Norel Iacob
Norel Iacob, currently teaching systematic theology at Adventus University and serving as director of Adventus University Press, is also the executive editor of ST.network. Before joining Adventus, he served as editor-in-chief of Signs of the Times Romania from 2009. In 2020, he introduced ST.network, an English platform of the Inter-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which serves as an international interface for worldwide authors analyzing topics of interest to a general audience from a Christian perspective. Iacob has edited or authored several books, including “The End of Uncertainty: Returning from Exile” and “Fathers: The Meaning of Being a Father in Today’s Society.”
The Judas Iscariot syndrome or the demagnetization of Christianity
According to studies, the higher a population’s level of education, the lower the percentage of those who believe in God. A Gallup poll, for instance, shows that while 70% of people who have finished primary school say they are religious, only 52% of college graduates could admit the same thing.
The change we are left with
What if change is given to us to use only as long as we continue to work for it?
The testament of Jesus
We experience a feeling of urgency as a consequence of the fear of failure, or the fear of missing out (on people, opportunities, time, good things). Urgency is, therefore, a corollary of fear. Today’s Christianity, hailed by loud voices as near extinction, can easily fall into the trap of undue urgency to quickly regain what has been lost.
Free to be responsible
Several simple experiments have shown that certain neural processes that are activated when performing an action increase in intensity with fractions of a second or even whole seconds before conscious thinking is informed about the performance of that action.
Born again | The unimaginable personal change
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again” (John 3:3).
R(el)ational faith
In the maximalist search for evidence that can justify our belief and, at the same time, help us defend our reputation, something is lost: the very concept of faith.
The faith that instills certainty
I had a ringing in my ears due to that unusual inner silence which I was paradoxically experiencing at the same time as a thought-storm that made me scream on the inside.
Does divorce make us happier than continuing in an unhappy marriage?
At the age of 27, for the first time in my life, I worried that time was passing too fast. For the next few years, the speed with which most of my friends were getting married was the next source of concern.
Why much of what we know about ourselves is false
Two groups of participants in an experiment received a set of eight questions similar to those found in IQ tests.[1] One of the groups was provided with the correct answers, which they could use to calculate their final score. Thus, for them, the conditions for cheating were favourable, and the test results showed that the members of this group obtained, on average, a...
The lost faith
Faith is a commonly used concept, but it is rarely understood in its rich semantics and philosophical implications. Christian faith rises above being defined by lists of doctrines, beliefs, moral principles, commandments, and liturgical rituals in the communicator's mind for its nature and content to be faithfully represented.
What about the 21st century?
Regardless of what is said about the predictive nature of the words traditionally attributed to Malraux—"The 21st century will be religious or it will not be"—the truth is that almost two decades of this century have passed, and we don't really know where we are going.
Antonyms will not exist forever
God is never the one to leave. He is the one who is abandoned. Even when Scripture describes Him as turning His face away, we understand that this is in fact the reluctant and painful recognition of man's decision to go beyond the point of no return in his relationship with God.
How much do the origins of our errors in judgement matter?
An article in the New Yorker[1] explains why we tend to not change our convictions, not even when faced with contrary evidence.
Beyond the fish and the fishing line
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings… And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice." (Nelson Mandela)[1]
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
No serious historian doubts that Jesus lived in first century Palestine and died by crucifixion. However, controversies arise when the resurrection is discussed.