Dr Paul Allen

Book of Genesis, Fall of Man. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God created human beings in his image so they can be friends—intimate, love-filled companions—with him and one another. But soon they learn to live as enemies. To all the wonders that God has created, human beings add an invention of their own: revenge. You hurt me, and I’ll hurt you back. A kind of Newtonian law becomes as inevitable as the law of gravity: For every infliction of pain there must be an equal and opposite act of vengeance. A character in the book of Genesis named Lamech takes this concept to its ultimate extreme. He kills a man for wounding him; he says he will seek revenge seventy-seven times over against anyone who hurts him.  This is the Law of Lamech: If anyone inflicts pain on me, I must make them pay. One of the most poignant statements in Scripture comes shortly after the episode of Lamech as God views the violence and corruption that has spread like an epidemic through the creatures he love...

Cover of an TNIV NT, 2002 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The International Bible Society and Zondervan announced the preparation of Today’s New International Version (TNIV). The day before the announcement was made in the national media, representatives of Zondervan and the International Bible Society notified the signatories of the Colorado Springs accord that they were withdrawing their names from the agreement. The defenders of the TNIV translation argue that it is driven not by a feminist agenda or by a desire to be “politically correct.” The repeated claims of its authors and publishers is that it is an endeavor to improve the “accuracy” of the English Bible. But if the TNIV is more accurate than the NIV , why does Zondervan intend to continue to publish the NIV? If Zondervan is really committed to accuracy, it would seem that it would have the TNIV replace the NIV altogether. Actually, the TNIV appears to be a move not toward greater accuracy but away from it. One example: I...

Cover via Amazon Recently I was interviewed by Jonathan Morrow for his excellent new book  Thinking Christianly   ( Zondervan , 2011). He asked me about Darwinism as well as reaching the next generation. Here is my brief excerpt. Enjoy! Jonathan Morrow:  It is commonplace to hear about the “overwhelming evidence” for evolution. Have you found this to be the case? Can you talk a little about the role that Darwinism plays in our culture? Sean McDowell:  There’s a well-known joke for lawyers that says when the facts are on your side, argue the facts. However, when you don’t have the facts, use emotion and state your case with absolute certainty. This is precisely what is going on with claims about the “overwhelming evidence” for evolution. We live in an information age, and materialist theories such as Darwinism are slowly going the way of the Dodo. Intelligent design (ID) is on the move. Many Darwinists know this, which is why they focus their primary attacks on ID be...

Image via Wikipedia Our guest on this week’s edition of The Connected Kingdom podcast is  ex-Mormon and now Christian author Latayne Scott. She answers questions like these ones: How did you become a Mormon? How were you converted to  Christ ? Is Mormonism a cult? Can a Christian vote for Mitt Romney ? What are the changes in and challenges to Mormonism? How should we evangelize Mormons ? Should we invite them into our homes? Through Zondervan , Latayne has just published a new and updated edition of   The Mormon Mirage . You can also catch up with her at her blog  Latayne.com . Related articles CK2:21 - Mormons & Mormonism (challies.com) The Mormon Mirage: A Book Review (boundlessblog.wordpress.com) Vast Majority Of Americans Have No Problem Voting For A Mormon (outsidethebeltway.com) CNN Poll: Mormon candidate not a problem for most Americans (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com) Mars Hill Pastor Mark Driscoll: Mormo...