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| The Merry, Merry Month of May |
Low attendance days happen in the life of every church. While they are often unavoidable, you can potentially improve them and make them fewer and farther between. Listen Now
Don Carson and Mike Kruger on Persistent Myths about the New Testament [Video; Podcast]
Repeating an accusation doesn’t make it true. Critics of Christianity have made the same false claims for years—for example, that the New Testament manuscripts were radically corrupted and that powerful people wrongly suppressed other valid Gospels. Yet despite these repeated claims, historical evidence doesn’t support the charges.
Scholars Don Carson and Mike Kruger have spent their careers studying the New Testament manuscripts. Responding to the claims of Bart Ehrman and others that early Gospels were suppressed in the name of orthodoxy, Carson says, “The actual evidence we have runs exactly in the opposite direction.” He explains that the first-century church had a strong confessional consensus and that proto-Gnostic gospels didn’t start to proliferate until the second century. Both Carson and Kruger believe we have many reasons to trust the New Testament manuscripts that have been passed down to us, including the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Watch or Listen Now
Understanding Social Pressure in Islam
Religious devotion in Islam is, in large part, public and communal, so many Muslims experience much cultural pressure to “stay in line.” Much of this external and social pressure in Islamic relationships is based in the belief that assurance of salvation is not granted to any Muslim during this life, which causes Muslims to seek religious conformity with Muslims around them. This pressure is expressed both in the Islamic heartland and in Islamic minority settings like America.
Our Muslim friends’ religious identity and behavior, their interest and occupations, as well as their personal relationships and search for personal meaning are under constant scrutiny by fellow Muslims. Social pressure promotes individual conformity to proper Islamic behaviors. This is especially true as Muslims interact with a Christian gospel presentation and show any consideration of leaving Islam. In many Muslim communities, conversion to Christianity is punishable by death. The Christian witness who is aware of this complex reality prayerfully seeks God’s guidance and wisdom in sharing God’s love. Read More
A related IMB article is "The Posture of Prayer: A Look at How Muslims Pray."5 Ways to Move from Prayer to Proclamation in Evangelism
A recent study by Lifeway Research discovered some findings that have caught my attention. The researchers learned that 56 percent of Protestant churchgoers pray at least weekly for opportunities to tell others about Jesus. Frankly, I find that percentage higher than I would have assumed, but I’m grateful for those who are at least thinking about evangelism.
At the same time, though, less than half (45%) of the respondents say they’ve shared with someone how to become a Christian in the last six months. Apparently, some of the folks stop their evangelism with their praying for opportunities. Thus, here are some ways to move from praying to proclaiming.... Read More
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