Dr Paul Allen

Is there a God? If so, what is He like? Does He care about us? What does He require of us? These are questions that all men must face. The answer to these will determine the direction and goal of each life. I. Evidence for God’s Existence A. Bible Reveals It. The Bible does not attempt to prove the existence of God. The first statement is: “In the beginning God …” (Gen. 1:1). It assumes it as a fact and asserts that “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (Psa. 14:1). The Bible says that only a fool, ignorant of the facts, would deny God, and then not openly, but secretly in his heart. The Bible is written on the premise that the evidence for God is so strong that no informed person would deny His existence. However, to those who will not accept the Bible's teaching concerning God, it becomes necessary to examine added proof for His existence. A few pieces of evidence will suffice: B. Reason Teaches It. The law of cause and effect requires that back of every effect the

When the militant atheist, Christopher Hitchens, was alive, he made the audacious claim that the authenticity of the gospels has been shown to be “in tatters for some time, and the rents and tears only become more obvious with better research”. [i] In reality, this comment is so manifestly outrageous as to beggar belief. Here’s why: Galilee synagogues For many years, contemporary scholars were troubled by a lack of synagogues. Prior to 2008, no archaeological evidence for any synagogue existing in Jesus’ time could be found in the region of Galilee. As the gospels mention that “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues” (Mt 4:23), this was a bit of an embarrassment. Some scholars concluded that the claim that Jesus preached in the synagogues of Galilee was an invention of the gospel writers.  But then, in 2009, archaeologists discovered the remains of a pre-AD 70 synagogue in the Galilean town of Magdala (the town where Mary Magdalene came from). Later that year, they

John Piper (theologian) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Am I failing at life? Am I succeeding? And why do I exist in the first place? These questions are huge, we all ask them, and thankfully the Bible helps us with answers in the form of a litmus test. We are made by God to image him in the world. That’s our purpose. Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” But what exactly does this mean for my life? Such a simple sentence can put you on a long search in the attempt to wrap your arms around the full implications. It turns out, what it means to be made in God’s image comes with a lot of right answers. “Historically,” John Piper said in one Ask Pastor John episode, “people have said to be made in God’s image is our morality, our sense of right and wrong . Our rationality, our ability to reason. Our spirituality, our ability to relate to God. Our aesthetic sense — you don’t find too many monkeys creating