Blog

One modern distortion stands out in our approach to revelation: our preference for the written word over (and even to the exclusion of) the spoken word. Another modern distortion is that we think of books as private rather than public. As Mary Mills explains in her commentary on Ecclesiastes, “in the modern world much reading is a private matter in which, through the possession of literacy skills, one individual engages with a text in a direct and personal manner.” The combined effect of those …

Christians claim that, starting with Abraham and culminating in Jesus, God intervened in history. What is the evidence for this claim? Consider:• The unique history of the Jewish people. This small shepherd people has survived for millennia despite constant attacks and despite constant pressure to assimilate. In the ancient world, they introduced entirely new ways of understanding the divine, and their claims about the oneness, justice, and mercy of God transformed the world. They have be …

Before we get into the text of Acts, there are two very important questions that must be asked and that are often overlooked in this discussion: “Who wrote the Book of Acts?” And, “Why is that important?”Well, the first question has an easy answer: “St. Luke wrote the Book of Acts.” It was basically a “part II” picking up where his Gospel leaves off.But the second question is the more important question for our purpose: “Why is this important?”It’s important because we know from Scripture that S …

Once during a pro-life outreach at the University of New Mexico, I was confronted by not only pro-choice students but also pro-choice adult activists, who came to campus to reinforce the student efforts to oppose us. These included representatives from Planned Parenthood, an Albuquerque atheist group, and a group called the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC). I was talking to a young woman when one of the RCRC volunteers interrupted us. “You shouldn’t talk to him,” she said …

I was sitting in a booth at a restaurant in San Diego waiting for the religious equivalent of a “blind date” to begin. A few weeks earlier, some Catholic friends of mine asked me to meet with their son while he was home from college. They wanted me to speak to him because he told his parents he wasn’t going to church with them anymore because he was now an atheist. They asked me, “Can you help him see he needs to start going back to church? Can you help him get over all this atheist stuff?” Then …