Author: Jojo Agot

Ben Witherington III raises some important questions in his book “What Have They Done with Jesus?”

What is it about our culture that makes us prone to listen to sensational claims about Jesus and his earliest followers, even when there is little or no hard evidence to support such conjectures? Why are we especially prone to this when it comes to the origins of Christianity? Why would a poorly researched but a readable thriller like The Da Vinci Code, which claims to reveal startling new truths about Jesus and his life, create such a sensation in our culture?

Those were very good questions. Why indeed?

About a month ago, Joseph Atwill boldly announced in London his recent findings that Jesus, according to him, was actually just a character made up by the Romans and that the New Testament was written by the Roman aristocrats.

Continue reading Our Propensity for Sensationalism

Sobering words from R.C. Sproul Jr on our trying to get the approval of the world:

We live in the midst of what CS Lewis warned us about more than a generation ago—“They’ll tell you that you can have your religion in private, and then they’ll make sure you’re never alone.” The solution is not to work harder to gain their approval. The solution isn’t to aspire to respectability. The solution is to embrace the scandal of the cross. The solution is to die to self, to lay aside the perks and prerogatives that they dole out to those whom they approve. The solution is to account our academic reputations as naught for the kingdom of God. The solution is to rejoice in the glorious truth that it is better to be a custodian in the university of the Lord than to be seated among lords of academia. When we seek the world’s approval, we lose it. And when we give it up, we will find His approval. Jesus said so.

Intersection Between Christianity and Art – Read about an Emmy-winning illustrator’s journey from atheism to Jesus. “Illustrators are image-makers. Their craft employs the imagination to create the visual equivalent of a verbal idea. When illustrators pick up their markers and draw “good” pictures, they bear the image of God as Creator.”

Why Does the Resurrection Really Matter? – The Resurrection demonstrated that the Cross was a victory, not a defeat. Easter is the unveiling of God’s answer to the problems of the world… [and] that the living God has made a decisive bridgehead into this present world with his healing and all-conquering love; and that, in the name of this strong love, all the evils, all the injustices, and all the pains of the present world must now be addressed with the news that healing, justice, and love have won the day.

J. I. Packer defines sin as the “anti-God drive in mankind’s makeup that is our legacy from Adam.” That’s real punchy Professor!

Nothing in all the vast universe can come to pass otherwise than God has eternally purposed. Here is a foundation of faith. Here is a resting place for the intellect. Here is an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. It is not blind fate, unbridled evil, man or Devil, but the Lord Almighty who is ruling the world, ruling it according to His own good pleasure and for His own eternal glory.

—A.W. Pink

Dr. Nabeel Qureshi’s talk on Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Dr. Qureshi is currently part of the the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries team of speakers. Read his bio here.