Apparent Contradictions: God or Satan?

 First order of business, I apologize for my lack of updates lately.  I took a trip to California two weekends ago with family and was busy before and after prepping and catching up.  Now I'm back and hope to resume my normal Tuesday, Thursday, Friday routine.

You guys have voted in the next apparent contradiction for me to debunk today and it is the one found in the following verses.

Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."  -- 2 Samuel 24:1

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.  --  1 Chronicles 21:1

Both of these passages are telling the story of the same exact event.  So the question is "Who incited David to number Israel?"  2 Samuel says that God did it.  1 Chronicles says that Satan did it.  Is the Bible calling God and Satan the same person?  Did the author of Samuel (likely Samuel) and the author of Chronicles (likely Ezra) disagree?  What's the deal?

What Goes Around Comes Around

I've been studying the life of Jacob again as I'm teaching the kids at church about him.  What has been striking me this time is the way Jacob's sins are visited back upon him.  Check this out...

Theology Thursday: Is Abortion a Sin?

Before we start, lets take a moment to recognize that for many this is a deeply emotional issue.  Pregnancy is a life changing event and many women wind up pregnant before they are ready to have a baby.  Most women who have an abortion wrestle with the decision and don't make it lightly.  Many of these women go on to struggle with the decisions they have made wondering what could have been.  This is a sensitive issue.  My heart truly goes out to women who find themselves in a situation where they face this decision.  And shame on the boys who claim to be men in their lives who have left them with so few options that abortion seems to be best.

With that said, let's address the question.  As Christians, our view of right and wrong must come from the Bible.  On issues not directly addressed by the Bible, we must allow the Bible and its principles to guide us.  So let's ask the question and look to the Bible for answers.  Is abortion a sin?

The Most Expensive Meal Ever!

Did you know the Bible tells the story of the most expensive meal ever?  Can you guess what it was?  Actually, we don't really know much about the meal.  We only know it was some sort of red stew.  Figure it out yet?  This Sunday, I'll be teaching the kids at church about Jacob.  But I'd like to share a little bit with you today about his brother Esau.  Esau makes a terrible mistake that I believe we can all learn from.  Let's set the stage...

Strong Faith or Raving Lunatic?

If God told you to kill your son, would you do it?  Maybe you don't have a son, what if He told you to kill your mom?  Would you do it?

Well, apparently you should...

Who's Who in the Bible? Adam & Eve

I've been taking the children at my church through a new series called, "Who's Who in the Bible?"  We started a few weeks ago way in the beginning with Adam and Eve.  I thought I'd share a little bit of that with you.

Perfect Life

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. -- Genesis 1:31

We've heard the story before right?  In the beginning, God spoke everything into being.  And it was good.  The world was perfect.  There was no sin.  No pain.  Better yet, there was perfect relationship with God.  Adam had it made and the future was looking bright!

Theology Friday: Old Testament Promises

Do Old Testament promises apply to me or just Israel?  Depending on how "churched" you are, you may not know all of the controversy that surrounds this question.  Dispensationists line up on one side while Covenental theologians line up on the other.  If you don't know what those words mean, don't worry, you don't need to.

There are tons of different promises in the Old Testament.  God speaks to many people and promises a variety of things.  The Bible records those words and conversations.  We need to treat those words and conversations like we would any other to understand them.  The key to understanding biblical promises is context.  CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT.  The truth is that some of the promises in the Old Testament apply to us and some of them don't.  You have to read the context to see which is which.  Here are a few categories that promises might fall into...

Theology Thusday: Does the Old Testament Teach the Trinity

A few months ago, I got an E-mail from a friend.  He quoted Genesis 1:26 and asked me who is the "us" mentioned.  That got me talking to him and a few other people about the Trinity and the Old Testament.  Does the Old Testament teach the Trinity?  If not, then why not?  If God really is one Being who eternally existed as three Persons, then why would He not feel like mentioning that in the Old Testament?

Theology Thursday: Darwin, Evolution, and the Bible

What is evolution?  Does the Bible disagree with evolution?  Has evolution been proven a fact?  These are some questions I intend to answer.  Answering these questions could take up volumes, so I will not be able to address every little detail.  I will try to summarize but this is going to be a lot of info.

Theology Thursday: Can Women Lead in the Church?

Most of us have never seen a female pastor or priest.  How come?  Is the church sexist?  Why can't women be leaders in the church?  What is the deal?

Well, not all Christians agree on this issue.  In fact, there are now several denominations of Christianity that are allowing women to be pastors.  So what is your opinion Pastor Mark? 

Feature Friday: Edgar Allan Poe did WHAT!?

I'm a pretty big fan of Poe.  Casque of the Amantillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tell Tale Heart, and of course The Raven are classics.  A few days ago I heard that a new movie called The Raven is coming out in March.  I was really excited.  I was going to link the trailer here, but its a bit gory, so I'll just leave it to your imagination.

John Cusack will be playing Edgar Allan Poe in this movie which retells one of the most amazing parts of Poe's life.  A lot of Poe's poems and stories are dark and involve murders and deaths that range from a plague spreading in a ballroom to a man being buried alive behind a brick wall.  The movie focuses on a series of murders that occured in the 1800's.  These murders were exact copies of the ones that Poe wrote about.  This led the police to at first suspect Poe, but eventually Poe had to join forces to help the police catch this copycat killer.

Proving God Exists: Part 1

Does God really exist?  Its a question I've discussed with many people.  Can it be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt with 100% certainty?  To be honest, I don't know.  There have been times in my life where I've answered with a yes and there have been times I have answered with a no.  Right now, I'm just not sure if a person can prove God does or does not exist.

However, I do believe that there is enough evidence for the existence of God that it leaves me certain He does exist.  There is certainly enough evidence for the existence of God that you don't have to feel foolish for believing in Him the way you'd feel silly believing in a unicorn or other fairy tales.

There are some pretty solid age old arguments that give lots of evidence for the existence of God and some modern ones as well.  Today I'll share the first of many.  The first is known as The Cosmological Argument.

A Powerful Song About You and Me

Christy and I have really been getting into Smallville lately.  Its the show about Superman's younger years.  I have been noticing that the show makes great use of music.  A song always comes on during the most emotionally powerful parts of the show.  When the episode centers around Clark and Lana's love, it ends with the two of them holding hands while a romantic Lifehouse song is playing.  When the episode centers around Lex Luthor losing his mind, it ends with Lex in a straight jacket with a creepy Johnny Cash song playing.  The music of it amplifies the whole point of the story.

Did you know that there is a song in Genesis 1?