Applied Theology
If what has been said already about Israel is true, then a question arises, “What about the nation of Israel today?” In this final part (of a three-part series), we’ll look at what the Bible says about Israel as an ethnic/national people. The key text for this discussion is Romans 11. The question we are... Continue Reading →
Happy Thanksgiving! We set aside today to remember Him to whom all thanks is due. Thanksgiving was instituted by proclamation of the President of the United States--George Washington--on October 3, 1789. You do not need for me to explain it to you because you can read it for yourself below. As you can see, the... Continue Reading →
Earlier, Acts 13:32-39 was quoted, but not in its entirety. When the complete quote is included, we see that the early church proclaimed more than the fact that Christ is the fulfillment of Israel, He is the realization of the Son of God. As such, Christ is also the fulfillment of the kingdom. So, Acts... Continue Reading →
I honestly dislike controversy. I try to avoid it. But the things which matter most to me are always on collision course with the things that others decide are too “controversial” to speak about in polite company. Marriage, families, protecting babies, and the freedom of religion—all these are important realities which rile abortion supporters and... Continue Reading →
I went to bed late but arose early, hoping against all hope that my waking would prove the nightmare of President Obama’s reelection to have been just a bad dream. But it was not a bad dream; it was a bad reality, a sad statement about the soul of our once great nation. I am... Continue Reading →
I just read this devastating account of a couple in Lahore, Pakistan, who killed their 16 year old daughter because she was talking to a young man. In many Shariah-compliant Muslim communities, parents are driven to kill their children (almost always their daughters) in order supposedly to preserve the honor of the Muslim family. As... Continue Reading →
A recent editorial is making news in Malaysia. According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the Umno government in Malaysia is making scapegoats of Christians in order to turn attention away from their own failures. The original scapegoat (Azazel of Leviticus 16) was an innocent goat who had the sins of Israel put upon its head... Continue Reading →
One of the greatest secular songs ever written, Gordon Lightfoot’s The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald stands as a monument of musical story-telling. Inspired by a Newsweekarticle of the November 10, 1975, events that led to the loss of the Great Lakes’ greatest ship, Lightfoot penned a masterful poem capturing the weight of the tragedy... Continue Reading →
Are human beings exceptional? Is there something about humans which makes them intrinsically superior to dogs or ants or even poisonous stinkweed? If you saw my post yesterday, then you will already know the answer is, “Yes!” Human beings are intrinsically of greater value than weeds and wildlife. Jesus once told His followers, “Do not... Continue Reading →
Steve Jobs died one year ago. The value of his life and the effects of his ideas will remain with us for decades. Steve Jobs was one of the most creative guys who ever lived. But he is not the only techno-creator of our lifetime. I thought it might be encouraging for us to... Continue Reading →
In his recent U.N. address, President Barack Obama boldly prophesied that the future would belong to those who do not insult the prophet Muhamad. I both hope and suspect his is a false prophecy. The problem with his approach is that it is impossible. Exploring the question of what insults the prophet Mohammed yields answers... Continue Reading →
There were many instances from my days of growing up under the moss-laced cypress trees of southern Louisiana that I would be asked by my father or my mother, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself?" Most of the time, I was not. I was only "ashamed" of getting caught. Shame is not an emotion we naturally... Continue Reading →
However, the much more positive perspective on the miracles of Jesus is that they often led to faith (as was their design). When the man born blind received his sight in John 9, he said, “I believe.” And he worshiped at the feet of Jesus (John 9:38). When the lame beggar outside the temple was... Continue Reading →
(Continued from Part 1) From the earliest stages of the Old Testament, instructions were given for people by God concerning miracles and their proper functions. In Deuteronomy 13:1-3, God’s people received a succinct, yet irrefutably clear, annunciation of the function of miracles. There are two primary functions of the signs and wonders. First, the signs... Continue Reading →
This article is part one of a three-part defense of miracles. Against the backdrop of growing skepticism in Britain and the west, C. S. Lewis wrote an important little treatise in defense of miracles. As the progress of science became more and more intertwined with Darwin’s evolutionary schemes of human origin, philosophers and academics became... Continue Reading →
Gregory C. Cochran 