledge and research to help […]
Display God’s Love
God makes it clear that we are to display God’s love, even to those who are mean and hateful to us. You have heard that the law of Moses says, “Love your neighbor” and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be […]
Love: Theme of Life
Jesus’ words and life make it clear that love is always right. It is right for all people, for all places, and for all times. Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is […]
Loving Hard-to-Love People
Loving hard-to-love people requires God’s help. But we can do it! “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” ~Jimmy Dugan For 50+ years, Josh McDowell Ministry has been leading seekers into a deeper knowledge of God’s truth and power. We offer you […]
Can We Trust God?
Welcome! In this post we’ll dive a bit into how our trusting God affects our everyday life. So here’s the thing: many of us don’t trust God. But if we don’t learn to trust God, we’ll never gain a firm foundation for our Christian faith. We’ll always be unsure if He sees us as loved […]
The Problem of Natural Disasters
Many of us are familiar with the so-called Problem of Evil. If God is all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing, why is there evil in the world? This question is so important for any Christian to ask. Thankfully, thoughtful responses to this enigma have produced volumes of material. In a nutshell, we see evil in this world because of free will, and […]
Biblical Scripture: Truth or Tale?
Can we Believe What We Read in Scripture? The idea that “what’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me” can lead a person to the conclusion that the moral truths from the Bible are all just a matter of opinion. But this conclusion simply reveals our confusion over the concepts of truth and belief. We are all […]
Religious Freedom: Still an American Hallmark?
Religious Freedom + Cultural Tolerance = ? Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. When the First […]
The Bible: Just a Rule Book of “Thou Shalt Nots”?
A lot of people get hung up on what they see as the Bible’s negativity. The Bible gets a bum rap for being “negative,” for being a bunch of rules one has to follow, if God is to be good to us. God’s Word definitely contains “Thou shalt nots,” but God’s intention is not to limit our human experience. […]
“Oh, my God!” Meaningless Expression or Power Words?
Speak God’s name with reverence. One thing missing in society today is a deep, soul-level reverence for God. We hear people utter God’s name, all day long, but they’re not actually talking to Him — or even about Him. “Oh, my God!” and “Jesus!” and “Oh, Lord!” become just meaningless expressions, convenient ways to respond to a funny joke or dumb thing we see […]
Holding on to the Truth
Josh, I remember meeting you in a parking garage in Orlando during the 2012 YPS conference. I was on staff at Global Youth Ministry at the time and you walked up to the group I was in. I had seen you before and you looked familiar to me, but I didn’t know why. You began […]
Undaunted Hope
Hi, I just watched the movie Undaunted,the story of Josh McDowell. I had no idea what he had been through as a child. He had a drunken father that constantly beat his mother, a sister who committed suicide and a male helper at the farm house they had who sexually abused him for about 7 […]
The Bible: Why Youth Need to Know Its Truths
I’ll Decide My Own Truth To be American is to embrace individual rights, right? Having been brought up to believe this, today’s young people are uncomfortable with the suggestion that there is only one universal truth. “You can believe that silliness,” they might reply. “But I’ll decide my own truth.” Because Christianity appears exclusive, many young people are […]