Over the course of this series, we have been exploring the Biblical case for the divinity of Jesus. I believe that this matters because, to put it simply, if Jesus made claims to be God should take them seriously. Even more so, if Jesus’ claims to be God happen to be true, then we owe Him the same honor, and worship that Yahweh is afforded. The claim that Jesus merely thought of himself as a moral teacher, a revolutionary,... Read more
It may be appropriate to begin this article with a Psalm. This passage is from Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.... Read more
Jesus is God. At least that is what we as Christians believe. We believe that Jesus is God incarnate. He is the Jewish Messiah who came to reconcile us to the just and holy God, taking on the iniquity of human beings on a Roman cross and rising from the dead 3 days later. But wait. Do we have good reasons to believe that Jesus is God? Did Jesus see himself as God or divine? Or did he only... Read more
In the last article, we discussed the idea that our understanding of Jesus, much like Yahweh, should impact everything about our lives. The question of who Jesus is, then, should be at the forefront of our minds. If Jesus is God, the embodiment of Yahweh Himself, then we owe Him our worship just as commanded in the Law. If Jesus is not God, then we Christians are wrong and need to figure something out… and fast. The Jewishness of... Read more
In the last series of articles, I dove into the character of God and introduced the following idea: how we view God should affect everything else in our lives. Coincidentally, I believe that our view of Jesus holds this same power. The Heart of the Christian Worldview At the heart of the Christian Worldview stands a Jewish Messiah who suffered for the evil of mankind (Isaiah 53). He did this so that we would not be subject to God’s... Read more
I am a firm believer that when we fully understand God’s Character and realize just how unlike God we are, then we are required to respond. Perhaps it is important to note that our response can be positive or negative. When someone recognizes God’s holiness, love, grace, forgiveness, wrath, and justice, they can either: Turn away from God, live apathetically towards Him, seek their own will over His, and/or pound their fist until he/she fully gets his or... Read more
God’s Character So Far Throughout this series, we have taken a look at the character of God and how we should respond. In the first article, I introduced two main ideas: how we think about God should affect how we think about everything and as image bearers of God, it is important to have an understanding of His character. In the second article, we took a more focused look at God’s compassionate and merciful nature and discussed how in light... Read more
God’s Character Thus Far In previous articles, we have dove into different aspects of God’s character. So far, we have seen God’s grace and mercy being shown to humans that do evil and, wishing for repentance and reconciliation, we’ve seen His patience acted out towards people until the last possible moment. As we’ve seen, this seems to always be Yahweh’s first goal. It is only when humans pass a threshold of always wishing to do evil and always acting out... Read more
Upon reading the Old Testament, Christians and non-Christians alike may come to the following conclusion: Yahweh sure can have a temper. The Flood, Canaan, dealings with Israel, the Egyptians, the judgment of Assyria, the Hittites, and Babylon; all of these point to the idea that God can, in fact, have a temper. Yet, something that I notice is that when one comes to these passages they come to the conclusion that God is a moral monster, instead of asking... Read more
When Atheists Debate Christians I work at a liquor warehouse. This job requires me to arrive promptly at 5 a.m. During the first 4 hours of my shift, I am doing what would be expected of a warehouse employee at 5 in the morning: I’m drinking coffee I’m moving inventory to the shelves And, of course, I’m listening to debates between Theists and Atheists One such debate I came across was a 2016 debate between Dr. David Wood and Dr.... Read more
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