BTA In Action
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Sit down with me as we think through some tough topics in a reflective way and examine some of the difficult issues that can trouble followers of Christ. My hope is that you’ll always come away with more to think about… RBC Ministries
- News and Bible too Depressing? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Jul 30 2010
I was talking to a friend the other day who talked about not reading the newspaper or listening to cable news because it is too depressing. Came away wondering whether many have a natural aversion to the Bible for the same reason? Is that why some people quote only the positive, optimistic, or “feel good” [...]
- Knowledge Without Wisdom Can Drive us Crazy |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Apr 13 2010
Knowledge without wisdom can make us naïve, foolish, or crazy. Have been thinking about this after rediscovering a book by Henry Cloud and John Townsend that is titled 12 Christian Beliefs that Can Drive you Crazy (Zondervan 1994-1995). The first false assumption that they list is “It’s selfish to have my needs met”. In a [...]
- Has God Said? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Apr 08 2010
Satan asked the question of Eve to plant a seed of doubt in her mind. But seems to me that the same question, “Has God said?” can be asked to clarify our faith. What if, hypothetically, I were to say to you, “My car has some brake issues that my mechanic says are very dangerous. [...]
- What’s a Word From the Lord? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Apr 05 2010
Do we agree with those who say, “Every promise in the book is mine?” If so, in what sense do we mean that? Do we read the Bible until something jumps out as being a phrase we want to claim for ourselves? If so how do we keep from claiming to have a Word from [...]
- 20/20 on Who? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Feb 13 2010
Two passages of the Bible that are often used to emphasize the importance of Scripture may be doing something more. Example One: When, after eating no food for 40 days, Jesus resists Satan’s temptation to turn stones into bread, he quotes Moses as saying “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word [...]
- To Do or Not to Do |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Nov 19 2009
Another combination of statements that could look like a contradiction shows up in the Sermon on the Mount. First Jesus encourages his followers to “let their light shine before others” so that others can see the good that they do (Matt 5:16). But then a few statements later the Teacher begins an extended emphasis in [...]
- Studies in Contrast |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Nov 14 2009
Does the Bible contradict itself? More than a few people have written books or hosted websites to say that they lost their faith after seeing how often the Bible contradicts itself. Some have spent a lot of time compiling lists of apparent discrepancies in both Old and New Testaments. Collections of alleged Bible contradictions are [...]
- Let There be Light… and Darkness |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Nov 07 2009
Have been thinking that one way to understand the Bible is to see the way it tells the story of light and darkness. The first quoted words of the God who brought something out of nothing and order out of chaos are, “Let there be Light.” Then God divided the light from the darkness in [...]
- The Wisdom of the Second Opinion |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Sep 09 2009
While thinking lately not only about some bloody 15th and 16th century periods of church history, but also about the way church people continue to bitterly divide over theological and political differences, I’m reminded how important it is to try to attach authority to no more and no less than what the Bible says. In [...]
- Paperless Spirituality? |
Posted by Mart De Haan on Aug 05 2009
Sony Corporation came out this week with the announcement of two new E-readers that it hopes will mount a formidable challenge to Amazon’s Kindle (paperless book). According to an Information Week article, the handheld electronic readers will be able to store about 350 books with a two week battery life. The announcement leads me to [...]
