Gospel.com Blog

The last several months have seen a number of essays and articles in the mainstream press about the phenomenon of “new atheism”–a resurgence of interest in atheism, as expressed by charismatic writers and speakers. Atheism presents many challenges to the church, raising questions about Jesus, the reliability of the Bible, and even the rationality of religious faith. Can Christians answer these challenges?

Many Christian apologists are responding to the questions raised by “new atheism.” Over at Uplook Ministries, Will Bennett has posted a lengthy essay summarizing important atheist claims and pointing out what he sees as their weaknesses. Elsewhere in the Gospelcom Alliance, the Just Thinking” column archive at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries is a good apologetic resource, particularly an essay on doubt and certainty by Alistair McGrath. And over at RBC Ministries, the “Answers to Tough Questions” site has a section devoted to questions about the existence of God.

There’s a lot of reading material to absorb in those links, but if the atheism/religion debate interests you, these apologetic essays are a good place to find the beginnings of a Christian response to atheism’s challenge.

Internet Evangelism Day is coming! Internet Evangelism Day–set for April 29 this year–is a time for your church and community to focus on the utility and importance of the internet in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Whether your church has a complete internet staff or doesn’t yet have a website, it’s important to keep up with the ways in which the internet is being used to minister to people around the world.

There’s lots more info at the Internet Evangelism Day website, including an overview of the day’s purpose and a list of ways your church or group can participate. Mark your calendar, and consider talking to your church or study group about taking advantage of IE Day to learn more about online ministry.

Two hundred years ago today, William Wilberforce’s tireless efforts helped to bring about the end of the slave trade in England. Wilberforce was an unlikely moral crusader, but he fought a long, hard 20-year battle against the deeply entrenched slave trade… and won.

The Christian History Institute has two good pieces about Wilberforce and his stubborn fight for justice: an article about Wilberforce’s life and work, and another identifying important lessons for modern Christians from Wilberforce’s struggle. Take a few minutes this weekend to read up on one of the great moral victories of the modern era.

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time for another film update from Past the Popcorn:

Who’d have thunk it? Going into limited re-release this week, 1964’s Becket, starring Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton, is actually the strongest film opening, according to Greg Wright. This tale of Henry II’s struggle to the death with Archbishop Becket, though old-school in its techniques, presents compelling dialogue, dynamic performances, and timeless analyses of temporal and spiritual powers. Interestingly, Amazing Grace, powerful enough in its own right (also according to Wright), borrows heavily (and successfully) on this old-school style, but doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its excellent parts. Still–what a pair of treats!

Also this week, Billy Bob Thornton’s new effort, The Astronaut Farmer. Jenn Wright didn’t quite warm up to it in the way that the filmmakers would have hoped — even after sitting down to talk to them about it! Likewise, Mike Smith was not overly impressed with The Number 23.

WorldMap.org (the people behind the very cool Global Status of Christianity map) have a monthly featured map on their website detailing the state of Christianity in a particular part of the world. This month’s map depicts the status of Bible translation in sub-Saharan Africa (link goes to a small image of the map; a more detailed version is available for download here).

It’s an eye-opening map–a surprisingly large portion of sub-Saharan Africa (including most of Mauritania, Chad, Botswana, and Madagascar) are still in need of a local translation of the Bible. For many more maps and the latest updates from the missions world, explore the rest of the WorldMap.org site.

The Biblical books of Revelation and Daniel are infamously tricky to interpret–one need only look at the vast amount of novels and theological works they’ve inspired to see that there’s no single consensus about how to best read and understand them. Are they veiled clues about events yet to come? Are they descriptions of historical events that have already happened? Plenty of smart people have disagreed over those questions throughout church history.

If this is a topic that interests you, a new article at the Into Thy Word Ministries is well worth the read: it’s a primer for understanding the basics of apocalyptic literary works like Revelation. Apocalyptic writing was a literary genre with some very specific characteristics. Rather than reading our own interpretation into Daniel, Revelation, and other apocalyptic works, we should take some time to learn more about the cultural context of these writings and the literary tools they employed.

It’s not a lightweight topic by any means–but learning more about this subject can help you make more sense out of the Bible’s most difficult-to-understand books.

Here’s the weekly film review roundup from Past the Popcorn:

Usually this time of year is reserved for the dregs of the film-release schedule, and the past few weeks have pretty much borne that pattern out (with the exception of a handful of fine arthouse releases). This week, though, the multiplexes are running a couple of very good films, and a couple of smaller decent releases fill out the schedule.

First, Michael Brunk offers the opinion that Bridge to Terabithia is “likely to prove just as enduring as the book that inspired it”–a hearty recommendation for almost all audiences. Michael also enjoyed Breach, and FBI spy-busting story for more mature audiences.

Mike Smith liked Starter for Ten, a college coming-of-humility story, while recognizing it might be a bit much for many audiences. And Jeff Walls gives a little insight into the compilation of Oscar-nominated short films that goes into arthouse release this week.

Also, Mike Smith sits down for a talk with German director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, whose Oscar-nominated The Lives of Others opened in limited release last week.

No figure in all of history has been the subject of more questioning. Millions of people claim not only to know who Jesus is, but also to have a relationship with him. Who is he, and how does one find the hope and purpose in life that he offers? Watch Who is Jesus? to find out–it’s a free 22-minute video from International Bible Society that will introduce you to the Jesus of the Bible.

Next week marks the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection that culminates with the Crucifixion and the celebration of Easter. As Lent progresses, we’ll be featuring a number of Easter-related resources and articles from around the Gospelcom Alliance, but it seems fit to begin by noting a series of Lent devotionals at Scripture Union.

Scripture Union’s Journey to the Cross is a series of short devotionals emailed daily over the six weeks leading up to Easter. Each email includes (among other things) a Scripture passage, a prayer suggestion, and a reflection designed to help you focus on the message of Lent. You can sign up to receive the emails (which begin on February 26), or download the entire series (in PDF format) to work through it yourself.

Valentine’s Day is upon us once again! Several Gospelcom Alliance ministries have published good materials dealing with those always-tricky questions about love, sex, and relationships. Without further ado, here they are.

• Valentine’s Day articles by James Watkins
  Light-hearted essays about love, relationships, and all that other stuff that’s on your mind this Valentine’s Day.
• Is God a Matchmaker?
  Has God predetermined if and who we will marry? How would we recognize that person? Is God a cosmic matchmaker?
• Marriage, Relationships, and Family
  A huge library of articles at ACTS International about everything from singleness to maintaining a healthy marriage.
• The Real Story of Valentine’s Day
  Do you know the real story behind Valentine’s Day? Read the true story behind this romantic holiday at the Christian History Institute.
• Valentine’s Day cartoons
  Holiday cartoons from the crazed mind of Reverend Fun.
• The Biblical Ideal for Marriage
  What are the top qualities you look for in a spouse? What about the qualities you have to give to someone?
• Peggie’s Place Valentine resources
  Lots of inspirational Valentine-themed links and resources to discover.

Have fun reading through these resources–we’ll add more as we find them!