My Best Blog Posts

Miracles: Evidence for the Supernatural (3-part series) The Historical Case for the Resurrection of Jesus The Problem of Evil (4-part series) Foundations (5-part series) Participating in the Story of Scripture The Story of the Gospel and the Story of My Life Foundations of Christian Ethics (3-part series) Religion, Violence, and the State The Politics of … Read more

Was New Testament Christianity the Original Christianity?

New Testament Christianity was not the only form of early Christianity. In the second and third centuries, there were other Christian groups–the Gnostics, the Ebionites, the Marcionites–which were regarded as heretics by orthodox Christians. Antichristian skeptics often argue that the existence of these various early forms of Christianity means that we cannot know what the … Read more

Where Should the Church Go From Here?

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Church, Government, and Society

The past 2,000 years of Church history have been a long and winding road.  The early Church tried to do its best to live out the radically countercultural reality of Jesus’s Kingdom in the midst of a hostile culture.  But beginning in the fourth century, there was a dramatic transition to Christendom, in which Christianity … Read more

Christian Ethics and Government Welfare

One of the most significant political and social developments of the last century in America has been the enormous expansion of government aid provided to the poor and needy.  Early on in American history, the federal government for the most part restricted its role to what the Constitution explicitly said it could do.  However, beginning … Read more

The Importance of Church Discipline

Discipline in the Christian Community The church is the community of Jesus’s disciples.  Every community is a group of people who gather around a set of shared values and/or goals.  The values and goals of the church are proclaiming the gospel, being conformed to the image of Christ, and advancing God’s Kingdom.  At the practical … Read more