Tag Archives: Bible

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Why Was Jesus Silent On The Issue Of Slavery?

In order to impugn the moral authority of Jesus of Nazareth, New Atheist Sam Harris claims:

“There is no place in the New Testament where Jesus objects to slavery”

Is this true? Actually, Jesus did speak to the issue of slavery, but he went after the root of physical slavery: spiritual slavery. Spiritual slavery has led to and continues to lead to immense misery. When Jesus began his public ministry, he stood in the synagogue to read the following passage: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18).

What a mission statement! Jesus came to set captives free, restore, heal, and transform—that is the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news of the kingdom of God is when “up there” comes “down here” and begins to be embodied by a new community. Given the reality of sinful humans and corrupted institutions, Jesus knew the best way to end slavery was first to liberate the hearts and minds of humanity. The truth sets people free. As Ravi Zacharias poignantly frames the question, “Slavery is now illegal, but is racism gone?” Simply passing a law doesn’t transform the brokenness in the human heart. If obscure Bible passages were really the problem, then why in the twenty-first century are we confronted with the horrible reality of human trafficking and the sex-slave trade?

For more, see my answer to the question of Does God Intend For Us To Keep Slaves? (p148-57)

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What Does it Mean to Say that the Bible is Inerrant?

“When all the facts are known, the Bible (in its original writings) properly interpreted in light of which culture and communication means had developed by the time of its composition will be shown to be completely true (and therefore not false) in all that it affirms, to the degree of precision intended by the author, in all matters relating to God and his creation.”—David Dockery

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Which God Are We Worshipping?

Exploring the perfections of God is a wonderful way to express worship to God. After all, if we do not know the God who has revealed Himself to us…then which God are we worshipping? One of my favorite attributes is God’s self-existence. It blows the mind to think about…but is also an amazing source of comfort and confidence.

“God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I Am has sent me to you.”—Ex. 3:14.

“For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have in himself.”—John 5:26

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breadth and everything else.”—Acts 17:24-25

“For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, … all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”—Col. 1:16-17

“God doesn’t just happen to exist, as if by accident. Rather God exists by a necessity of His own nature; it is impossible for Him not to exist. Moreover, God does not depend upon any other being for His existence. God alone is self-existent, and everything else depends on Him.”—William Lane Craig

God is…period. And that is a glorious truth.

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Is Religion Dangerous?

Learn how to respond to the 18 toughest questions atheists ask Christians

How do you (briefly) respond to the objection that religion is dangerous because it causes violence and leads to so much conflict? Here’s a start:

I appreciate your concern, but I think the first thing we need to do is clarify which religion you have in mind because they all teach very different things. But beyond that, it doesn’t appear to me that religion is the root problem; people are. I think the lesson of history is that almost anything (e.g., politics, science, economics, or religion) can be abused or misused simply because people are involved, and people tend to manipulate, control, or exploit to get what they want. People are the common denominator. This strongly suggests that there’s something broken in the human heart. So for Christians at least, we’ll want to come back to the example, vision, and teachings of Jesus and ask if we are living consistently with that (e.g., loving our neighbors as ourselves). The teachings of the Bible, properly understood, is our standard. Anywhere Christians are out of line with that, then they are deviating from biblical Christianity. But that’s not a religion problem, that’s a heart problem. Thankfully, Jesus offers the solution for that.

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