Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 60074 The New Apostolic Reformation, Ché Ahn’s Harvest International Ministry, and Bethel Church in Redding, California under Bill Johnson represent three interconnected expressions of what has become one of the most influential and theologically problematic streams in contemporary Christianity. Their reach is significant: Bethel’s music label produces worship songs sung in churches worldwide, HIM’s…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08087 The idea that Jesus preached to demons during the period between His death and resurrection has a long history in Christian thought and is closely connected to the interpretation of 1 Peter 3:19. Did Jesus descend to the realm of the dead and address demonic beings, and if so, what was the purpose…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 06065 The relationship between temptation and sin is one of the most practically important questions in Christian theology, precisely because every believer is tempted and every believer needs to understand what temptation is, what it is not, and how it relates to sin. The discussion is considerably deepened — and genuinely complicated — by…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 8010 Few figures in the Old Testament are as theologically significant and as frequently misunderstood as the Angel of the LORD. He appears at burning bushes, at the threshing floor, to barren women and wrestling patriarchs, and in each case the encounter is unmistakably more than a meeting with a created messenger. He speaks…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 7103 In our pluralistic age, the claim that Jesus is the only way to God seems arrogant, narrow-minded, even offensive. Surely all religions lead to the same place? Surely sincere seekers in every faith tradition will find God in the end? How can Christians claim exclusive access to salvation when billions of people follow…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60103 This question comes in several forms. Why doesn’t God simply appear in the sky and settle the matter? Why doesn’t He perform an undeniable miracle that removes all reasonable doubt? If He exists and wants people to know Him, why does faith require trusting something invisible when God could simply make Himself obvious?…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 03017 Most Christians use the names “Jesus” and “Christ” interchangeably, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the two words are doing very different things. One is a personal name; the other is a title of office. Understanding the distinction opens up something genuinely rich about who he is and what God was…
Reading Time: 7 minutesQuestion 60022 The claim that Jesus of Nazareth rose bodily from the dead is either the most important fact in human history or the most successful deception ever perpetrated. There is no middle ground. If it happened, it changes everything about what it means to be human, what death is, and who God is. If…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 2071 “The Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). These words, spoken by Jesus on the night of his arrest, have been among the most contested in Christian theology. Arians used them to argue that Jesus is a lesser being than the Father. Others have suggested they refer only to Jesus’ incarnate condition and…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 60082 The Word of Faith movement is one of the most widely diffused streams of popular Christianity in the world today, with roots in mid-twentieth century America and branches now extending across every continent. Its central teachings about health, wealth, confession, and the power of spoken faith are encountered across television networks, megachurches, and…