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 […]
Is Intolerance Always Bad? A Christian Perspective on Tolerance
The Cultural Double Standard on Morality Why is it culturally appropriate for an individual to deem certain actions as wrong, but not others? When I look at our cultural climate, I see certain actions that are easily condemned such as racism, sexism, body-shaming, and cultural appropriation. At the same time, other actions are said to […]
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 […]
Two Common Distortions of Religious Truth
I don’t particularly enjoy talking about how religions have distorted truths. Many others don’t enjoy hearing about it, either. Most of us avoid conflict, and I’m one of them. However, sometimes conflict is necessary and beneficial when it involves issues that we cannot afford to get wrong. As you will soon see, religious truth is […]
If You Feel Hopelessly Stuck in Your Search for Truth
Truth is messy, especially when it comes to religion. Many of us are genuinely trying to know the truth about God, Jesus, and life after death. We are aware that these questions matter; we cannot afford to get them wrong! But maybe you feel hopelessly stuck in your such for truth. It’s not just frustrating. […]
Jesus: Truth That Changes Everything
Welcome back to our series based on Josh’s best-selling apologetics classic: More Than a Carpenter. If you’ve read the four January posts, then you’re up to speed on how Josh journeyed from diehard skeptic to stunned believer in the truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Josh then had to decide if he was willing to […]
Showing Christ Relevant to Our Whatever Culture
Welcome! In this post Josh shares nine ways Christians can show Christ relevant in our secular culture. We can’t just claim “Christ is truth” anymore, says Josh. We must provide historical evidence for the truthfulness of the Bible, but also share the deep and personal convictions we’ve gained through our committed walk with Christ. Is […]
Can We Know Absolute Right From Wrong?
Welcome! In this post we ask a HUGE question that many believe is impossible to answer: “Can we know absolute right from wrong?” Actually, yes. Let’s look at the 3-point checklist Josh McDowell uses for knowing absolute right to make sound moral choices. If It’s Legal, It’s Moral…Right? If you were to vote on whether […]
Self-Image: See Yourself as God Sees You
Hi there! We’re Jennifer Davis and Anne Clark. Having the opportunity to work with Josh McDowell, we’ve learned just how important self-image is. Josh says it affects every relationship in our lives. For that reason, we’re going to chat about how to develop a healthy self-image and why it’s so important. Josh has written a […]
3 Foundational Truths of Christianity
Welcome! Let’s dive into three foundational truths of Christianity. Committed Christ-followers find these truths compelling enough to exclude all paths other than Jesus. Foundational Truth #1: Jesus Proved His Deity During his 3-year ministry, Jesus repeatedly told His followers that He came from heaven to die for mankind’s sin, to reconcile us to God. In […]
Is the Bible Fact or Fiction?
Welcome! Let’s dive into whether we can trust the Bible. The contents of the Bible were written over a period of over 1500 years, by 40+ authors from every walk of life: kings, fisherman, statesmen, poets, philosophers — even peasants. Some wrote in the wilderness, others in dungeons, some in a palace, and others while on […]
Is History Knowable? Implications for Christianity
The accuracy of history is critical. Even for Christianity. We can look at this photo and make some subjective judgments. We might deduce that the child is somewhere cold. We might also suggest the child’s age, if not also his or her nationality, healthiness, and socioeconomic status. In effect, we’re self-determining this child’s history. Historians, […]
Book Review: The End of Faith
A few years ago, I worked through The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, a popular atheist thinker who argued against a theistic worldview. I chose to read the book because I believe that it is important for Christians (and anyone, for that matter) to engage with viewpoints other than our own. Although I did not find the […]
Apologetics: Apologizing for Believing in God?
“Have a ready answer for what you believe.” Contrary to what the world thinks, Jesus did not ask His followers to believe with “blind” faith. Because He didn’t need to. He wasn’t a swindler, a magician, or a con artist. He was God. He spoke the truth, and demonstrated it time and time again. We […]
Did Jesus Really Rise From Death?
Apologetics Booklet Examines Factual Evidence of the Death and Rise of Jesus Christ How does one go about finding a true answer to the question of whether Jesus did or didn’t rise from the dead? A critical historian would check out the validity of the records of witnesses, confirm Jesus’ death by crucifixion, go […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]