Larry White

Human sexuality is a complex and often difficult topic to discuss in our world today. The practice of homosexuality has become much more celebrated in western society and it has caused tremendous conversation to be kindled around the shifting morality of our times. Many Christians today begin to wonder what the Bible really says about homosexuality.

Authors of the Bible came from many different times, places, social strata, and cultural expressions. Yet, the message of the Bible is unified in its prohibition of homosexual practice. The unity of this message should tell us that this is something that God has not changed His mind about, and we need to pay attention carefully. Let us remember that God intends good for our lives and often His prohibitions in the Bible are to protect us from harm.

Our intent here is to present how the Bible speaks on the very sensitive matter of homosexuality, not to be ammunition for divisive arguments.

Photo credit: ©Teddy Osterblom/Unsplash

Forgiveness is a rather large topic covered in the Bible. You could read the Bible from cover to cover and come to the conclusion that it is all about forgiveness. There are layers to the conversation on forgiveness though. There is the forgiveness that we must receive from God because of our sin. This is what we often think about for this topic. However, the Bible also shows us that directly tied to the forgiveness of our sin is our willingness to forgive when our relationships with each other are harmed in some way. Forgiveness is essential if we are going to grow as children of God.

Photo credit: Unsplash/Jacob Postuma

Jesus last words on the cross were a desperate plea to the Father: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The lines, however, are actually a reference to David's plea in Psalm 22. What is the importance of this reference, and why does Jesus say this? 

Genealogies are not the most entertaining reading you can dive into. They do serve a purpose and they can reveal interesting ideas to us. Normally, they are there to legitimize an individual as an heir to a family or provide a connection to something in the past.

Matthew 1:1-17 is a genealogy of Jesus and there are a few notable issues. First, if you actually check the Biblical record, verse 17 can be disputed in its accuracy. There are actually a number of generations missing, but the intent of the author was not full accuracy, it was the idea of completion. Fourteen has a factor of seven, which in biblical numerology is related to completion and the author of Matthew was trying to show that God was in full control of the lineage of Jesus.

Additionally, it only goes back to Abraham, which serves to connect Jesus fully to his Jewish roots. In Luke 3:23-38, the genealogy goes all the way back to Adam, which would have been of more importance to Luke as he was a Gentile (non-Jewish) and needed to connect with Jesus prior to Abraham.

There is another issue in the genealogy of Matthew though and it is highly irregular considering the cultural biases that existed in the time it was written. There are five women listed in the genealogy of Jesus. This is highly unusual, especially given that the point of Matthew even listing the genealogy was to prove Jesus lineage back through David and Abraham which was done through the father’s side of a family (patrilineal)

It points out that Jesus is truly Jewish and an heir to David’s throne, fulfilling the promise that God made to King David that he would always have a descendant on the throne (2 Samuel 7:16). All this does is call out to us: why are these women listed in this genealogy? What purpose do they serve?

Photo credit: Unsplash

One of the main ideas of Christianity is that Jesus is the Son of God. For most of his ministry on Earth, he seemed to be a regular guy. He was not really notable for handsome looks or spectacular wealth. So how would we know that he was different if we were there with him before he was crucified?

For one thing, there were the miracles that he performed. Those are strong indicators of his unusual nature. There was one event though that was off the charts in terms of its fantastical nature. Anyone seeing it would not have been able to deny that something divine was happening with Jesus of Nazareth. That event was called the Transfiguration.

In it, Jesus, witnessed by his closest friends, transformed from an unassuming man in regular clothing into a being emanating intense white light who was also talking with two of the main figures of ancient Judaism. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/sedmak

Explore the biblical and historical clues that help determine how old Jesus was at His death, including insights into His ministry, crucifixion, and historical dating.

Maybe you've recited the Apostle's Creed - or something similar - in church. Maybe you've heard it put into a song on the radio. Maybe you are new to the faith and looking for a good way to sum it all up. The Apostle's creed has a far reach, no matter your religious background. But where did it come from, is it backed by Scripture, and why does controversy seem to follow it? 

In his short time on earth doing ministry, Jesus spent a lot of time talking about money and wealth. But does the Bible really teach that the wealthy won't get to heaven? And why then are we "storing up treasures in heaven"? The Bible has a lot to say about greed, money and wealth, and all these years later it is still incredibly relevant to modern readers. 

Why do you read the Bible? Are you seeking answers about life situations? Perhaps you are looking for guidance in your relationship with the God of the universe. There are even some who read it so that they can argue against what it says. Either way you read it, you may come across certain verses or passages that seem to contradict themselves, especially when read out of context.

Contradictions are where parts of a text seem to say the opposite of what was said earlier in the same document. When someone thinks they’ve found a contradiction in the Bible, often there is a misunderstanding of the context of a passage—usually due to a lack of knowledge of the author’s original intent, a past style of writing, or use of language that the original audience would have picked up on. Some of the things we might be confused about when reading without context, would have been very clear to the original audience. They would have picked up on the author’s writing tools, which we might skim over or not even observe if they were part of the original language’s grammar and word usage, etc.

Humanity has always hated feeling powerless. We wish that we could have control, or at least some certainty about what future events may hold. Mediums and astrology fall into a large category of mystical practices that attempt to give us that certainty or control we crave. However, to use them is to violate the basic principles of the relationship that God has created us to have with him.

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/shutter_my