Catholics claim that the apostle Peter was the first Pope. They even developed a special doctrine known as “the primacy of Peter” to accommodate their view that Peter was the chief of the apostles. They cite the “keys-of-the-kingdom” language in Matthew 16:18, 19 in defense of this view. However, this is not what Jesus taught. […]
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The religion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses was founded in the 1879 by Charles T. Russell. There are roughly 8 million Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the world today. They work with and through their publishing arm known as The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (also founded by Russell). Though they will sometimes cite certain passages from other
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In his sermon on Pentecost Peter charged his listeners with crucifying the Son of God. Many of those listeners responded, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of
What Is the Gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38? Read More »
Bible critics often cite the fact that since Bible books and letters were written thousands of years ago to other people in other places, then how can it possibly apply to us? These critics argue that because of this disconnect the Bible has no application to people today. They are wrong, but we need to
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The high emotional content of the story of Jephthah’s vow has sparked the imagination of countless people over hundreds of years. It’s emotional content, both real and imagined, has produced controversy from ancient rabbis to present day scholars to ordinary church members. At least 300 literary items have been produced on the theme from just
This past Monday, a narrow strip of the United States was treated to a total solar eclipse. During this brief time, the sun was completely covered by the moon and it appeared that night time has suddenly set in the middle of the day. This rare event is something that happens every few years somewhere
God’s Providence in Nature: Solar Eclipse Read More »
Ephesians 5:19 says, “Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Is Paul here requiring singers to “face” each other in their singing? Some say yes. Some churches have started the practice of having their members “face” each other while singing in worship.
What Does It Mean To Sing “To” One Another? Read More »
It has been said that most religious errors stem from a lack of respect for Bible authority. This is true, but there is the added problem of a general lack of understanding of how authority is established. Many people do not know how to use the Bible to determine right from wrong and approved practice
One of the greatest causes of religious error is disrespect for God’s silence. Far too many people, including many among God’s people, believe that God’s silence actually authorizes religious doctrines, practices and programs rather than exclude them. They interpret God’s silence as permissive, rather than prohibitive. They believe that if a thing is not explicitly
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Information in our current world is growing in leaps and bounds. We use this information to discover how and why things in the world around us work. We capture satellite imagery for use in studying the weather and its patterns and we attempt to use that data to forecast what the weather might be like
