Tag: christianity
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One of the most compelling reasons I rejected the LDS idea of a Great Apostasy boils down to a simple question: If the apostles died without successors and priesthood authority was lost, why don’t early Christians express alarm or lament? It very much strikes me as a dog that didn’t bark. The phrase “the dog…
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As an Israeli-American Christian with deep ties to both the land of Israel (including many family members living there now), and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I’ve often found myself caught between two extremes. On one hand, some Christians feel the need to offer unqualified political support for modern Israel as though every government policy…
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As I’ve talked to Latter-day Saint friends or had online conversations with Latter-day Saints, I’ve often said that the biggest difference between the LDS faith and biblical Christianity is how the two understand the nature of God I tell my friends how I came to see that God was far bigger, holier, and more majestic…
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I’ve noticed a curious pattern in the way some Latter-day Saint apologists engage with the Bible. When it comes to the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible—many are quick to embrace the conclusions of the documentary hypothesis or historical-critical methods. They seem more than comfortable suggesting that Moses didn’t write the Torah, that Deuteronomy…
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One of the most distinctive teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the belief that we lived with God before being born on earth. But does this teaching actually appear in the Church’s foundational scripture, the Book of Mormon? While there are a few passages that Latter-day Saints cite in support…
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Recently my wife and I made a down payment on a new home. As I signed the documents, I couldn’t help but think of Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:13–14 and 2 Corinthians 1:22, where he describes the Holy Spirit as a guarantee, a deposit, a down payment—the Greek word arrabōn—on the full inheritance God has…
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One of the greatest truths we celebrate at Easter is that our confidence and assurance rest not in ourselves, but in the finished work of Christ on the cross. That’s why I loved how Pastor Scott Hollingshead put it in his Easter sermon:“You do not start looking to yourself for assurance. You look to Jesus…
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Every Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with songs of joy and hopeful proclamation. “He is risen!” we declare. And rightly so. The empty tomb is our assurance that death has been defeated and that those who are in Christ will one day rise again to enjoy eternal life. But Easter offers even more…
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Growing up, the cross was a symbol of antisemitism and hatred. For my Jewish parents, it evoked memories of pogroms and Naziism—of centuries of persecution committed in the name of Christ. I still remember when my mother spent a few days in a Catholic hospital. She was so uncomfortable with the crucifix on the wall…
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In his recent General Conference address, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told a moving story about a young boy named Easton who, despite the challenges of muscular dystrophy, managed to pass the sacrament at church. Holland describes the effort and perseverance it took, and the joy the…