Dangerous Ideas in the Church of Christ Introduction Many dear brothers and sisters I know believe in the rapture before the great tribulation or pre-trib rapture as they call it. The main text used for this comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with […]
We have all heard about the ‘millennials.’ This generation was born between 1984 and 1998. But what about the generation right behind them? Generation Z, born between 1999 and 2015. I myself have 4 children from this generation, 5 if you count my youngest (who was born in July 2015). This generation is starting high […]
Article by I. Hofmann, July 2024. All right reserved. Published with permission on Apologeet.nl. Translation by J. Hofmann. Introduction Thomas Aquinas is a well-known Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian from the 13th century. He lived from 1225 to 1274 and was declared a saint in 1323, 49 years after his death. During his lifetime, he […]
Part 10 – Docetism & Gnosticism Some would say that the material world is inherently evil. If that is true, God could not have become flesh like we read in John 1. This teaching is also called ‘Docetism’ and it seems to tight in closely with Gnosticism. Which is Which? Okay, it might be a […]
Part 9 – Subordinationism We read in the Bible that Jesus voluntarily placed Himself under the authority of the Father. But could it be that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are subordinate in terms of their nature and in essence? This is what we are going to discuss today. Subordinationism Subordinationism teaches that Jesus (and […]
Part 8 – Kenosis Did Jesus empty himself of divinity in the incarnation? In other words, did Jesus give up His deity when He became human? This idea is sometimes called kenotic theology. Confusing This word, kenosis, is confusing at best and misleading at worst. The word kenosis comes from the Greek kenoo, which mean […]
Part 7 – Adoptionism As far back as the second century, several groups already debated Jesus’ preexistence. One such group are called Adoptionists. They denied the preexistence of Jesus and, as a consequence, His deity. Jesus was tested by God According to these teaching, Jesus was just a human like you and I. Adoptionism, says […]
Part 6 – Pelagianism I came to Christ around 1994. In my testimony I often say that I chose to be saved by Jesus. I think you can even hear me saying that in my online testimony.i But, does that mean that I was capable of deciding all one my own? Pelagianism Well, it might […]
Part 5 – Donatism Is your baptism invalid if your baptiser was adulterer? Picture this: You decided to become a real follower of Christ. You realised that you needed to be baptist. That is your first step of obedience to Jesus. Your pastor was more than willing to baptise you. But, two weeks later you […]
Part 4 – Modalism Jesus is like an uncle, nephew, father, brother, or son… Come on Patrick! Try this: Ask your pastor, youth leader or someone else in your church to explain the trinity! That is a fun question to ask, don’t you think? Many will struggle to give a good answer, and that is […]
Part 3 – Antinomianism Let’s ditch the Old Testament laws! We are no longer under the law, right? Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Still, in many churches, we find the commandments written on banners. What’s more, every Sunday many congregations […]
Part 2 – Arianism ➜ ➜ ➜ PS. Who noticed the mistake at the end of the video? No, it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It was really in my head…. But what? A Christian believes that salvation cannot come through works or by another created being. We believe that we can only be […]
Part 1 – What is heresy? Jehovah’s Witnesses are like the Dutch people… You’ll find them all around the world. Please don’t complain about this comparison. I myself am Dutch. And I know, the Dutch mostly go around the world to do business, which can be good, right? The Jehovah’s Witnesses mostly go around to […]
Jan van Meerten is the driving force behind the website Fundamentum (oorsprong.info). Jan’s work goes far beyond his website. He has always been very active in all kinds of study days and conferences. It is thanks to Jan that I get informed, on a regulart basis, about what is going on in the more Reformed […]
Part 2 – The Signs of Apostasy You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God. In the […]
Part 1 – What makes an apostate? You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. I am talking about the truth of the Gospel of course. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has […]
I never really bothered about the extra books in the Roman Catholic bible. I always thought that this was just about a dispute in the early church. But is it? Let’s find out. Many of our more respectable Bibles, such as the King James Version, Revised Standard Version, and the New International Version, have just […]
Respect Is Attractive: Women and Early Christianity
Article reposted with permission from ‘The Jesus Fandom’ Original can be found here and posted on 10 April 2023. Translated by Jurgen Hofmann. Introduction Globally, women are more religious than men. They see their faith as more important, tend to pray daily and attend church more than men. This is well reflected in church practice: […]
You might have heard of the five ‘solas’ of protestantism. It is basically a summary of what the protestants believe to be true after the reformation. Sola is latin for ‘only’ or ‘alone.’ I will explain a bit more about these ‘solas’ in a minute. But I mostly want to think with you about ‘sola […]
[Part 1] Go to part two In the last video I already touched on one aspect of the importance of apologetics. I know, I am a bit strange. On the one hand I say that I will not use it, to much, in online debates. But on the other hand I believe it is very […]
Why I don’t debate atheists? Well, that statement is not entirely true because, so now and then, I do respond on their remarks. However, I try to avoid these endless debates on forums, YouTube and other online platforms. You see, it is often a quite different situation if you meet someone in person, and it […]
In this series, we will discuss the Christian Stance on abortion. Many Christians are mute on this topic. This is unfortunate and unnecessary because there are good theological and reasonable arguments to take a firm stand in this debate. In this first part, I’ll lay out the lines along I would like to tackle this […]
A Biblical Case for the Church’s Duty to Remain Open Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). The Church should stand immovably on those biblical principles. As […]
Not a topic about apologetics this week. Something else got my attention. Last week I was reading the news items concerning my home country, the Netherlands. One article triggered my attention. It was an interview with a doctor about all the measures the government took and is still taking to prevent people from getting Corona. […]
Christian Stance on Abortion – Part 4 Compromise, Churches, Conclusion
Part 1 Terms Part 2 Human or Not Part 3 Dilemmas Part 4 Compromise, Church, Conclusion Part 4 — Compromise, Churches, and the Conclusion Welcome to the last episode of this series about the Christian stance on abortion. In part three we have discussed two dilemmas that so now and then happen. We’ve seen that […]
Part 1 Terms Part 2 Human or Not Part 3 Dilemmas Part 4 Compromise, Church, Conclusion Part 3 — Dilemmas You might have heard at least one of the ‘what ifs’. What if the girl gets pregnant after being raped, what if the girl is still studying, what if the lady is a bit old. […]
Christian Stance on Abortion – Part 2 Human or Not
Part 1 Terms Part 2 Human or Not Part 3 Dilemmas Part 4 Compromise, Church, Conclusion Part 2 — Human or Not Introduction Hi there! Welcome to the second part of this small series on abortion. I on purposely mention abortion in the first sentence of this video. Why? So nobody can mistakenly watch this […]
Part 1 Terms Part 2 Human or Not Part 3 Dilemmas Part 4 Compromise, Church, Conclusion Part 1 — Clarifying the Terms Introduction Talking with my daughter is often an interesting experience. She is almost 17 and her view on the world isn’t much different from that of mine. However, the things that she reads, […]