Incoming New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo already had impossible shoes to fill when he was hired this week to replace a legend who won the team six Super Bowls. On Wednesday‚ Mayo didn’t do himself any favors with fans who simply want to see the team find its...

Why You Need Biblical Community For lack of guidance a nation falls‚ but victory is won through many advisers. – Proverbs 11:14 A severe rash prompted a man from a rural area to come to town to be examined by a local doctor. After the usual history-taking followed by a series of tests‚ the physician advised the patient that he would have to get rid of the dog that was evidently causing the allergic reaction. As the man was preparing to leave the office‚ the doctor asked him out of curiosity if he planned to sell the animal or give it away. "Neither one‚" the patient replied. "I'm going to get me a second opinion. It's a lot easier to find a doctor than a good bird dog!" It happens all the time‚ doesn't it? People go around asking person after person for advice until they hear the opinion that matches theirs. But the reality is that we are the worst judges of our own actions because our opinions of ourselves will always be more favorable than reality. That's why throughout Scripture you'll find verses like today's that stress the need to surround yourself with a biblical community who will encourage you with the truth even when you may not want to hear it! The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. There are no "Lone Rangers" of the Christian faith. So if you don't have a community of others who know you and will help you grow in Christ‚ join a church Bible study or form a small group that meets weekly. The best kind of spiritual growth you'll ever experience will come when you have others who'll give you the "second opinion" you really need! Prayer Challenge: Pray and ask God to give you a community of believers who will help you grow in your walk with Christ by encouraging you and giving you the "second opinions" you need. Visit the Senior Living Ministries website The post Why You Need Biblical Community – Senior Living – January 18 appeared first on GodUpdates.

January 18‚ 2024

“Trump’s re-election in 2024 is going to be the biggest “Fuck You” ever recorded in human history. Trump is a “human Molotov cocktail that people have been waiting for‚ the human hand grenade that they can legally throw into the system that stole their lives from them.” Wow pic.twitter.com/le3y9E2QJv — Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) January […]

They're not coming to school‚ so let's spend billions on after-school programs. The post Biden Admin Wants to Fix Absenteeism With After-School Programs appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

The terror list is being abused to do favors for Iran rather than to protect America. The post Why Do We Have a Terror Group That Only Targets Iran on the List of Foreign Terrorists‚ But Not the Houthis appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

“We are doing this to protect you” from “radical groups.” The post Banning Jews for Their Own Protection appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

"There will be more Chinese people outside the working-age population than in it" The post Will There Even Be a China at the End of the Century? appeared first on Frontpage Mag.

Monday‚ 23 November [1654]. . . . From about half past ten at night until about half past midnight‚ FIRE. GOD of Abraham‚ GOD of Isaac‚ GOD of Jacob not of the philosophers and of the learned. Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace. GOD of Jesus Christ. My God and your God. So begins the famous “Memorial‚” Blaise Pascal’s account of his visceral‚ personal encounter with the living God‚ which led to his conversion to Christ. According to English comedian and author David Baddiel‚ Pascal’s “religious experience” was merely a projection of his deep-seated desire for a God-figure who could save him from rapidly approaching death. In The God Desire: On Being a Reluctant Atheist‚ Baddiel asserts that humanity’s deep-seated and hardwired desire for God proves not the existence but the nonexistence of God. His book inverts a common apologetic argument‚ and this offers a challenge and an opportunity for Christian readers to sharpen their thinking. Argument Against God from Religious Desire The book is less about a logical rejection of God’s existence than about a vibe. Though Baddiel puts himself firmly in the rationalistic camp‚ he argues apologetic debate is a “discursive space” that’s a “waste of time” (53). On the other hand‚ he’s surprised that “the God-doesn’t-exist-because-anything-so-deeply-desired-must-be-a-fantasy argument” doesn’t lead to believers abandoning the faith (21). The crux of Baddiel’s argument can be communicated in three short quotes: Don’t you want to believe in God? I said: yes. Desperately. That’s why I know He doesn’t exist. (5) I believe that humans cannot bear to look directly at the face of death‚ and so have invented the face of God as a shield. (12) The more . . . it is clear to me how fervent and desperate the God Desire is . . . the more I know‚ in my reluctant atheist heart‚ that there is nothing there. (94) Baddiel’s combination of rationalist language and demands for evidence with a dismissive attitude toward actual arguments makes it hard to take his approach seriously. Yet there are some points where Christians can engage—not just with Baddiel but with our skeptical friends and neighbors. For example‚ Baddiel rightly acknowledges the nearly universal human fear of death along with our desire for meaning‚ wonder‚ mystery‚ and love. He insists that in each case‚ our yearnings have led us to project a deity who can satisfy those longings. He admits to humanity’s psychological needs‚ many of which find expression in religious beliefs and desires. Like many of our skeptical acquaintances‚ Baddiel expresses a firm commitment to truth and claims to be willing to embrace even unpalatable implications of the truth. His consistency in these commitments‚ however‚ is questionable. Christianity Misunderstood Baddiel mishandles all religions in a way that’s embarrassingly ignorant for someone who claims to have reason and argument on his side. His presentation and perspective of “God” is childishly incomplete. Though he briefly considers other religions‚ for the majority of the rambling book‚ he clearly has the Western monotheistic tradition in view—particularly Christianity’s “rosy” picture of everlasting life. He critiques ideas he simply hasn’t bothered to understand. Baddiel’s “God” serves merely as a get-out-of-jail-free card and a stopgap explanation for what we don’t yet understand. He describes Jesus as “the cross-breeding of God and man” (69). Then he argues the founders of Christianity were geniuses because “a man on the cross who is there because he’s sacrificing himself for your sins is almost the perfect encapsulating of the modern idea of the hero” (69). It was good of the early Christians to anticipate the modern literary turn. Disappointingly‚ there’s no discussion of classical theism‚ no consideration of divine attributes like justice‚ mercy‚ grace‚ wrath‚ and love (let alone omnipotence‚ omniscience‚ and the like)—no exploration of a God whom we might find worthy of worship. Though Baddiel may pass his comments off as attempts at comedy‚ the impression left is of the college sophomore who has taken a philosophy class and is now certain of all his arguments. Yet he argues that Christians shouldn’t use logic because “God exists beyond logic and reason” and atheists shouldn’t bother using logic to critique theistic arguments because “it won’t change the opinion of those who believe because they can always fall back on the beyond logic and reason thing” (54). Though Baddiel may pass his comments off as attempts at comedy‚ the impression left is of the college sophomore who has taken a philosophy class and is now certain of all his arguments. In the end‚ Baddiel is running a rigged game. He argues that belief requires “something to exist for which there is no existential proof‚ and that no one has‚ in concrete terms‚ experienced” (20). But he neither mentions nor engages evidence presented by authors like Rudolf Otto (The Idea of the Holy)‚ William Alston (Perceiving God)‚ or Harold Netland (Religious Experience and the Knowledge of God). I wonder if there’s any evidence that could persuade him someone has truly experienced God. Is it possible that seeking “concrete” evidence of my (immaterial) soul’s encounter with a (incorporeal) transcendent God is simply barking up the wrong tree? This book shows that sometimes apologetics is a process of informing and pointing out logical inconsistencies rather than an evidential debate. Faith Fulfills Our Desire Baddiel’s The God Desire is a pithy‚ engaging read with plentiful humor and snark but scant logic and reasoning. It assumes a Freudian psychology and history of religion‚ which is reanimated through Baddiel’s acerbic pen with more wit but (almost impossibly) with even less evidential and rational force. This book reflects the way many people approach discussions of religion. It’s helpful to see his arguments in print and consider in advance how to respond. Fundamentally‚ Baddiel’s issue isn’t rational—it’s his resistance to the deep longing for the cosmos to have meaning. Human beings are unique in the cosmos in their possession of a longing for the transcendent. That ubiquitous religious desire has something to say about the nature of reality. But when combined with numerous independent and converging arguments for God’s existence and the plethora of visceral religious experiences like Pascal’s‚ the “God desire” clearly points toward the existence rather than the nonexistence of a transcendent personal being with whom we can be in relationship. Human beings are unique in the cosmos in their possession of a longing for the transcendent. That ubiquitous religious desire has something to say about the nature of reality. At the end of Baddiel’s book‚ I’m left simply with Pascal’s “FIRE!”—a real‚ visceral encounter with the living God that led to transformation‚ which would be hard to explain apart from the supernatural. Will we be able to persuade David Baddiel to reconsider his hard-hearted rejection of the existence of God and the evidence from religious desires and experiences? Probably not; most of us will never meet him‚ let alone interact meaningfully with him. We can‚ however‚ be prepared to engage friends and neighbors who have drunk deeply from similarly skeptical waters. That’s how reading books like The God Desire can help us.