Don’t Wilberforce’s achievements refute your stance on the separation of faith and politics?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues, Wilberforce
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: William Wilberforce was a Christian whose passionate involvement in politics almost single-handedly brought an end to the slave trade in 19th century England. Don’t his achievements show the importance of Christians being involved in…
Living Jesus’ Prayer for Forgiveness
Category: General
Tags: Forgiveness, Judgement, Kingdom Living
Topics: Following Jesus
Luke 23:34: Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Could anything be more shocking and yet more beautiful than this prayer? After being whipped, beaten, crowned with thorns,…
Are you a pietist?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Soon after the publication of your book The Myth of a Christian Nation, I heard Chuck Colson charge you with being a “pietist.” Since then, others have repeated the charge. They all claim you…
Shouldn’t preachers rally Christians to fight political injustice?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: My pastor has publicly supported your book The Myth of a Christian Nation. But he’s recently called on the church to take a stand against the injustice of our local government cutting funding for…
What do you think of the left wing Christians who are calling on Christians to stand up for “biblical justice”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Politics, Q&A, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Yes, we’ve been hearing a lot of this recently, especially from more “progressive” (left-tending) Christians calling on people to vote “God’s politics” and stand up for “biblical justice.” On the one hand, I along with…
Capitalism and Greed
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Wealth and Responsibility
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
It’s hard to deny that capitalism is the best economic system around. It creates wealth far better than feudalism, communism, socialism or any other system one could name. But for all its advantages, capitalism has…
What did Jesus mean when he said he came not to bring peace, but a sword (Mt 10:34)?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Verse: Matthew 10
Given Jesus’ uniform teaching about loving enemies and abstaining from violence, and given that his followers were known for their refusal to engage in violence for the first three hundred years of church history, it’s…
Why is the Bible so strict on prohibiting pre-marital sex? What’s the big deal?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Marriage, Q&A, Relationships, Sexuality, Sin, Social Issues
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Relationships, Sin
Today in western culture people tend to have a rather “recreational” view of sex. It’s just a pleasurable physical activity we engage in. Even people who don’t consciously believe this are influenced by it ,…
Are Christians supposed to tithe?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Bible, Christian Life, Finances, New Testament, Q&A, Social Issues, Wealth and Responsibility
Topics: Following Jesus
Question: I and my husband have become increasingly uncomfortable with the many sermons on tithing we’ve been recently hearing at our church. Our pastor insists we tithe 10% to the church regardless of what else…
William Wilberforce and the Possibility of “Christian” Politics
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Creation Care, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
William Wilberforce was a passionate Christian who entered politics for the sole purpose of ending the slave trade. For more than thirty years he passionately and courageous labored to get Parliament to outlaw the practice….
Trapped in a Constantinian Paradigm
Category: Essays
Tags: Essay, Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
A Response to James Smith’s Review of The Myth of a Christian Nation In my book The Myth of a Christian Nation I repeatedly call on Christians to engage in social activism. Followers of Jesus…
The Wrong “Bulls-Eye”: Reflections on the “Christian Left”
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Following Jesus
As it has since the fourth century, the Church today for the most part operates with a Constantinian (“power-over”) paradigm. Because of this, most socially concerned Christians are inclined to define the Church’s mission as…
What do you think of “confrontational evangelism”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Evangelism, Q&A
Topics: Following Jesus, The Church
Question: In The Myth of a Christian Nation, you emphasize our need to sacrificially serve others. But you didn’t emphasize our need to “preach the Gospel to every living creature.” I’ve been intrigued by the…
Why did God create me with an uncontrollable sex drive?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Problem of Evil, Providence, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Sin
Question: Why did God create us with far more of a sex drive than we need for reproduction and far more than we can handle to refrain from sex before and outside of marriage? It…
Why did God create me to be a pedophile?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Problem of Evil, Providence, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Sin, The Problem of Evil
Question: Since the first time I experienced a sex drive it’s been directed towards little children. I’ve never acted on this, for I know it’s wrong. But it torments me. Why would God created me…
Why is America Becoming More Politically Divided?
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Politics
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
I watched a 20/20 special the other night on politics in America. The show explored the “growing political divide” in our country. Here’s some of the information found in this program. * Since the early…
Is it okay to masturbate?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Q&A, Sexuality, Sin
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues, Sin
When I as a new struggling Christian raised this topic with my pastor, I was told in no uncertain terms that God struck Onan dead for masturbating. At some point I read the passage for…
Can Christians serve in the military?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Christian Life, Peacemaking, Q&A, Social Issues, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Question: Jesus ministered to military people (e.g. a centurion) and didn’t tell them to leave their military post. So do you think Christians can serve in the military? I believe it’s a Christians duty is…
Isn’t Faith Inherently Irrational?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Apologetics, Faith, Q&A
Topics: Apologetics, Faith & Doubt
Is Faith Inherently Irrational? Many people seem to assume that faith is giving credence to things that don’t make much sense and for which there is little or no evidence. Take the doctrine of the…
Does Following Jesus Rule Out Serving in the Military if a War is Just?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Kingdom Living, Non-Violence, Q&A
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence, Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
Jesus and Military People Some soldiers responded to the preaching of John the Baptist by asking him what they should do. John gave them some ethical instruction, but, interestingly enough, he didn’t tell them to…