Month: December 2017
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The Faith Journey of Abraham, Father of the Faithful
Don: Much of the Book of Genesis is taken up with the extraordinary story of the faith journey of Abram, who later became Abraham. The Apostle Paul, in his letters to the Romans, emphasized the contrast between Abraham’s works and beliefs. And the “faith hall of fame” given in Hebrews 11 made a place for…
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Journeys of Faith and Religious Identity
Don: We often conflate faith and religion, but they are different (albeit related) things. To me, faith is primarily internal, personal belief that exists independently of whether or not it is shared with or by others. Religion, on the other hand, is external, a sort of faith organized around a group of people who share…
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The Weight of Faith—Spiritual vs. Religious
Don: Last week we discussed four instances of people born into different faiths and cultures. It raises the question: Did God orchestrate that we would have different religions in order to lead us to Him by making us confront their anomalies? Are the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) more valid than Hinduism, Shintoism, Buddhism,…
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Faith and Religion
Don: It is a key theme of the New Testament that faith connects Man to God: For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to…
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Faith and the Senses
Don: What effect do our senses of sight, sound, smell and touch have on faith? Scripture has many references that suggest the senses have some effect: O taste and see that the Lord is good…. (Psalms 34:8) So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17) “Things which eye has…