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Book Review

In Apologetics, Blog, Book Reviews on
June 19, 2023

The Reason for God

We live in an age of skepticism.

Faith is seen as something ridiculous, something to be laughed at, despite the fact that all of us put our faith in something, whether that be God, a politician, or the chair we sit in every day. People want facts, proofs, guarantees, which is admirable in a sense. They don’t want to believe in something just because it’s believed by their parents or was taught to them as children. They’re looking for studies and data, something to back up what they believe. And for many, this means throwing faith to the wayside.

But these same people need faith, perhaps more than they know. They might scoff at this notion, but the truth is that faith is not just a blind belief in fairytales. It’s a trust in what’s been revealed to us as truth. Faith may carry a different connotation in our culture, but it can actually be both logical and intellectually satisfying. Though atheists and agnostics may think otherwise, there is good reason to believe in God, the Bible, and the gospel, and this is what the late Tim Keller explored in his book, The Reason for God.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Prayer on
May 8, 2023

The Lord’s Prayer

Prayer is one of the most integral disciplines of the Christian life. It’s the practice of humbly approaching the throne of God, communing with our Heavenly Father, praising Him for His goodness, and petitioning Him to provide for our needs and the needs of those around us. We all know how important it is for us, as believers, to pray and to pray often. However, we’re not always that good at it.

Many times, we’ll sit or kneel in a humble posture before our mighty God, ready to bring our prayers and petitions before Him, but we simply can’t think of what to pray for. There are also times when what we pray for seems rather frivolous in the grand scheme of things (I know I’m not the only one who’s prayed for good days, restful nights, and to have success with college exams and work projects).

What is the secret to praying well? Truth be told, it’s not that big of a secret. Jesus clearly laid out how His followers ought to pray and what they should pray for during His famous Sermon on the Mount, and the prayer example He gave has since been dubbed “The Lord’s Prayer.” In Kevin DeYoung’s latest book of the same name, he explores this prayer and explains how Christians can utilize it in their own prayer time.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Systematic Theology on
March 27, 2023

Every Woman a Theologian

If you’re reading this blog, I hope it’s because you love theology as much as I do. I am a self-proclaimed theology nerd, spending many of my days looking for new books about theological topics I’m interested in and spending many of my nights writing about theology for you all to read. I attended Bible school for several years studying theology day in and day out, and I continue to read my Bible and learn more about God on a near-daily basis. Like I said, I love theology.

But maybe you don’t quite have the affection for it as I do. Perhaps, you tend to view theology with apathy, disdain, or confusion. You don’t like it, you don’t care about it, or you just can’t seem to understand it. Maybe you don’t see why studying theology would in any way be helpful or necessary in your everyday life—as a stretched-thin student, as an underappreciated stay at home mom, as an overworked employee.

As theologian R.C. Sproul once argued in a book of the same name, everyone is a theologian, and that includes all of us—sisters and daughters, wives and mothers, employed and unemployed. No matter our circumstances, theology is essential for our lives, which means we must ensure that our theology matches with what the Bible teaches. And this is exactly what Phylicia Masonheimer writes in her newest book, Every Woman a Theologian.

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In Apologetics, Blog, Book Reviews on
January 31, 2023

Counterfeit Kingdom

Some of my most beloved worship songs from youth group and summer camp were created by Bethel Music, the music label that was birthed out of the music ministry at Bethel Church in Redding, California. Songs like “You Make Me Brave,” “No Longer Slaves,” “King of My Heart,” “Raise a Hallelujah,” and “Goodness of God” became some of my favorite songs to listen and sing along to. Despite not intentionally listening to these songs in many years, much of these lyrics are committed to my memory.

However, as I’ve grown in my faith over the last several years, I’ve learned more about Bethel Church and the doctrines she teaches. The more I’ve learned, the more skeptical I’ve become of their theology and philosophy. And within the last year or two, I’ve come to realize that the kingdom they preach is a counterfeit one.

Bethel Church subscribes to a belief which has been named the New Apostolic Reformation (or NAR for short). As Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett argue in their book Counterfeit Kingdom, NAR is an extremely unbiblical and dangerous movement.

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Self-Love on
December 11, 2022

Live Your Truth and Other Lies

You just need to live your truth.

How many times have we heard a sentiment like this? It seems like everywhere we turn there is some author or influencer screaming to anyone and everyone who will listen, “Live your truth!”

But what is “your truth,” and where does it lead us? Well, those authors and influencers will tell you that “your truth” can mean anything you want it to. If “your truth” means you feel like the opposite sex or you’re attracted to the same sex, you should pursue that. If “your truth” means you leave your spouse and children for some shiny career, you’d be told to follow your dreams. If “your truth” means wasting all your money on frivolous things and getting so drunk that you can barely stand, you’d hear no arguments from them.

Living “your truth” may feel good and fun in the moment, but it ultimately leaves us anxious, exhausted, and obsessed with ourselves. We need to strive for a better, holier way of living, and Alisa Childers explains how we can do exactly that in her new book, Live Your Truth and Other Lies.

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