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Stay in the Catholic Church? After I became a Christian I struggled with whether I should keep attending a Catholic Church. As I sat in church and watched incense rise up from the altar, I felt an urge to stay and be part of what felt like a sacred mystery.On the other hand, there were a lot of Catholic beliefs that I could not find in the Bible, which made me think they were just man-made  traditions. I eventually decided that it didn’t matter which church I joined so long as I only be …

Exploring Jesus in World Religions When I was deciding whether or not I should be a Christian, I made sure to read about as many other religions as I could. At first it was overwhelming to compare the teachings of faiths like Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism to Christianity, but then I noticed they all had one thing I could compare: a teaching about Jesus Christ. Almost every major world religion has a teaching about the identity of Jesus. Jews say Jesus was a human teacher, Muslims say he was a …

The Canon of Scripture and Its Origin The clearest example of a sacred Tradition that both Catholics and Protestants accept is the canon of Scripture. The word canon comes from a Greek word that means “rule,” and refers to the Church’s official list of inspired writings. You can find this list in the table of contents of every Catholic or Protestant Bible.The canon of Scripture was first declared in Rome in A.D. 382and was later defined at two Catholic councils in North Africa(Hippo in A.D. 3 …

Engaging with Atheists Through Respectful Dialogue From 2009 to 2011, I traveled the country as a pro-life missionary, engaging students at public universities in dialogue about abortion. I remember one student I met, named Violet, who said that she resented pro-lifers’ “pushing their religion” on her. I said that my case against abortion didn’t rely on religion, but that even if it did, why should that matter? Violet retorted, “Because I’m an atheist! I bet you can’t even give me one good reas …

The Historical Credibility of John’s Gospel Ironically, though the Gospel of John has subject matter that can be subjected to archaeological examination, many seem to think the book is almost entirely non-historical and confines itself to theology and a sort of vague accompanying or underlying Greek-influenced philosophy. Some have even opined that topographical aspects of the Gospel are only symbolic. It’s a classic example of presuppositions leading folks astray. It’s true that John’s Gospel …