Gospel.com Blog

Without Mission Network News I’d be largely ignorant of the impact of missions in the world. They’re an organization that consistently works to keep evangelical Christians informed of missions related news.

Their purpose:

Mission Network News is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world. In doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission.

And their reasoning:

We have found that many Christians are highly interested in missions, but they’re not getting the information they need to motivate them to get involved. MNN is committed to providing the most current, relevant and compelling mission news available. Our radio network, satellite links, and internet affiliates enable us to reach millions with mission news within hours of the event!

I went through today and read over what’s been going on in the past week. There are—of course—many things to pray about, but also many things to offer praise about. Here are a few recent news items worth reading:

Anti-blasphemy resolution impact brought to forefront

Financial crisis brings Wall Street to God

Proclaimer brings hope to Rwanda

Bible translation team issues call for help in Asia

Iran feeling the tensions between faith and religious freedoms

The featured topic on Gospel.com is recovery. While putting an end to some types of sin is as simple as “just saying no,” other sins and behaviors can cause so much damage to our lives, relationships, and spiritual health that breaking free requires serious time and commitment—a process of recovery.

The recovery process is frequently necessary when addiction—to alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, etc.—is involved. Recovery is sometimes also necessary even when your own behavior wasn’t responsible for the damage, as in the case of abuse. Today we’ll point out a few links to general recovery resources from around the Gospel.com community; tomorrow we’ll focus on recovery resources for more specific problems. Whatever the reasons you’re seeking recovery, here are some good starting points:

• Discipleship Tools has a very extensive collection of free online recovery resources. From 12-step recovery guides to detailed biblical essays about the recovery process, there’s a great deal of useful material here.
• The Encyclopedia of Recovery and Addiction Wiki has compiled a huge list of online recovery resources, covering all types of addiction from drug abuse to overeating.
• Safe Families has a slightly more narrow focus—it primarily addresses sexual addiction and pornography—but links to a large number of resources for both recovering addicts and their families.

Between those three ministries, there are hundreds of essays and other tools to help you get started down the long hard road to recovery. Explore those links, and we’ll be back tomorrow with some more specific resources!

One of the most pervasive critiques of the Christian faith is the charge that it’s nothing more than a “psychological crutch.” Is God an invention of the mind, a fantasy we’ve imagined into being to give our lives some sense of meaning and purpose? Is belief in God something for the weak—a childish gullibility, a way of avoiding reality?

Amy Orr-Ewing tackles this question head-on in her essay Is Believing in God a Psychological Crutch? She traces the “psychological crutch” charge back to Freud, and offers a Christian response:

From [Freud’s] perspective, God is merely a creation of the human mind, a projection emanating from human need and desire rather than a distinct reality or being that exists independently of the human mind. Freud’s notion of God acting as an idealized father figure for humans, providing a cushion from the harshness of the real world and a comforting friend in the midst of life’s troubles, reduces God to a human construct. Indeed, for Freud, God is made in humanity’s own image and is the “ultimate wish-fulfillment”; God does not actually exist but is merely the creation of humanity’s imagination and desire for a loving father figure.

How might a Christian respond to this? Can God really be explained away so easily by one aspect of psychology?

Read the full article, which is excerpted from Orr-Ewing’s upcoming book Is Belief in God Irrational? If you find this essay interesting, you can read the entire first chapter of the book over at InterVarsity Press.

Lastly, there are plenty more essays addressing the topics of faith, doubt, and apologetics at the Just Thinking archives. Don’t run from doubt and questions—take some time to see how Christian thinkers and writers are responding to tough questions about Christianity!

As Andy wrote yesterday, sometimes doubt is a natural part of our Christian—and human—existence. Other times all we really want and need are some reasons why we should believe. Or maybe we doubt because we just don’t know that much about a subject.

To that end, RBC ministries puts out a publication called Ten Reasons to Believe that explores a variety of questions that Christians and skeptics experience. Here are a few that you might help you find some more assurance for your faith.

10 Reasons to Believe…

Christ Rose from the Dead
In a God Who Allows Suffering
In the Existence of God
In the Bible

Have you ever doubted the truth of Christianity?

If you’ve never had a single doubt, you’re either the holiest person alive, or you’re not being completely honest. Whether you’re a longtime Christian who is troubled by doubts about your faith or somebody curious about Christianity but unsure if its claims are true, be assured that asking tough questions about God and the Bible is a healthy activity. When we ask honest questions and keep our ears and minds open to receive the answers, our faith is strengthened.

But knowing that doubt is normal doesn’t answer your questions, does it? Below are some resources from around the Gospel.com community that talk about questioning faith and experiencing doubt. Browse through these links, and you’ll soon see that you’re not the only person who’s asked tough questions about Christianity!

• Questioning Faith: Got questions about the Christian faith? Questioning Faith is an ongoing discussion about faith that tries to answer the tough questions about God and Christianity. Browse through their discussion archives to see the different topics they’ve addressed.
• Where is God? Dealing with Depression and Doubt: This discussion from Revive Our Hearts Radio looks at the doubt experienced by one of the most respected figures in the Bible: King David.
• Tough Questions (And Some Answers): Faith Facts takes a look at some of the most common challenges to Christianity—questions like How do I know the Bible is true? and How can God let bad things happen?

We’ll note other resources about faith and doubt as the week goes on. For now, let’s close with a short clip about the value of doubt from Questioning Faith:

Without doubt there could be no real faith. Indeed, Christianity is a religion that speaks openly of the kind of doubts and questions you mention. Adam and Eve started us out with matters of doubt and unbelief. Sarah doubted God as did Job and the psalmist—repeatedly so. Jesus responded to his disciples’ doubts, most notably Peter and Thomas. Paul offers more than hints of his own doubts, but he also speaks of the incredible sense of confidence that comes by exercising faith.

So go forth… and ask your tough questions!

Our featured topic this week has been vocation. It’s a word that carries a lot of different meanings and connotations: job, career, calling. For Christians in particular, however, the word refers to something bigger than just holding down a 9-to-5 job or landing a promotion at the office. When we speak of pursuing a vocation, we’re talking not just about day-to-day jobs, but about a lifetime of good works and faithfulness to God.

But obviously, your career is a huge part of your vocation—it’s where you spend much of your time. So what careers should a Christian pursue? Are some career “callings”—such as missionary work of pastoral service—more “Christian” than others? While we might have stereotypes of ministry work as being holier than other jobs, the Bible doesn’t quite make that distinction. In fact, the Bible never lists out what jobs and careers Christians should follow; it merely states that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Finding your vocation, then, is as much about serving God in your everyday life as it is about finding just the right career. Here are a few resources from the Gospel.com community that can help you think through this:

• Into Thy Word has a good, short introduction to the idea of spiritual gifts—special talents that God has blessed each of us with individually.
• Many Christians try to identify their spiritual talents and then use that knowledge to help them find the place in work, school, and church where they’re best able to serve. The Church Growth Institute has an online test you can take to identify your spiritual gifts.
• The Christian Career Center has many good resources to help you find a vocation that fits your gifts and interests. See their career guidance articles, particularly Making Career Decisions within God’s Will for Your Life and Discovering Your Unique, God-Given Design.
• …and plenty other links to job openings, career counseling, and more at the Jobs page.

Take a look through these resources and see what you can learn about your vocation—what you’re doing now, where you want to be, and how you can serve God with all your heart no matter where He’s placed you.

Gospel For Asia has sent in another update about persecution in Orissa. The full article is reposted below. They’ll be posting any new information they receive on their Orissa Update page.

Three More Christians Killed in Orissa; Opposition Reported in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

Three more believers were martyred and twelve others were severely wounded in a fresh wave of violence in Orissa, India, on September 30. The latest attacks occurred in villages near Kandhamal, which has been the epicenter of violence against Christians since August 22.

The violence in Orissa came as attacks in two other Indian states targeted a Christian pastor and a Bridge of Hope center.

An estimated 30 Christians have been killed and thousands of others have lost their homes since Hindu extremists went on a rampage after their leader, Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was murdered. His followers are seeking revenge for his death, for which Christians have been blamed. However, Maoists have claimed responsibility for the murder.

A Gospel for Asia correspondent in Orissa said Tuesday’s attacks came at 4:30 a.m. when mobs of as many as 5,000 Hindu extremists attacked three separate villages. The extremists burned down about 150 homes and three churches. The Indian media reports that police opened fire in an attempt to disperse the violent forces.

The mob also reportedly attacked the local police station, demanding that two people arrested in connection with the ongoing riots be released. Media reports from within the country also indicate that the extremists have blocked all roads in and out of the area of the attack with rocks and boulders to prevent police from bringing in additional forces.

Since the violence began August 22, six people who attended GFA-related churches in Orissa have been killed by the Hindu extremists, who have personally attacked more than 2,000 believers from these churches. The extremists have also burned down 630 homes belonging to believers who attend GFA-related churches and destroyed 22 churches were GFA missionaries serve as pastors.

Many Christians are still hiding out in the dense jungles surrounding their villages. They are suffering from the effects of starvation, disease and monsoon flooding that wrecked the state in September.

With the continued violence and the roads blocked, it is impossible for GFA Compassion Services teams to get into Orissa to distribute aid.

Two items from GFA. The first is an update of the Orissa situation filmed on Sept. 15 at the Gospel For Asia site.

Secondly is an in depth write-up of the violence being perpetrated against Christians in India. Head over to the GFA site to read the whole article. Here’s a quick excerpt:

The latest report of violence came September 16 in Uttar Pradesh, a state in north central India, when four GFA missionaries were attacked while handing out tracts. Hindu extremists confronted the missionaries, grabbed their cell phones and used them to make threatening phone calls to the GFA state office. They vehemently told the men to “stop converting Hindus into Christianity” and mercilessly beat the missionaries.

A missionary school in Kerala was also attacked September 15, according to a report issued by the Evangelical Fellowship of India

Uttar Pradesh is home to about 190 million people. You can read more about the state on its wikipedia entry.

Please pray for Christian missionaries worldwide.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. —Acts 8:1-4

Persecution is nothing new to the church—the above passage describes a campaign of persecution launched in the earliest days of the Christian church. Persecution of the church (sometimes even at the hands of fellow Christians) of some sort has been present in every century since Jesus’ time. And it’s a reality today, even if those of us living in relatively free Western societies find it hard to believe.

There are several ministries in the Gospel.com community that focus on the plight of the persecuted church around the world. Perhaps most prominent is the Lausanne World Pulse newsletter, which has some excellent articles describing the state of the persecuted church today:

• Lessons from the Persecuted Church, which lists five important things we can learn from the existence of persecution—and which suggests that persecution should not be seen as an abnormal part of the Christian walk.
• Essays about the persecution of Christians in the Muslim world, Indonesia, North Korea, and elsewhere.

Perhaps the most well-known instance of persecution took place under the Roman Empire in the early centuries of the church. For a good rundown of that era of persecution, this transcript from Christian History Institute goes over the basic history.

Over at Sermon Index you can find a classic George Whitefield sermon exhorting Christians to hold firm under persecution, whatever form it takes. Also at that site is the inspiring story of John Cennick, who suffered greatly for his faith.

There are many other resources on the topic of the persecuted church within the Gospel.com community; if you’ve checked out the above links and want more, see the Persecuted Church page.

Yesterday we pointed out a number of resources to help Christians learn more about Islam. Today we’ve got a few more, starting with a series of short Introduction to Islam videos from People of the Book. Here’s the first video:

Be sure to watch part 2 and part 3 if you found that useful.

The above videos, and the resources we noted yesterday, focus primarily on introducing the basic teachings and tenets of Islam. But if you’re looking for a more thorough analysis comparing Islam’s teachings to those of Christianity, Faith Facts has an exhaustive comparison of the two faiths. If you’ve ever wondered exactly how Christianity and Islam differ, or if those differences are theologically important, that’s a good place to start.

And last but not least, Into Thy Word has an excellent summary of Muslims beliefs, as well as some concrete ideas for effectively sharing the Gospel and showing Christlike love to Muslims. This essay, by Patrick Cate, also addresses many of the more cultural questions about Islam and the Arab world that have cropped up since September 11, 2001—questions about Islamic fundamentalism, terrorism, and Western biases against and misconceptions about Muslims.