An AI “Interview” with C. H. Spurgeon
Editor’s note: This “interview” is excerpted from a chat session with Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and some observations about the process follow the excerpts. The session was initiated by the following prompt and Claude’s response: Prompt: “Assume the role of the famous 19th-century English pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I would like to interview you. Are…
Missionary Support (3): Challenges and Benefits of Deputation
I’ve designed this series of articles to help churches gain a new perspective on missionary support. Previous articles have discussed: 1) deputation and the Bible and 2) the church’s decision to invite and support missionaries. In this article, I focus on the challenges and benefits of deputation. Why Is It So Difficult to Raise Support? Does it…
Dismantling USAID is a Moral and Strategic Necessity
The Times of Israel just ran a post (which was linked at Realclearreligion.org) entitled “Dismantling USAID is a moral and strategic tragedy” claiming the effectiveness of and call for the preservation of USAID. The following is the essence of this story. Make no mistake about it: USAID was and is indispensable, no matter its faults.…
Podcast – Interview 62: Developing a Biblical Perspective on Technology (Erik Hanson)
We are talking about FrontLine magazine on this podcast, interviewing authors of our articles as they come out. The theme of the most recent edition of the magazine is “AI: Developing a Christian Perspective.” Our author today, Erik Hanson, wrote an article for us called “Developing a Biblical Perspective on Technology.” It’s an introduction, laying…
Follow Your Head: A Theology of Woman from the New Testament (Part 2 of 2)
For the first part of this two-part series, click here. The Role of Women: Submission We can think of the role of women in submission in terms of the home and the church. Submission in the Home “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the…
It’s a Conspiracy!
A Biblical View of Conspiracy Theories The phrase “It’s a conspiracy” resounds in society today. For example, a 2023 YouGov survey demonstrates Americans’ propensity to believe certain events and situations can be explained by formulating a conspiracy theory. This survey finds that 54% believe that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the assassination…
Interesting Headlines From Around the World
In The News
Muslim vigilantes colluding with authorities to entrap Christians | World
Muslim vigilante groups are working with federal authorities to lure young people into sharing blasphemous content on social media in order to put them behind bars, according to an investigation by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR). A steep increase in blasphemy cases this year, many of them filed against Christians and other religious…
ANDREAS KÖSTENBERGER Joins BJU Seminary Faculty
AWARD-WINNING NEW TESTAMENT SCHOLAR AND AUTHOR, ADVANCING 500x5x5 VISION TO EQUIP PASTORS THROUGH UNCOMPROMISED, NEXT-LEVEL TEACHING BJU Seminary today announced that award-winning New Testament scholar and author Dr. Andreas Köstenberger will join its faculty, the latest milestone in the Seminary’s 500 x 5 x 5 vision to equip pastors through uncompromised, next-level teaching in a time of historic challenge to…
Apathy Among Christian Voters Could Be ‘Gamechanger’ in 2024 Election – Arizona Christian University
Barna’s latest research shows that only 51% of all faith voters are likely to vote in November. That means a full 104 million faith voters are unlikely to vote this election—including 41 million born-again Christians (defined by their beliefs regarding sin and salvation, not self-identification), 32 million regular Christian church attenders, and 14 million who…
Opinion Pieces
Christian conservatism and realism vs. Christian nationalism | Opinion
Nearly all self-identified Christian nationalists are Calvinists, typically Presbyterian like Wolfe, but often theologically Reformed Baptists. The latter can be confusing because traditional Baptists are most associated with religious liberty. Source: Christian conservatism and realism vs. Christian nationalism | Opinion
Should a Christian Skip Voting on November 5? | RealClearReligion
While the Bible does not speak directly to the issue of voting because elections didn’t exist in Bible times, a relevant passage that presents a principle to guide our contemporary context is 1 Timothy 2:1-2. When Paul gave Timothy instructions concerning how to lead the church, his first instruction was to urge church members to…
End Abortion: Rebrand Babies – The American Mind
But abortion is at its tiny beating heart not, I repeat not, a political issue. It never has been, actually. It is not solvable at the federal, or even state, level. It cannot be eradicated via executive order, law, or any craft we here possess. “Abortionist” is the second oldest profession after “prostitute.” Humans are…
Home & Family
On Parenting: Are You Bribing Your Way Through?
Not long ago, I was sitting in an airport when a family of four appeared. The little boy, who seemed about five, was having a meltdown I’d heard many times before. His mother was doing all she could to calm him down, but nothing worked. In just a few minutes, I witnessed a parade of…
Can a fighting spirit help conquer cancer? The limits of positivity for cancer patients | National Post
The idea that cancer progression or disease survival can be influenced by a positive attitude or by keeping up a “fighting spirit” isn’t grounded in scientific evidence, he and other doctors said. Anecdotally, however, “you’ll hear from people, ‘I beat this because I was positive, I had the right thinking, the right attitude,’” Isenberg-Grzeda said.…
The false promise of keeping a loved one ‘alive’ with A.I. grief bots | America Magazine
With the creation of A.I., anthropomorphized chatbots are one critical example of how the rapidly advancing technology is testing the limits of the human condition. Source: The false promise of keeping a loved one ‘alive’ with A.I. grief bots | America Magazine