Historic Christendom is generally thought of as consisting of three main branches: Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Protestantism.1 Yet as a serious student of Christianity I would like to propose that a reasonable case can be made that there is now a fourth branch of Christendom to go along with the three traditional ecclesiastical bodies.2 Not everyone will agree with my assessment but let…
Since I teach courses in comparative religions at Biola University and through Reasons Institute, people sometimes ask me what I think about the relationship between the biblical religions of Judaism and Christianity. And in that specific context, I’m also asked about Messianic Judaism. In fact, some time back I was contacted on social media by a Messianic Jew who is very supportive…
The doctrines of the incarnation (Jesus Christ as God in human flesh) and the Trinity (one God in three persons) are two of historic Christianity’s most distinctive teachings. In fact, these two doctrinal truths separate the historic Christian faith from the two other major Middle Eastern monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam.1 Yet these biblically revealed doctrines contain great mystery,…
One of the very best and most supportive professors I had in college, Rev. Dr. Martin Schramm, died recently of cancer. Dr. Schramm was one of the founding five faculty members1 at Christ College Irvine (now Concordia University Irvine) a private liberal arts university of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Professor Schramm earned his doctoral degree in communications at the University of Southern California…
When I was a Roman Catholic in my younger days I heard a priest say: “Find a saint in church history that you greatly relate to and follow him or her through your life as a friend and as a spiritual role model.” Of course, some Christians would insist that they are exclusively “Jesus followers” and have no need to…
Among the world’s major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are known as the great monotheistic traditions. But exactly how close are these religions in their specific conception of God? And is it possible that adherents of these religions worship the same God? The traditional conceptions of these three religions have significant common ground, which includes the following: theistic in philosophical…
The doctrine of the Trinity (one God in three persons) is one of historic Christianity’s most distinctive teachings. This view of God’s nature separates the Christian faith from the two other popular Middle Eastern monotheistic religions of Judaism and Islam. Traditional Jews and Muslims deny the Trinity and affirm a unitarian view of God (a single God who is one…
As a college instructor and a Christian apologist, I have been asked thousands of questions in my 35 years of teaching and doing apologetics professionally. In fact, back in the early 1990s I worked at the Christian Research Institute (CRI) and was one of the cohosts of the Bible Answer Man radio program, which has a question and answer format. Today I…
Can anything or anyone in human experience replace the yearning for a right relationship with our Creator? The worldview narrative of historic Christianity involves the fourfold sequence of humanity’s creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. In examining the first two events, one could say that being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27) makes people worshippers and the spiritual void of…
A few years ago some of my RTB colleagues and I did a couple of Straight Thinking podcast programs entitled “Adult Children of Same-Sex Relationship Parents” (Part 1, Part 2). Afterward, a listener contacted me online and raised some critical questions about the content of those programs. Although time has passed since our respectful exchange, the questions the listener asked remain relevant and…
Reflections 