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In vitro fertilization is the process of joining a woman’s egg (ovum) and a husband’s sperm in a lab rather than inside a woman’s body... When the egg is fertilized by the sperm, the result is a living embryo, which is then implanted in the woman’s womb so that it can develop like any other baby. Evangelical Christians differ on the moral acceptability of this procedure. My own position is that, in principle, the teachings of Scripture present no moral objection to a married couple using IVF (as long as no human embryos are destroyed in the process), because it...

In my childhood, it was not unusual to hear someone ask, “Who are your people?” It was a semi-polite, Southernism designed to elicit essential information about a person’s social background. The assumption was that you, at best, could only be an example of your “people.” It ignored the common individualism of the wider culture, preferring the more family or clan-centered existence of an older time. It was possible to be “good people” who had fallen on hard times, just as it was possible to be “bad people” who were flourishing. Good people were always to be preferred. I am aware...

Posted on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 by Msgr. Charles Pope Was St. Paul a Poor Preacher? For many years, the image I had of St. Paul was that of a bold evangelist who went from town to town teaching and preaching powerfully about Christ. I envisioned his audience mesmerized as he preached and took on his opponents.I ultimately altered my view a bit based on scriptural descriptions, some of which we are currently reading in the Office of Readings. I have no doubt that he was a brilliant theologian. Paul was reputed to have been one of the...

God's progressive process of redeeming the world has been done through covenants and dispensations.  These terms somewhat overlap, though not always.  You can generally find various Christian denominations, sects, and theological systems somewhere along a continuum from intellectual legalism on one extreme and behavior legalism on the other.  And placing too much emphasis on either covenants or dispensations can lead one away from the solid middle ground and into one of these two forms of legalism.  This closely mirrors other articles in which I've written about how the same demons of the early Church still haunt us today, specifically...

Rev. Thomas Brown, who is married to a fellow priest, was ordained as a bishop of the diocese of Maine in the Episcopal Church June 22. Immediately following his ordination, Brown referred to God as a "she" twice in the Nicene Creed. "She is worshipped and glorified. She has spoken through the prophets," the just-ordained Bishop Brown said, referring to the Holy Spirit. ...

Atheism’s Burden of Proof Problem By Philip Cottraux An effort to redefine what “atheism” actually means started a few decades ago but is popping up everywhere in the online community. I’ve seen plenty of debates never get anywhere because people get sucked into a vortex of trying to establish what an atheist actually is. While the traditional definition of atheism is the belief that God doesn’t exist, the new subversion is that it’s a “lack of belief” in God. The amount of energy devoted to this controversy is both fascinating and instructive. The first time I encountered the vehement denial...

The Truth about Radiometric Dating June 2019 Prove it. That’s the challenge biblical creationists often face when discussing the scientific validity of the Genesis creation account with skeptics. Many people leave the church, especially young adults, when they think that the Bible and science can’t be harmonized. But what if incredible harmony actually exists? Those who believe in millions and billions of years often point to radiometric dating as indisputable scientific proof that Earth is old. Since the biblical timeline indicates a young earth that’s only about 6,000 years old, creation scientists must address the radiometric dating issue. We need...

This is another item that belongs in the Johnny Carson “I DID not know THAT!” category. What do heavy metal rock music and Reformed theology have in common? It turns out that there is an affinity of two of the biggest metal bands of all time to R.C. Sproul. I don’t remember how I first came across this, but the Van Halen III album has in its liner notes a “special thanks to” section. Among the mostly unknown names is R.C. Sproul. It turns out that in the fall of 1996, after a falling out with vocalist Sammy Hagar and...

The British Academy has warned that theology and religious studies could "disappear" from universities after a study found that the number of students taking the subjects has halved. An analysis by the British Academy found a staggering decline in the numbers of students enrolling on the courses in just six years, down from over 14,000 students in 2011/12 to 7,585 in 2017/18. The decline covers a whole spectrum of programmes, from undergraduates, to masters, doctorates, foundation courses and diplomas. "Theology and Religious Studies has been on a downward trend in both applications and enrolment of undergraduate students from 2012/13 onwards,"...

An award-winning scientist recently told the world that science and religion are not incompatible. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports (3/19/19), “The annual Templeton Prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to ‘affirming life's spiritual dimension,’ was awarded Tuesday to Brazilian Marcelo Gleiser---a theoretical physicist dedicated to demonstrating science and religion are not enemies.” Gleiser, a professor at Dartmouth College since 1991, said, “Science does not kill God.” Although he is described as an agnostic, the AFP reports that Gleiser “refuses to write off the possibility of God's existence completely.” He said, "Atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method…Atheism is a belief in...

I must apologize. I do not have the time to make individual apologies to each one of you who I have offended, hence the general post. I have learned a lot in the last several years. Some of the things I've learned: I USED TO vote the lesser of two evils. No longer. God is Sovereign in illumination, as He is in salvation. He doen't give the same light to everyone at the same time. If you're in the dark; blame God, or get wisdom. Lincoln was NOT a good president. One of the most evil, actually. The CSA were...

Perhaps American Christians cannot think clearly about homeland security, borders, and immigration for the same reason Americans cannot think clearly about anything else. As Christians we have rich, intellectually credible traditions and frameworks for ethical reflection at our fingertips, and yet, as Americans, we suffer from a historical amnesia. What we need is a historically-attuned theological framework that can lay the foundation for our debates and political deliberations. Without one, we risk acting in ways that contradict the Gospel that we profess. To jump, as we tend to, from Plato and Aristotle to Locke and Hobbes is to ignore crucial...

Why is Original Sin called the “Sin of Adam,” not the Sin of Adam and Eve? Msgr. Charles Pope • February 18, 2019 • Adam and Eve – Johann Wenzel PeterOriginal sin is that first sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, committed when they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 3:1-7). While it clearly involved them both, Scripture and Tradition refer to it formally as the “Sin of Adam” or “Adam’s Sin,” not the “Sin of Adam and Eve.” It is also described as coming to...

Does God Change His Mind? If God is immutable, if He does not change at all, does that mean He never changes His mind either? This is a very thorny problem. The Bible appears to say at times that God changed His mind. Consider, for example, the following episode that took place in the time of Moses: Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak,...

The Kalam Cosmological Argument By Philip Cottraux The Big Bang has been greatly mischaracterized as an atheist explanation for how the universe begin. Unfortunately, in most people’s minds, the phrase is synonymous with natural scientific explanations for the origin of the cosmos, disputing the creation account of the Bible. This is based on both a lack of understanding of the theory’s true history as well as years of secularist indoctrination, especially in public schools. The more I research history, the more I find instances where atheists have either lied about it or seized credit for something they were originally opposed...

The Hiding Place Hail, sovereign love, which first began The scheme to rescue fallen man! Hail, matchless, free, eternal grace, That gave my soul a Hiding Place! Against the God who built the sky I fought with hands uplifted high, Despised the mention of His grace, Too proud to seek a Hiding Place. Enwrapt in thick Egyptian night, And fond of darkness more than light, Madly I ran the sinful race, Secure without a Hiding Place. But thus the eternal counsel ran: "Almighty love, arrest that man!" I felt the arrows of distress, And found I had no hiding place....

What does it mean to be called to ministry? What does the Bible say about men and women in ministry? Who are the examples in the Bible of being called to ministry? What are the practical tools to help you pursue God’s call for your life? Bible Gateway interviewed Kristen Padilla (@kristenpadilla) about her book, Now That I’m Called: A Guide for Women Discerning a Call to Ministry (Zondervan, 2018).What does the Bible say about ministerial calling?Kristen Padilla: Scripture is not a ministerial calling textbook. However, we can extrapolate from Scripture a loose definition of a ministerial calling. Humans were...

The Three Supernovas By Philip Cottraux Atheists used to believe the universe was eternally pre-existing and static. By rejecting the biblical creation account, they couldn’t accept the idea of a universe that had a beginning. Bertrand Russell, Charles Darwin, and at one time even Einstein labored under this philosophy. The idea of the whole universe condensed to a small state whose expansion was triggered by a colossal explosion was first proposed by a Catholic priest, Georges LeMaitres. The idea seemed so preposterous that astronomer Fred Hoyle first coined the phrase “big bang” as a term of ridicule. But two years...

Let us begin with a church history exam question. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” ...How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? ...What he wrote was: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance.” A moment’s reflection explains why. If justification is not by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone —...

The World Gets Worse, But Victory Is Just Ahead By Philip Cottraux August is interesting. As summer draws to a close, the days get shorter and the shadows longer, and one starts to expect cooler temperatures. Technically the temperatures are higher in July, but August feels hotter. The sun seems brighter and the hot air is somehow more searing as it beats down on you. Summer almost seems to throw out everything it has, burning hotter than ever in its dying gasps. The same thing happens every March. After three long months of bitter cold, I can’t wait for spring...