"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media: The state of Washington wages abortion war against churches with the help of Planned Parenthood and NARAL, university professors prey on freshman to turn them into atheists, and America's first non-binary human makes a surprising admission: it was a sham.
The first chapter of the book of Joel describes a locust plague that devastated the land. The land was so ravaged that the people had no food to eat and nothing to sacrifice for their sins. In the midst of such devastation Joel gives a prophecy about a future destruction from a foreign military that will act as God's arm of discipline against Israel. The reason for both the actual plague and the coming judgment are the same: the people had forgotten God. With nothing left and a future filled with dread God provides hope (2.12). The Lord is not interested in sacrifices, he desires their hearts.
Back in October of 2002, Westword, a newspaper out of Boulder, Colorado. published a full front page story on B.C. Tours (a company my friends and I started). The reporter, David Holthouse, interviewed each of us separately. During our interview he asked me a surprising and off-topic question: how do you justify God commanding the Israelites to kill everyone in the Promised Land? This is a question I've been asked before, so I had an answer, albeit a brief one, at the ready. Surprisingly, this exchange made it into the article.
"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media. Happy birthday Darwin, the racist "fake-science" writer, lots of love for those scientists signing "A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism", and big round of applause to British moms and dads for ending the high school musical "Darwin Rocks!" and a look at other possible fake science issues.
Comedian Dennis Miller once said, "It's silly to hate anyone based on their religion or the color of their skin when, if you took the time to really get to know them, you could find so many better reasons to hate them." The point is, people are complicated. Nowhere in Scripture is this more evident than in the relationship between Kings David and Solomon with Elohim. They are considered Israel's greatest kings, but were they really? How do they measure up against God's guide for kings? That guide is given to everyone in Deuteronomy, so we can judge for ourselves.
Years ago I went to a lecture presented by Dr. Larry Crabb. I had read his two important works, Inside Out and Men & Women, as well as Shattered Dreams. I took my best friend (who had not read anything by Crabb but knew him through reputation) and we anxiously awaited to hear what the author had discovered. After he came out on stage and gave a few introductory remarks he asked the audience a simple question: “What is the center of Christianity? If there were a bulls eye in the Christian faith, what would it be?” The crowd offered up several answers and my friend even shouted up at the stage: “Jesus!” Larry looked over at us and, shockingly, said, “No, it’s not Jesus.”
"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media. Bible critics are silenced as Christian archaeologist Dr. Scott Stripling locates the ancient Canaanite city of Ai, proving the reliability of the Biblical account and shedding new light on the changing culture of the Near East in general and of early Israel in particular.
The first time someone tried quoting the Bible to me with a phrase found nowhere in Scripture was high school. In order to curb my evangelistic enthusiasm the assistant principal told me to "Do as the Bible says and 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'". When I pointed out that wasn't in the Bible, she doubled down saying, "Oh it is, I think you need to read your Bible more." Yeah. The actual origin of the phrase is credited to Saint Ambrose, the bishop of Rome in 387 B.C. So no, it is not in the Bible.
"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media. Jack Phillips wins again, a church in West Virginia burns to the ground but the Bibles and crosses within survive without damage, and in a personal note it's been a week of locusts, locusts and more locusts and a surprising — if not alarming — discovery.
Coming this April to Salem, Massachusetts is the first ever "Christian Witches" Convention. The convention is being organized by Valerie Love, an ordained reverend by the "Minister of Spiritual Consciousness" and a practicing witch, according to CBN News. Love's website reveals she was raised Jehovah's Witness and had an awakening to the world of magic at age 26. Since then she went on to found the Covenant of Christian Witches Mystery School and to author The Christian Witches Creed which, apparently, has a large following despite the term "Christian Witch" being an oxymoron. Is this practice genuinely Christian or synchronism in action?
This marks the start of a prolonged series on the Gospel of Luke. As we’ve already examined the book of Acts, it seems reasonable that the first Gospel we study should be Luke as both share a common author. Ask anyone to compare the gospels and two facts will almost always be mentioned: (1) that John is the Gospel of Love, and (2) that Luke is the Historical Gospel. While it is true that John gives us a look into Jesus’ personal struggles and relates stories not contained in any other gospel account, it is not true that Luke is purely a historical account.
"Media" used to mean "print media" like books and newspapers, but the world has grown. Today media can also mean radio, television and movies delivered to personal computers, tablets and cell phones. As the world's best selling book of all time the Bible continues to make headlines, both good and bad, across all forms of media. Terrorism in Syria drives Muslims into Jesus' arms, Dallas-based megachurch Gateway opens a new campus in maximum security prison, and Senator Corey Booker (D) proves judicial nominee Neomi Rau knows the US Constitution better than he does.
