It is our duty as Christians to develop a Christian world and life-view which will serve to guide all our thought and action. This is a life-long process. This is taught in several passages of Scripture.

Death, is without a doubt man's greatest enemy. This seems to be the major idea of the writer of Ecclesiastes. If physical death is the end, then “All is vanity” (“without meaning”). To a large extent, how we view death determines our view of life.

Today more than any time in history worldviews are in collision. Ideas do have consequences! Today there is no longer a worldview consensus in our country. The conflict and the polarization (see the abortion issue as an example) and political gridlock we see are the result of the demise of the Christian consensus which once undergirded our society. Currently, our society is multi-cultural, or pluralistic, and there is no strong worldview consensus.

Since the release of the Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of The Christ, understanding the events surrounding the death of Christ is of supreme importance to believers who endeavor to understand a fuller meaning of Christ's death and to share that meaning with unbelievers.

Understanding the chronological elements of Christ's death enables us to stand in awe as we see how His death perfectly fulfilled the typology and prophecy of the Old Testament.

A proper understanding of the events of Passion Week leads us to worship our Lord who alone is worthy of our worship.

There are many reasons why the subject of demon possession is a relevant subject of interest among Christians. Some of these are:

A. The popularity of eastern mysticism and religions, i.e. the New Age Craze.

B. The current romantic view of Native American Indian culture and their animistic religion. (No this is not politically correct!)

C. The apparent increase in satanic ritual abuse victims has prompted Christian counselors to question the line of demarcation between mental and spiritual etiologies.

D. A proliferation of deliverance ministries has increased the debate among evangelicals about definitions, methods, etc.

E. The evangelical presses are cranking out a high volume of literature on the subject of demonology both in fictional and non-fictional form. The works of Frank Peretti are bestsellers. We are now hearing of dark angels, territorial demons, generational curses, transference of spirits, and warring in the heavenlies.

They are the foundation of the Church. Eph. 2:19,20.

B. According to Acts 1: 21ff., there seems to have been three qualifications to be one of The Twelve:

1. To have been with Jesus during his whole time of ministry.

2. To have been baptized by John.

3. A witness of the resurrection.

C. They were chosen only after Jesus spent the entire night in prayer. Lk. 6:12,13.

D. They spent three years in training with Jesus.

E. Four lists of The Twelve are given in the NT. They are found in Matt. 10:2ff.,

Mark 3:16ff., Luke 6:14ff., and Acts 1:13ff. The Twelve are arranged in three groups of 4 each.

What Causes a Marriage to Fail?

With great risk of oversimplification we would suggest that the following four factors are among themain reasons marriages fail.

The story of Noah and his family being spared from a world-wide deluge (a judgement by God) is one of the most important in the Old Testament. Much is learned about the nature of God from this story. For example: (1) It shows He is a holy God and cannot tolerate sin. (2) It shows He is a just God and that sin will not go unpunished. (3) It shows He is a God of mercy in that He spares some. (4) It shows God's power in that the Flood unleased great power.

In theology it is known as the study of Eschatology. The study of future or final things. How will God wrap- up, or conclude history? Some of the subjects are: Christ’s second advent, the antichrist, the great tribulation, the battle of Armageddon, the future of Israel, the millennium, the rapture, the resurrection, the final judgement, the new heavens and the new earth, etc.

Christian parents are responsible for the growth of their family. In today's world we need all the advantages we can get. A good home library is essential. The following list contains our recommendations for a foundation, or a beginning of a home library. Any book list will ultimately be the opinion of the one making the list. This one is no exception, however, since we are in the information business we trust our judgement will have some merit. Most of these books can be ordered through a reputable Christian bookstore. If none is available in your area we recommend Christian Book Distributors, Box 6000, Peabody, MA 01961. Write for a catalog.

Definition:

A. Pagan: The realm of pure idea, pure mind or spirit, disembodied spirits.

B. Islamic: A place of male sensual delights. Beautiful women, food, water, etc.

C. Current misconceptions:

1. New Age: A warm friendly beam of light, renewed relationships with departed loved ones.

2. The Media: Heaven is somewhere off in space where inhabitants wear white robes, play harps, sing, and flit from cloud to cloud all day.

D. The Biblical Words: OT. samayim. NT. ouranos. Both have physical and spiritual meanings. The word occurs over 500 times in the Bible.

1. Physical: The most common is translated sky, air, or the abode of the heavenly bodies. In the OT when used with the hebrew word for"earth it means the universe" and is equivalent to the Greek word cosmos. The ancients thought of heaven as an inverted bowl.

2. Spiritual: The abode of the triune God (Our Father who art in heaven...), angels, and ultimately the redeemed. It is the total fulfillment of Immanuel, God with us. Just as evil is the absence of good. Heaven is a place and state of only that which is good. It is the answer to the Lord's prayer, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, i.e., a final condition in which only the complete will of God is expressed.

She had just undergone a hysterectomy. She was wheeled to the recovery room, but alas, confusion among the nightshift nurses left her to hemorrhage. With no one by her side she "died." Five hours later she "returned to life." During this time she floated out of her body, went down a dark tunnel and was met by a beam of light. She was then embraced by a being she claimed was Jesus who then preceded to give her a guided tour of heaven interspersed with some religious teachings. The being she claimed was Jesus then reluctantly informed her that her time on earth was not yet over. She then was revived. Years later she wrote about her experience and it was published by an obscure publisher. She dedicated her book to "My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." It became a record-breaking best-seller (EMBRACING THE LIGHT). The author's name is Betty Eadie.

Islam is the youngest of the 5 major religions of the world. According to best estimates, one of five persons on earth is a Muslim (around 1 billion). At present, 20 million Muslims reside in Europe (East and West) , There are over 2000 mosques now in England (approximately 900 were converted from churches)! There are currently about 4-5 million in the U.S. There are now more adherents of Islam in the U.S. than Episcopalians! Currently, there are around 50 nations where adherents of Islam are in the majority.

The Current Controversy: For most of 2000 years of church history men of faith have held to the teaching of the eternal punishment of the wicked. Currently, among evangelical Christians, some scholars of renown are espousing the position known as annihilationism. This is the belief that the wicked ultimately cease to exist, i.e. punishment is not eternal. These men are Clark Pinnock, John R. Stott, Phillip E. Hughes, and John Wenham. This view is also held by Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and The World-wide Church of God (Armstrongism).

One of the most important aspects of the Christmas story is the Star which lured the Wise Men from their homeland to visit the Christ Child. The emblem overwhelms us; it appears on Christmas trees, cards, decorations, at nativities, and is the subject of carols. It is a prominent feature in the story of Christ's birth. Was the star a totally supernatural occurrence? Or, if it was an astral event, can it throw light on a more precise date for the birth of Christ? This has been a question of much speculation over the centuries. New light from the science of astronomy and archaeology may indeed give us insight into an event that was undoubtedly the supernatural event of all time, but it may have been accompanied by some interesting providential handiwork of the Creator.

It has been stated that the root cause of the ecological crisis is religious, and only a change in orientation will bring about the needed changes. Lynn White, a historian, said back in the '60s: What we do about ecology depends on our ideas of the man-nature relationship. More science and more technology are not going to get us out of the present ecological crisis until we find a new religion or rethink our old one. (from: The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis, Science. 155, 1967. p. 1203-1207).

Our society is (has been) in the process of abandoning its Judeo-Christian roots. There is no longer a Christian consensus.

Question: Can a person really be an educated person and be ignorant of Christianity's contribution to the culture of the West?

The word "occult" comes from the latin occultus which means "concealed". In its usage today it means "beyond the bounds of ordinary knowledge, the mysterious, the concealed, or that which is hidden from view. It involves practices such as magic, divination, incantations, and paranormal experiences".

Definition: When a person is truly born of God that person is forever a part of God's eternal family. He can never be lost again. It is sometimes popularly referred to as Once saved always saved.

Jacques Ellul, an important French Christian writer once said: "Ethics will not be able to control technology. Whatever can be done will be done."

Euthanasia is making more and more headlines. Recently, a doctor assisted a women in her own suicide. The woman had been diagnosed as having Alzheimer's disease.

Definition: Its root means "good death". Today it means mercy killing. The Euthanasia Society defines it as: "Termination of human life by painless means for the purpose of ending severe physical suffering.