What About Capitalizing Pronouns Referring to God?

Last updated on: May 1, 2019 at 8:20 am By Randy Alcorn

I’ve been asked by readers over the years, “Why don’t you capitalize the pronouns referring to God in your books?” The old practice of capitalizing pronouns of deity has been done in very few Bible translations historically, and was abandoned by most Christian publishers years ago. I continued to do it for years but it created inconsistencies since I would capitalize pronouns of deity, then quote Scripture that didn’t. The inconsistency stood out. The only alternative would be to quote... Read more

Will We Learn in Heaven?

Last updated on: April 24, 2019 at 1:41 pm By Randy Alcorn

I heard a pastor say, “There will be no more learning in Heaven.” One writer says that in Heaven, “Activities such as investigation, comprehending and probing will never be necessary. Our understanding will be complete.” [1] In a Gallup poll of people’s perspectives about Heaven, only 18 percent thought people would grow intellectually in Heaven. [2] Does Scripture indicate that we will learn in Heaven? Yes. Consider Ephesians 2:6-7: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with... Read more

20 Years after Columbine, and Thoughts from Darrell Scott, Father of Rachel Joy Scott, on Preparing for Suffering

Last updated on: April 24, 2019 at 1:42 pm By Randy Alcorn

Last month on April 20, was the 20th anniversary of the shooting at Columbine High School. Like many of us, I vividly remember the shock as the events unfolded. As part of my research for my book If God Is Good, I interviewed and exchanged correspondence with many people who shared their stories and perspectives. One of those people was Darrell Scott, whose daughter Rachel Joy Scott was the first person killed at Columbine. When Darrell looked back at his daughter’s... Read more

You Can Claim to Follow Jesus, But Miss the Point of Who He Is

Last updated on: April 24, 2019 at 12:47 pm By Randy Alcorn

Most readers of this blog are followers of Jesus. But what do we really believe about the Jesus we follow? Is the Jesus we claim to know the real Jesus, or a Jesus of our own invention, who doesn’t match up with the biblical and historical realities? There are a lot of people, friends, coworkers and extended family members who say they “believe in Jesus.” But what’s more important is what they actually believe about the Jesus they say they worship and follow. For... Read more

My Heaven Booklet, and Ideas for How to Use It to Share the Gospel

Last updated on: April 17, 2019 at 3:29 pm By Randy Alcorn

I’ve been greatly encouraged by the responses to the little 60-page Heaven booklet, which contains a sampling of the questions and answers found in my Heaven book. Heaven has reached over one million copies sold, and this small, affordable booklet has sold over 1,500,000. I never would have guessed it of either! (Here’s a short excerpt from the booklet.) The Heaven booklet has been widely distributed at memorial services. Some churches, including my own, make it available at every memorial service. Sometimes it’s handed out at the door; sometimes it’s... Read more

The Rich History of the Early African Church

Last updated on: April 17, 2019 at 3:12 pm By Randy Alcorn

In my novel Dominion, I picture one of the characters, Dani, who is in Heaven, learning about the history of the black church. It’s a rich history, one that I think we all should celebrate. It was fascinating to study these things as I spent a few years researching that novel. I hope you find this interesting: Zeke and Torel left Dani alone to observe through the time portal a great ancient civilization in northern Africa, near modern Sudan. She viewed... Read more

Is Death a Taboo Subject for You, Or Are You Preparing for Life’s Greatest Certainty?

Last updated on: April 10, 2019 at 3:22 pm By Randy Alcorn

There’s an old story of a slave who travels with his master to Baghdad. Early one morning, milling through the marketplace, the slave sees Death in human form. Death gives him a threatening look, and the slave recoils in terror, convinced Death intends to take him that day. The slave runs to his master and says, “Help me! I’ve seen Death, and his threatening look tells me he intends to take my life this very day. I must escape him.... Read more

Much-Needed Perspectives on Suffering from Dave Furman

Last updated on: April 10, 2019 at 3:18 pm By Randy Alcorn

I really appreciated this 20-minute interview about chronic pain with Dave Furman, a church planting pastor/missionary in Dubai and the author of Kiss the Wave: Embracing God in Your Trials. I met Dave at a Gospel Coalition conference I was speaking at a few years ago, but at the time had no clue about his chronic pain. What he shares in this podcast was very touching to me, and perhaps it could encourage you as you face your own suffering, and... Read more

What About Quoting from Someone You Disagree with in Some Areas or Who Had Personal Moral Failures?

Last updated on: April 10, 2019 at 3:13 pm By Randy Alcorn

Over the years, I’ve been asked why I would quote from someone in my books or on Facebook or Twitter when I don’t agree with them in every area. My response is that when I quote someone in a context of agreement, the only thing I’m saying is I agree with that statement, not all their other statements. Nor is my quoting someone a blanket endorsement of their lifestyle and choices in every area. Otherwise there is no one I or anyone could quote from! For example, there are any... Read more

“Keep Your Heart,” “Expensive Principle,” and More Odd Google Translate Renderings of My Book Titles from Other Languages

Last updated on: April 10, 2019 at 3:08 pm By Randy Alcorn

One of my great joys is to see my books translated into languages around the world. To date, there have been translations in over seventy languages (see the full list). It’s always interesting to see the different covers that the publishers choose, some of which are wildly different—and also sometimes better—than the original English version. Years ago I blogged about some of these covers, including the Korean Heaven for Kids, which portrays me, as the author, as an old man with a cane speaking... Read more