Posted on Friday,

4 Reasons We Know Humans Have a Soul

And Why It Matters

Does modern neuroscience show that there is no soul? Are you just your brain? Is belief in the soul just an outdated bronze-age myth? Contrary to what you may read in Time magazine online or see on the Discovery Channel, science has demonstrated no such thing.

For the record, that’s not a knock on science. Why? Because science is only one way we know about reality. In other words there is more to reality than what you can just touch or weigh.

How Do We Know We Have A Soul?

My goal here is not to lay out a detailed philosophical case for the soul (I’ve done that elsewhere). What I want to do is give you a couple of practical reasons you can understand and use in everyday conversations.

(1) Jesus–who was raised from the dead–believed and taught that there is a soul. This is highly significant. Especially in light of (more…)

Posted on Friday,

What Did the Jewish Historian Josephus Really Say About Jesus?

3 Things Every Christian Should Know About Josephus and Jesus

👉 Download Your Free Guide: 5 Conversations Every Parent Must Have About Screens & Social Media

There you are having a great conversation with a friend about Christianity and how you know that Jesus existed without just saying “the Bible says so.” You even name-dropped Josephus. And then this happens…

Friend: “Yea, another Christian friend of mine said something about Josephus. I had never heard of him. So I looked it up and found out that the passage by Josephus that mentions Jesus is disputed by scholars today.”

You (sweating now): “I hadn’t heard that before. My pastor just said Josephus shows that Jesus existed.”

Friend: “Maybe you should look it up and see what it says for yourself?”

You: “Yeah, looks like I should do that…”

Gulp…you weren’t ready for that one…

Who Was Josephus?

If you know who Josephus is, good for you! (virtual high five coming at you!)

If not, no worries! Here’s what you need to know about Josephus and why he matters to the conversation about Jesus of Nazareth. (more…)

Posted on Friday,

How Do We Know Matthew Was the Author of the Gospel of Matthew?

3 Reasons Why Matthew Was Not A Forgery of the Early Church

We live in a culture that has questions about the Bible. And that’s OK–because questions, if the goal is truth, will lead to a stronger faith. I have seen this time and again. (But how we question the Bible is critically important)

But as Christians we also are called to respond to challenges which threaten to undercut our faith (Jude 3; 1 Peter 3:15). And in case you haven’t noticed, the Bible is a BIG target so there are lots of challenges!

The Skeptical Challenge of the Authorship of the Gospels

Skeptics like to raise doubts and new “hidden” or “lost” information about the Gospels. Why? Because that is (more…)

Posted on Friday,

Why History Matters To The Christian Faith

3 Reasons Every Young Person Needs To Know

Did the events recorded in the pages of Scripture really happen in history? And does it matter? The short answer is…Yes and Yes! BTW the longer answer is still yes and yes…but this is a blog, not a book 😉

3 Reasons Why History Matters To Faith

Here are 3 reasons why history matters to the Christian faith.

(1) Biblical faith is not blind faith. Reason and evidence play an important role in the life of faith. God created us as rational beings with the capacity to weigh evidence and draw conclusions about what we are experiencing. We are called to give reasons for faith (cf. 1 Peter 3:15-16).

(Image: The Pool of Siloam, rock-cut pool on the southern slope of the City of David, the archaeological site of Jerusalem, Israel cf. John 9:6-7)

I for one am so encouraged that when John the Baptist struggled with doubt and sent his disciples to Jesus to inquire if he truly was the long awaited Messiah that Jesus didn’t respond with (more…)

Posted on Tuesday,

What is Naturalism?

Reality Testing Worldviews

Ideas matter. And it’s important to “reality test” worldviews because too much is at stake. How does Naturalism fare?

Scientific naturalism is the view that the physical universe is all there is, was, and ever will be. Only material stuff exists, and science is the only source of reliable knowledge concerning the world; everything else is mere conjecture.