In Matthew 5:22 Jesus says: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Call your […]
holiness
If Christians are not, on average, better than non-Christians, is that a problem for Christianity?
The stage for the question before us is set in the second of these two Twitter surveys that I recently posted: If Christians are not, on average, more honest than non-Christians, then that fact would constitute at least some degree of evidence against the truth of Christianity. — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) April 24, 2019 The […]
Would you rather be a Muslim who acts like Jesus or a Christian who doesn’t?
Make America Godly Again?
As others have suggested, #MAGA should stand for "make America godly again." We can only be greet if we are good. #SavingaSickAmerica. — Dr. Michael L. Brown (@DrMichaelLBrown) October 2, 2017 That tweet got my attention. So I asked Dr. Brown (via Twitter), to which point in American history is he referring? That is, which […]
How I’ll Know When I’m Ready For Heaven (Hint: it has to do with dog turds)
Over the last month the snows have gradually receded from Edmonton as spring has tepidly taken hold on the northern prairies. It’s an exciting time of year, except for one thing: dog turds. Yes, dog turds. I try to get out for runs on a regular basis and as the snows melt away on the […]
80. The Problem with Porn: A conversation with Matt Fradd
We live in a world where Abercrombie and Fitch sell padded bras for eight year olds, where b-movie stars build their careers by tweeting demeaning selfies to their legions of voyeuristic knuckle dragging fans, and where an adjective like “sexy” is now used to describe everything from sports cars to sermon titles. In short, ours is […]
The point is to become holy. Happiness comes later: Christianity Against Culture Part 2
Imagine that the eager young campers arrive for their first day of summer camp. The campers believe they are at the camp to have fun. Unbeknownst to them, however, their parents have sent them there to remediate their behavior. You see, this camp deals with delinquent youths, and while it aims to offer fun, the […]
Hi. You’re awesome.
The other day I visited a church and was greeted at the entrance with this sign. “Hi. You’re Awesome.” I looked around surprised, but there was nobody else present at that moment, so I concluded the sign must mean me. My first thought was, “Gee, if I’m already awesome, why not sleep in Sunday morning […]
Are we horrified by hell because we aren’t holy enough?
Could it be that we are horrified at the prospect of people suffering eternal torture in body and mind because we are insufficiently holy? At first blush, that claim seems to contradict in the most direct terms what it means to be holy. And yet, you don’t have to look far to find theologians suggesting that […]
16. Gordon T. Smith on Christian conversion
In this episode of The Tentative Apologist Podcast we get to sit down with one of the foremost theologians in Canada, Gordon T. Smith. Dr. Smith is President of Ambrose University College and Seminary in Calgary where he also teaches as Professor of Systematic and Spiritual Theology. Over the years Dr. Smith has worn many […]
