Theology

How important is the second coming of Jesus Christ in traditional Christianity?

The idea of hell takes up a dark corner in most of our minds, whether we think about it or not.

While the historic churches remained at least disinterested in millenarianism, the Apocalypse, and the Parousia—that is to say, when they were not hostile to them—Protestant pluralism allowed for both reluctance[1] and increasingly significant preoccupations with the research and publication of the themes regarding the end of the world.

Whenever we acknowledge that our prayers have become a boring exercise rather than a real conversation with a real person, it’s time to explore creative, tried and tested methods to rebuild a meaningful, enthusiastic and transforming prayer life.

When I was 20, my spiritual life felt like an exam where I had been given a topic I hadn’t prepared for.

A major crisis pushes us to re-evaluate the way we see and do things in the fields of health, finance, and social interaction. But how does this crisis affect our religious practices—especially the most common of these, prayer?

Western society has a fascination with cults. The word itself conjures up imagery of a seedy leader sporting dark aviator sunglasses and captivating a group of conservatively dressed people with his every syllable. The word brings a subtext of utter devotion but also absolute brainwashing or mind control.

No one has ever seen God, but the One who knew Him before He was born on this earth taught us all to address Him in prayer.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had...

Why couldn’t God simply have forgiven sinners? Precisely because sinners cannot be forgiven until they completely understand sin, with all its far reaching consequences, or before the wages of sin are paid.

If God exists, why would I matter to Him?

"Lianne struggled with the idea of God," Don DeLillo’s narrator says of one of the characters in his novel, Falling Man. "She was taught to believe that religion makes people compliant. This is the purpose of religion, to return people to a childlike state… . We want to transcend, to pass beyond the limits of safe understanding— and what better way to do...

The mix of emotions a family goes through when expecting a baby is both wonderful and terrifying. When everything seems to be in order, the imagination begins to dream of the first words, the first steps, and all the wonderful moments that will follow. For Dick and Judy Hoyt, all those dreams were replaced by tragedy. But they have learned to replace tragedy with...

In our desperate search for miraculous answers or confirmations, we often forget that the most profound miracles are hidden in the seemingly mundane details of our lives.

Life is a fascinating mystery and a constant challenge. Yet, often, we are not content with merely experiencing life as it is.