CHRISTIANITY: AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST SHAPER

History, News May 20, 2016 Leave a comment

PMT 2016-035 by Robert Ward

Should the influence of Christian values be consigned to the history books? This was the question posed to former Prime Minister John Howard by Eternity recently.

In a wide-ranging response, Howard stood firm on his credentials as a person of faith himself, while recognising that arguments today had to be made that appealed to the whole community, not just to those who shared a Christian worldview.

Identifying Judaeo-Christian values as the “greatest shaper, morally and ethically, of today’s Australia”, Howard argued that while we owe much to such institutions as the United Nations and documents like our constitution, we can trace much of what we value back to the teachings of Jesus. For instance, the appropriate separation of church and state, where he made it clear: “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Continue reading →

CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA

missions, News May 17, 2016 Comments: 2

China Christian flagsPMT 2016-034 by Carl Bunderson

According to sociologist Rodney Stark, China’s intellectuals are increasingly convinced ‘Eastern religions don’t fit the modern world they’re engaged in and that they need to look to the West to find philosophies and religions.’

Christianity is spreading rapidly in China, and it could be because of how well the faith fits in with modern scientific technology.

According to renowned sociologist Rodney Stark, the number of Christians in China is growing at an impressive annual rate of 7%. Continue reading →

MIDDLE EASTERN REVIVAL

News May 13, 2016 Leave a comment

PMT 2016-033 by J. D. King
Christian Iranian pastor

[Gentry note: This is an excellent news article showing the power of the gospel as it exercises its influence in Muslim lands. Pray for our Christian brothers in the Middle East!]

More Muslims have committed to follow Christ in the last 10 years than in the last 15 centuries of Islam. In spite of great difficulty and turmoil, Christianity is unquestionably expanding throughout the Islamic world. God is up to something amazing in a region that many have thought was unreachable.

Continue reading →

CHRIST AND EUROPE

Church May 10, 2016 Leave a comment

Churches burnt in EuropePMT-2016-032 by David Stoddard in Tabletalk

[Below is the first part of an excellent article titled “Christ Will Build His Church” that appeared in the April, 2016 Tabletalk devotional guide. I hope you will click the link and keep reading. – Ken Gentry]

Christ Will Build His Church

Europe is the new “dark continent.” Africa now sends more missionaries to Europe than Europe sends to Africa. The health reports of the European church aren’t terribly encouraging. Churches are closing and are being converted into mosques, museums, bars, and book depositories. In most European countries, less than 5 percent of the population attend any church. In France, there are more practicing Muslims than baptized Catholics. In England, more than 70 percent have no intention of stepping into a church—ever. In Berlin, the city where we live, 95 percent of church plants fail. Continue reading →

REV 11:2 AND ISRAEL CAST OUT (4)

AD 70, Israel, Revelation February 29, 2016 Leave a comment

jer 3-8 divorce 2PMT 2016-017 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

This is the final installment in a four-part series discussing the significance of John’s imagery in Rev 11:2. To get the context of this study, please begin at the first one.

Ekballō and Spousal Divorce

Scripture employs the term ekballō of divorcing one’s wife by sending her out of the house. “As a [technical term] of the LXX for expulsion of a wife, ekballō appears in the citation of Gen 21:10 in Gal 4:30” where Paul refers to the expulsion of Hagar from Abraham’s house (EDNT). In that the judicial backdrop of Rev is God’s divorce decree against Jerusalem/Israel, this fits perfectly with John’s theme stated in Rev 1:7. The excommunication concept (discussed in my previous point) fits nicely also with God’s casting Israel out of his house as a divorced wife, as we shall see. Continue reading →

ESCHATOLOGY AND WORLDVIEW ELEMENTS

Theology, Worldview January 28, 2016 Leave a comment

worldview elementsPMT 2016-008 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Holding and understanding a worldview is an important function of the Christian faith. But what is a worldview? The core concept of a worldview may be expressed in a simple, one-sentence definition:

“A worldview is a conceptual framework through which we understand the world and our life in it.”

We can easily see why this is a little more fully called: a “world-and-life view” in that it provides an organizing outlook on both our own lives as well as the world round about us. Continue reading →

MILLENNIAL PREFIXES

Millennial Views January 25, 2016 Leave a comment

PrefixesPMT 2016-007 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In my two previous articles, I pointed out the fact of gradual development of eschatological positions. A consequence of this gradualistic development is that the modern terms we use for the millennial views will not be found in antiquity. But they are helpful for us to sort out the eschatological options before us as evangelical Christians. Continue reading →