Question of the Week: When Jesus said He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, was He insinuating that Christianity was to be violent?
Verses: Matthew 10:34-39
Jesus said He didn’t come to bring peace, but a sword. Does this mean Christianity is violent? Historically, no, since the one time Jesus’ disciples had the chance to defend the kingdom was stopped and scolded. Doctrinally, no, since every gospel account and the epistles that followed taught submission to authority and leaving judgment to God alone. And finally based on the example of Jesus Himself, no. He didn’t raise a sword against Rome or his Jewish enemies. So what was He talking about? Read the next verses. Christianity wouldn’t unite the world, but severe persecution would and has followed against those who follow and share His teachings.
For more excerpts from A Reason For Hope, visit our page HERE.

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Question of the Week:
Verses: Judges 11:29-39, Deuteronomy 18:9-14. Hebrews 11:32

Jepthah’s daughter is a lightning rod of controversy among skeptics. However, the only reason that is the case is because it is presented by them as an example of human sacrifice approved of by the Christian God. This simply is not the case. Any understanding of Hebrew culture and Old Testament law would lead to the conclusion that human sacrifice was never to occur in Israel. The only example of it being suggested in the Old Testament goes back to the time of Abraham where God asked him to offer his son, but stopped him at the last second to give an example to future generations of what would happen when Jesus was offered on that very same mountain. So what did happen with Jepthah’s daughter? The passage says that whatever came through the door would be offered as a burnt offering, and there was a great deal of grief expressed when her father saw his only child would have to be that offering in order to keep his vow. So if it wasn’t human sacrifice, then what was offered to God? Exactly what she mourned. Her virginity was what her friends and her mourned, and the result was her never knowing a man for the rest of her life. The reason this was so grieving to Jepthah was because this would mean an end to his family’s lineage in Israel. Yet even though this would cost him a lot of respect in his day, he kept his vow to God and dedicated his daughter’s virginity to Him. Though his family name wouldn’t carry on in Israel, his faithfulness to his vow gained his family a spot in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11.

For more excerpts from A Reason For Hope, visit our page HERE.

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Question of the Week: How should Christians view the book and film “The Shack” by William P. Young?
Verses: 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Shack is a lightning rod of controversy among Christian circles and with good reason. With the film bringing even more attention to this best selling novel, a great deal of discretion is needed when approaching the points made within. While there is nothing wrong with watching the film or reading the book for entertainment purposes, it is not a recommended source of Christian edification for the following reasons.
1. It has a very low view of scripture.
Quoted from The Shack and provided by gotquestions.org:
In seminary [Mack] had been taught that God had completely stopped any overt communication with moderns, preferring to have them only listen to and follow sacred Scripture, properly interpreted, of course. God’s voice had been reduced to paper, and even that paper had to be moderated and deciphered by the proper authorities and intellects. It seemed that direct communication with God was something exclusively for the ancients and uncivilized, while educated Westerners’ access to God was mediated and controlled by the intelligentsia. Nobody wanted God in a box, just in a book. Especially an expensive one bound in leather with gilt edges, or was that guilt edges.
-For more information as to why this is dangerous, please read the full review: https://www.gotquestions.org/The-Shack-review.html

2. It promotes the false doctrine of universalism. Meaning that everyone will go to Heaven, even those who reject God’s offer of salvation.
Quoted from The Shack and provided by carm.org
“”Jesus said, “Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptist or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous.  Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my beloved.””
-For more information as to why this is an unbiblical view, please read the full review:
https://carm.org/the-shack

3. William Young affirms this book as fiction, but on his website claims that it is based on real conversations he had with God. This claim is putting the Shack in the category of prophecy. And since the standards of prophecy in scripture are fairly straight forward, we need to ask if The Shack holds up to those tests. Do the sayings of God in The Shack line up perfectly with the doctrines presented to us in what we know as inspired scripture? No they do not. Is God presented in a way that lines up with His character as revealed in scripture and history? No He is not. And most importantly, is William P. Young presenting the truth of the gospel without compromise? No he is not.
-For the quote from William P. Young about the source of his material, please read it on his website:
http://theshackbook.com/discuss/index.php?topic=1166.0

For more excerpts from A Reason For Hope, visit our page HERE.

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