Christian Thought

A Morning Prayer Dear Lord… As this day begins I confess that I will need you every moment. I long to know you more deeply today. Help me in what I say to other people. Give me wisdom in each decision I will make. Make love and truth the motives behind everything I do. And […]

So what do we learn when we compare Islam, which has some interest in Jesus, with the historic Christian view of Jesus? In Christianity, of central importance is the fact that Jesus Christ is the speech of God. The New Testament book of Hebrews begins with this statement:

Over the centuries, Islam spread well beyond Arabia. Much of that 1,400 years has been a history of war. A conviction that has been called a “sixth pillar” of Islam is jihad, which means “exertion or struggle.” Sometimes Muslims have thought of jihad as the struggle for true religion in a chaotic world, and sometimes

“Islam” means “submission,” and “Muslim” means “one who has submitted his life to God.” Islam focuses on the total submission of one’s life to a lifestyle based on law. Islam is more a religion of deed than belief. It is appealing to some because it is so concrete and specific in what it requires. Sexual

When Medina won the war that broke out between the two kingdoms of Medina and Mecca, Muhammad became the indisputable leader of Arabia, and the beginnings of a new empire were formed. When Muhammad died in 632, Arabia was united under Muhammad’s control. By the close of that century,

This series of articles describes the basic tenets of Islam, and then will compare it to Christianity. Muslims believe that one day Muhammad was visited by an angel who commanded him, “Proclaim!” Muhammad told the angel that he was not a proclaimer and hurried home, believing that he was either called to be a prophet

This begins a series of articles describing the basic tenets of Islam, and then comparing it to Christianity. Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and heard around the world on his daily radio broadcast BreakPoint, relates the following anecdote: A group of women gathered at the Old Country buffet of Boston at the shopping mall.

Yesterday we posted a piece about spiritual growth as integration. There is one biblical word that gets to this point more than any other. “Heart” (Heb. léb, Gk. kardia) is the biblical authors’ way of referring to the core of our inner being in its fullness including mind, emotion, and will. It is the essence

Last week 1,200 Christian leaders from around the world meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, finished a conference on global mission, 100 years after a gathering of 1,000 leaders in the same city convened and prompted the dramatic modern missions movement. They issued the following call, just released.

O Son of God, perform a miracle for me; change my heart. You, whose crimson blood redeems mankind, whiten my heart. It is you who makes the sun bright and the ice sparkle; you who makes the rivers flow and the salmon leap. Your skilled hand makes the nut tree blossom, and the corn turn

Are all religions the same? No, of course they are not, though there are points of convergence and commonality all around–like the longing for salvation and the search for a God higher than ourselves.  Hinduism is not the same as Judaism; and Scientology is not the same as Taoism.

CNN.com raises a very intriguing and important question. Are there dangers in being “spiritual but not religious”? Not needing a community or a church when a beach will do? In a 2009 survey 72 percent of millennials (18- to 29-year-olds) said they’re “more spiritual than religious.” The phrase is now so commonplace that it’s spawned