Think Tank Opinion
Blog
Call It What You Want
by Brandon Medina
Is it important to pay attention to the words we use in Christian thought and practice? Yes, but maybe less important that the definition of terms.
Can Spirituality Be Detached From A Practice?
by Brandon Medina
Can spirituality be separated from practice? Many in the Christian world think so and are eager to adopt every wind of doctrine. But is that a good idea?
Have We Turned Love Into God?
by Brandon Medina
God is love, as the Scriptures declare. But should we treat this like a mathematical corollary? In other words, is it also true that love is God? It’s a difficult question, but the answer could be the difference between teaching a true or false gospel.
More From the Blog
Social Justice and the Church
by Chris Waner
All too many Christians in the Western church make a simple but dangerous mistake when they believe that social justice is the same as benevolence. It’s not.
Is Tolerance Biblical?
by Brandon Medina
The concept of tolerance has been front and center in cultural conversation for at least twenty years, but few have stopped to ask, is tolerance biblical? What does the Bible have to say about tolerance, and where does the world get it right and wrong?
Is the Bible the Literal Word of God?
by Brandon Medina
Increasingly not only the world but Christians too are questioning whether the Bible is the literal Word of God. However, a denial of certain key literal truths causes a cascading failure of the gospel. Before we chalk it all up to metaphor, we must make sure we know the consequences.
The Appeal to Intent: An Antidote
by Chris Waner
Too often pastors and teachers hide from their biblical responsibilities behind a rhetorical device called the appeal to intent. This article explores the appeal to intent argument and proposes a philosophical approach based upon biblical teaching. Running into the appeal to intent? Now we have an a
Progressive Christianity (Fool’s Gold)
by Brandon Medina
Progressive Christianity is sweeping through the greater Western church, offering alternative social philosophies and mores to satisfy the increasing demand for trendiness, but not all that glitters is gold.
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
by Brandon Medina
Why do bad things happen to good people or good things happen to bad people? A close examination uncovers that these are precisely the wrong questions.
The Hell You Say Doesn’t Exist
by Brandon Medina
Does hell exist? Increasingly pastors, preachers, and teachers are answering ‘no’ to this question. But what do Jesus and the Bible teach us about hell? In this article we examine the Scriptures to find the truth about hell.
Who is Church For?
by Brandon Medina
Who is Church For? All too often we treat the church like an evangelism tool, but the church was not created for the world but for the believer.
Judge My Relationship by the Way I Pray
by Brandon Medina
Have you heard the idea that “listening to a person pray gives you insight into their relationship with God?” Now at first blush this seems a reasonable idea. But does it hold up under logical and scriptural scrutiny?
Misunderstanding the Bible: Psalm 46:10
by Chris Waner
In recent years almost no passage in the Bible has been more abused, taken out of context, and completely rung-out than Psalm 46:10. It’s time that changed.
The Call to be Hated
by Brandon Medina
A brief analysis of the recent United Methodist decision to uphold the sanctity of marriage and its membership’s response to this decision.
Misunderstanding the Bible: John 3:16
by Chris Waner
Did you know that Bible verses can have cult followings within Christian circles? It’s true. Consider John 3:16, for example.
Experience Makes Me Closer to God
by Brandon Medina
All too often churches today claim that experiencing the presence of God is a barometer for the health of our relationship with God, and there appears to be some common sense evidence that this is true. However…
Earning an Answer
by Brandon Medina
Do you believe your actions relate directly to a “yes” or “no” from God? One question I have struggled with is, “If I had just behaved better, this good thing would have happened or this bad thing wouldn’t have happened.”
How Should Christians Judge?
by Brandon Medina
So how many times have you disagreed with someone’s words or action and voiced your thoughts to that person, only to have Matthew 7:1 – “Judge not lest you be judged” thrown in your face? Let’s take a look at judging more closely.
Why Apologetics?
by Brandon Medina
Why does it matter you might ask, this apologetics? I believe in the Bible, I believe in Jesus, I believe in the Trinity, I believe in the creation account, I believe in free will, I believe in predestination, I believe in the nature of law, I believe in .
The Shack: A Review
by Brandon Medina
While it is an interesting read and very touching in sections, I have to say I would not recommend this to anyone curious about who or what God is, what the Trinity is, or someone who has serious theological questions.
Chosen with a Purpose
by Brandon Medina
Since the completion of our First Chapter of John Course, I frequently find myself returning to John 1:1-2. I must confess that rhetoric has always been very interesting to me (sometimes to the annoyance of my wife), and I find the wording in John 1:1-2 particularly interesting.