by | Oct 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
Even the most spiritual people can struggle with doubts about God. But how do they overcome them?
I recently had a conversation with a college sophomore who’s been struggling with his faith. He is a Christian who wants to believe, he said, but there are many days when he wakes up doubting that there’s enough proof to justify belief in God’s existence.
I sympathized with the young man’s struggle because I’ve experienced it myself. Like me, he seems to be an intellectually-driven person who longs for logical reasons to believe—not inexplicit feelings or even experiential evidence.
So I asked him, “On days when you wake up feeling like an atheist, what particular doubts do you find most troubling?”
He said he was particularly bothered by the discrepancies in the gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection—they seemed too great to be harmonized or explained away. And if they could not be trusted, he thought, what reason did he have to believe in God at all?
I was taken aback by his answer because he seemed to have come to a much more extreme conclusion than his doubt warranted. Discrepancies in the gospel accounts are certainly troubling—but even if there were some conflicting accounts that could not be harmonized, would atheism be the only logical recourse?
And yet that’s often how these kinds of doubts work. Whenever some premise upon which we’ve relied is cut out from under us, we begin to worry that we can’t depend on that foundation—which can ultimately lead us to the conclusion that there is no good reason to believe.
At first, we think we can combat our intellectual doubts by ignoring them (which rarely works) or by focusing intensely on the specific questions we think are at the root of our doubt. But when we …
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by | Oct 30, 2023 | Uncategorized
The war has spurred millions in donations to ministries that provide everything from emergency supplies to security gear for future attacks.
When war broke out in Israel, organizations and ministries working in the country put crisis plans into action. They called up trained workers and volunteers, retrieved supplies from stocked warehouses, and drove bulletproof vehicles to deliver aid to victims and gear to first responders.
And they looked to Christians in the US and around the globe to help fund their efforts.
The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) has received millions in donations since the war broke out, more than any other two-week period in its history.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI), which calls itself the largest pro-Israel organization in the US, sent $1 million to fund first responders within days of the October 7 barrage and continues to fundraise.
And The Joshua Fund, founded by Christian author Joel Rosenberg, has collected over $685,000 in donations. The organization is operating 21 aid distribution centers, delivering pallets of toilet paper, bottled water, and other supplies.
“We’ve had literally thousands of new donors, and giving to our Rapid Response Fund has never been greater,” said executive director Carl Moeller. “So many of our donors just want to know how to pray—and to let people over there know that believers in the US are praying and giving to meet their needs.”
Around half of US evangelicals consider support for Israel and the Jewish people to be an important priority in their charitable behavior. For years, giving to nonprofits that work in the Holy Land has been on the rise. Some rank among the biggest Christian charities in the US.
“We were able to mobilize immediately because of the partnerships we have,” said Yael Eckstein, president and CEO of the International Fellowship …
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by | Oct 29, 2023 | Uncategorized
Former IHOPKC leaders bring forward what they say are credible allegations from several women over decades of ministry.
Mike Bickle, the founder of the International House of Prayer of Kansas City (IHOPKC), is facing allegations of sexual and spiritual abuse spanning decades and involving multiple women.
Bickle, 68, has been accused of sexual misconduct “where the marriage covenant was not honored,” according to a statement released Saturday from a group of former IHOPKC leaders who investigated the claims.
They said, though they were initially shocked, they found the allegations credible based on the “collective and corroborating testimony” of “several victims.”
Bickle’s charismatic megachurch—which has offered round-the-clock prayer and worship since its founding in 1999—was informed of the allegations on Friday, according to The Kansas City Star, which obtained a recording of the announcement.
Stuart Greaves, executive director at IHOPKC, told staff that the leadership team is “taking the situation very seriously.”
The leaders who released the statement—former executive leadership team and board members Dwane Roberts and Brian Kim, along with former Forerunner Christian Fellowship pastor Wes Martin—said they first attempted to bring the allegations directly to Bickle, as the Bible instructs in Matthew 18. They said Bickle refused to meet with them and then tried to intimidate and discredit the victims.
The Kansas City Star reported that Bickle preached on false allegations last Sunday.
In the sermon, he discussed how, per Revelation 12:10, “Satan’s most effective weapon in the end times is accusation” and he turns “whispered innuendoes into hostile accusations that destroy lives and relationships,” according to sermon notes linked by The …
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by | Oct 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
Protestants are grateful for Reformation Day celebrations—and wonder if they’ll ever get religious equality.
This Reformation Day, 18 of Argentina’s 24 provinces will celebrate evangelical and Protestant churches.
Evangelical leaders hope that someday soon, the whole country will join in.
Last month the federal government moved closer to nationally recognizing October 31 in honor of these communities when the Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that has since headed to the Senate.
“For many evangelicals, appearing on the country’s public legislative agenda is very important. It responds to an aspiration for visibility in the community,” said Viviana Barrón, rector of Baptist school Seminario Internacional Teológico Bautista. “Years ago, many said that our churches were practically invisible to governments. That has been changing and is received with joy by many.”
“In our country, evangelical Christians are second-class citizens,” said Joel Issachar Stefanini, president and founder of the Federación Iglesias Pentecostales de Argentina.
“We have been fighting for more than 40 years, since democracy arrived again in our country, to be recognized as a Christian church and to have equal rights.”
Many evangelical leaders have been frustrated as to what they interpret as a 150-year-long state snub toward their community.
According to CONICET, Argentina’s national scientific research council, the evangelical community grew from 9 percent to 15.3 percent of the population between 2008 and 2019. The same report put the Catholic community at 62.9 percent. (Argentina has 46 million people.)
Argentina’s Supreme Court has ruled that the country has no official or state religion. But although its constitution guarantees freedom of religion, it also states that …
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by | Oct 27, 2023 | Uncategorized
Middle East Christians assert their rejection of violence as they relate frustration with lack of Western recognition of the reality of occupation and the collateral damage of bombing campaigns.
Since the outbreak of war after unprecedented terror attacks on Israel by Hamas, Middle Eastern churches, councils, and leaders have expressed their outrage over the killing of thousands of innocent civilians.
Many Arab Christian groups have issued public statements. Most emphasized the Christian call to be peacemakers. Several have been criticized for what some see as calls not specifically addressing the suffering of civilian Jews targeted for death by terrorists.
Originating from Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon—with most prompted by the tragic bombing of the Anglican hospital in Gaza—the public statements range in focus and intensity. Some assert the international community overlooks the context of occupation by the Israeli state; others remind the global church of the continued Christian presence in the land.
CT studied texts from nine Arab and four Western organizations, most of evangelical conviction, and queried the perspective of an Israeli Messianic Jew and a Lebanese Armenian evangelical. The review found that few Middle Eastern statements have named Hamas as the perpetrator of terrorism, while many specifically criticize Israel itself.
One of the most recent statements is from Musalaha, which names both.
The Jerusalem-based reconciliation ministry works with Israelis and Palestinians from diverse religious backgrounds using biblical principles to engage the issues that divide them in pursuit of peace. After two weeks painfully watching the widespread carnage, its public statement centered on “lament” and called for a reconciling response.
“We lament people who, in the name of justice, have allowed rage to perpetuate the cycle of dehumanization and excuse bloodshed; as seen with Hamas’ …
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