Gospel.com Blog

Are you new to the Bible and Christianity, and not sure how to start reading such an intimidating book? Or are you a long-time Christian who wants to get back in the habit of reading the Bible regularly, but don’t know how to begin? There’s a good multi-part guide to reading the Bible and praying at the Scripture Union website. It starts with the very basics of finding the Bible that’s right for you, and goes all the way through to more advanced Bible study techniques.

Don’t be scared away from Bible reading by its length–you might just need a bit of help getting into the habit of regular Bible reading. Take a look at this guide and see if it helps!

What does it mean to be human? It might sound like a cliched question from a Philosophy 101 class, but it’s an important one–how can we make moral decisions about life, death, and ethics if we can’t define exactly what it means to be a human being? The philosophy of “humanism” has taken widespread root in our culture–but do we know what that means?

These are the questions asked by apologist Ravi Zacharias in a moving and insightful talk about his new book The Grand Weaver. Listen to his talk in MP3 or RealMedia. If you couldn’t explain what it means to be human, or what your purpose in life is, Ravi’s talk will give you plenty to think about.

Before Darwin, did all Christians take the Bible’s creation account literally? Is evolution incompatible with Christianity? Have Christians ever contributed much to modern science? The Scibel science ministry tackles these tough questions in their Top 5 Myths about Faith and Science. Scibel is committed to helping both Christians and non-Christians better understand the relationship between science and religion–so if you’ve ever heard it said that modern science is incompatible with religious belief, Scibel is here to challenge that idea.

If you finish reading through their myth-debunking and have more questions about how science fits into the Christian faith, they’ve also got a page answering common questions about Christianity and science.

How do you do effective ministry online? What does authentic internet ministry look like? What do technological trends like Web 2.0 mean for online evangelism? These are just some of the questions being discussed at the Internet Ministry Conference, which is underway this week in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The annual conference is a core part of Gospel Communications‘ vision for doing ministry online, and training other Christians to do the same.

Even if you aren’t attending the conference, you can still follow along with much of what’s going on there at the Internet Ministry Conference blog. In the weeks to come, we’ll also be putting audio and video from the conference workshops online at the blog, so you can enjoy the conference content free of charge. If you share our passion for online ministry, stop by and follow along with our discussions at the conference blog!

If you have a pet cat, you may know what happens when another cat strays into its territory–most cats switch into an aggressive, over-protective stance when confronted by another cat. It’s amusing (and sometimes annoying) to observe–but have you ever considered that people sometimes react similarly when somebody else strays into their physical or emotional “territory”? At the Strangely Dim blog, Dave Zimmerman has an interesting post about the human instinct to protect our turf, with some thoughts on God’s original intent for human boundaries and interaction.

The Islamic month of Ramadan, during which Muslims are encouraged to fast during the day, is underway. It’s a perfect time to get acquainted both with the teachings of Islam and with the various Christian ministries who are working to bring the Good News to the Muslim world. After reading Wikipedia’s overview of Ramadan for the basic facts about the tradition, head over to Arab World Ministries, which has essays about a Christian attitude toward Ramadan, the rationale and history behind Islamic fasting, and the challenges that Christians of Muslim background face during Ramadan.

After that, take a look at the many Islam-related links assembled at the Global Mapping International–links to both Islamic sites and to Christian sites answering them. Lastly, FaithFacts has a detailed essay that compares and contrasts the teachings and claims of Islam and Christianity, as well as an essay that looks at Jesus as portrayed in the Qur’an. Lots of solid information in those links–so during the month of Ramadan, take some time to get to know both the claims of Islam, and the Christian response to those claims!

Have you ever been “emotionally slapped” by somebody? Almost everyone knows what it’s like to be treated rudely or cruelly by somebody else–it’s a painful experience that leaves us wanting to strike back at the person who hurt or insulted us. But what’s a Christlike response to being emotionally hurt? how can we “turn the other cheek” when our attacker is using words and gossip to hurt us?

In a three-part series of essays at Soulation, Dale and Jonalyn Fincher talk about how to handle situations like this. The first article talks about the experience of being “emotionally slapped”; the second discusses ways you can constructively respond, and the third describes how and when you should confront a person who’s hurt you emotionally.

These articles are just a few available online at the Soulation online library. If you like these articles, take some time to browse through the many others available at their site.

Today’s film roundup from Past the Popcorn:

It’s that odd time between summer blockbusters and holiday blockbusters. And apparently, the industry thinks that, right now, everyone’s sick of being nice, happy, and family-friendly — particularly since the holidays are right around the corner. And we know what a bad mood that puts everyone in!

So the release schedule is packed right now with movies that make you feel good about being in a bad mood, hating people, or just sick of being nice to everyone.

Leading the R-rated pack this week is Eastern Promises, a Russian-Mafia film from David Cronenberg that Mike Smith calls “brutal, graphic, ugly, and desperate.” Right behind that is Exiled, a “grandly tragic” Hong Kong action flick in which “bullets fly, and then more bullets fly,” according to Greg Wright. Then there’s the “violent” Jodie Foster revenge thriller The Brave One, a “suspense-filled crime-drama that explores the dark emotions of fear, anger, and vengeance,” according to Mike Brunk. On the risque end of things is Silk, a tragic and arty historical romance from which “every bit of actual life is choked,” says Greg Wright. He also calls Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State “meandering and repetitive” and “indulgent,” though there were aspects to it he liked. On the constructive side is In the Valley of Elah, a stateside Iraq War film that Jeff Walls says is “topical, moving and thought-provoking.”

Toning things down a bit to PG-13 is Mr. Woodcock, a Billy Bob Thornton comedy that Jenn Wright concedes is “a mildly humorous popcorn-munching flick” — even surprisingly inoffensive, given the title. And finally there is Chalk, a low-budget and satisfying look at the plight of teachers at the high school level. Michael Brunk calls it “one of those quirky films that are simply fun to watch.”

Whew! Another packed slate of the same sort to look forward to next week…

The thing that may surprise you most about documentary filmmaker David Sington is that he is British — and the reason that may surprise you is how pro-America his film, In the Shadow of the Moon, due out next week, comes across.

Rather than taking a “see what America has become, how low we have sunk” approach, the film stoutly advocates that projects like Apollo are what characterize America; they are the rule, not the exception.

And given what we are usually told about how Europeans simply hate Americans, listening to what Sington has to say is quite a surprise.

The film combines NASA footage, much of which has not been publicly seen prior to this, with new interviews conducted with most of the surviving Apollo astronauts (Neil Amstrong, who is notoriously shy about speaking on camera, being a notable exception).

While Sington was in Seattle to promote the film at the Seattle International Film Festival, a publicist arranged for Past the Popcorn Managing Editor Greg Wright to meet with him at a downtown Seattle hotel.

Is Mormonism a branch of Christianity? Is it a cult? Is it a separate religion entirely? Many people aren’t familiar enough with the teachings and beliefs of Mormonism to answer those questions with confidence. And without an accurate understanding of Mormon beliefs, it’s not possible to talk to Mormons about the disconnects between their faith and Biblical Christianity. Living Hope Ministries has put together a very thorough and readable overview of Mormon beliefs, with several essays addressing different questions you might have about Mormonism. What are the basic tenets of Mormonism? What is the Book of Mormon about? This overview will give you a useful look at the ways that Mormon beliefs are–and aren’t–compatible with orthodox Christianity.