A common attack on Christianity is that Christians do not keep (all) of the Old Testament laws. Examples are that certain foods may not be eaten (Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14), there are prohibitions on how clothes can be made (Leviticus 19:19) and there are a bunch of rules and laws regarding skin diseases and mold (Leviticus 13–14). Yet virtually no-one who calls him or herself a Christian keeps—or even tries to—these laws. Yet they will readily admit that these were divine commandments given by God. So what is the deal with Christians and the Old Testament laws? Read more …

I recently had a couple of debates and discussions with brothers and sisters in Christ about various matters of the Christian faith. These matters divide many Christians and churches. But they are not matters which make or break Christianity (unlike, say, the differences between orthodox Christianity and Mormonism1). At least, they are not supposed to be, as the article Eight Issues That Do NOT Make or Break Christianity2 contested. I agree with this article, but some people have grave reservations about some of these points. This is effectively saying "if you don't believe in x, you cannot be a Christian". In this article I want to address a couple of concerns raised around the aforementioned article. Read more …

Let him also rejoice and prefer to seek Thee, even if he fails to find an answer, rather than to seek an answer and not find Thee!

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in "Confessions", Book 1, Chapter VI

My name is Wessel.

And I am not a Calvinist. Read more …

It seems like debates regarding homosexuality has flared up again recently. Fueled by news regarding (proposed) same-sexed marriage legislation in the USA, UK and France, as well as bans on "homosexual propaganda" in Russia, everyone is weighing in their two cents. And one of the arguments which I am seeing for Christians to "get with it", is that Jesus never said anything (about/against) homosexuality. Read more …

You cannot only be moderately interested in God. If God does not exist, then there is no reason to be interested in God at all. On the other hand, if God does exist, then this is of paramount interest, and our ultimate concern ought to be how to be properly related to this being upon whom we depend moment by moment for our very existence.

William Lane Craig

As the year draws to a close, I want to reflect on some of the articles which I wrote this year, specifically the top five. I decided on these articles by the reactions which they generated. Not all of them were assessed by "numbers", such as the number of comments or Facebook likes. But some them were spoken about privately to me. My reader base remains small, but I sincerely appreciate every person who takes the time to read through what weighs on my heart. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! Read more …

I had the honour last week of attending the wedding of a good friend from my previous church. It took place in a neighbouring province, and so some friends and I made a three day trip to go bear witness and to celebrate that blessed occasion. On our way we reflected and discussed courting and marriage a bit. These have been frequent topics of late, as it is the season to get married: both literally and in our lives (one member of our group had attended seven weddings this year, with at least one more to come still). I am struck by how differently Christian and secular couples perceive weddings and marriage. Here are some of my thoughts on the topic. Read more …

It seems like many Christians think that, for them to help someone get saved or bring someone to God, they have to get or force the person to stop... Read more …