Matthew 8:18 – 10:42 After Jesus preached the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7), the people who heard what he had to say were overwhelmed by his teaching. They were so powerfully impacted because “he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29 NIV). Shortly thereafter, Jesus […]
Why doesn’t God stop the violence and suffering?
One of the arguments expressed by religious skeptics to shed doubt on the existence of God is this question. Since God is supposedly all-powerful and all-knowing and all-good, why does he not stop human violence and suffering? Such instances as school shootings, human trafficking, child abuse, pandemics, and major catastrophes are given as examples of […]
Jesus and rattlesnakes
True story. Name changed. 45-year-old Joe was hunting in the mountains of California. He climbed to a ledge on the slope of a rocky gorge and raised himself to look onto the ledge above. He caught a movement to the right. It was a rattlesnake. The snake struck and just missed Joe’s right ear. However […]