Grace & Sin in Catholic Theology

GRACE & SIN IN CATHOLIC THEOLOGY The following article began as part of an email discussion with a member of The Berean Call staff, which was then picked up and edited into an article which appears in this month’s issue of their monthly newsletter. My thanks go to the TBC team, and especially to the editor, Barb Romine, who always makes my writing look better than it does coming directly from me. ______ GRACE & SIN: Why the meanings of words matter by David James Note from TBC: Increasingly, we read of evangelical leaders dipping into the muddy waters of

Read more

Threatened Lawsuit by The Harbinger Publisher & Author

I hope that you will take a few minutes to read this special edition of the “ABI Blog.”  We have received letters threatening legal action related to the publication of my book The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? These letters were from a lawyer with a firm which “serves as litigation counsel for Charisma Media, publisher of The Harbinger by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and published by Charisma Media.” Therefore, we are asking that concerned believers everywhere make this a matter of prayer—that the Lord would graciously give us wisdom and that He would protect us in the midst of this challenge.

Read more

The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?

Does Isaiah 9:10 really contain an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future? Note: This review is an abridged version of a book of the same title. PUBLISHING UPDATE: The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? is now available for purchase on The Berean Call website and Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats. Article available in pdf format at this link. A discussion between Dave James and Jonathan Cahn, moderated by Jimmy DeYoung can be found at this link. The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him. (Proverbs 18:17, NKJV) Moderated discussion

Read more

Are Muslims Seeing Jesus?

Recently, I was asked by another Bible teacher about my views concerning reports coming out of the Muslim world that many Muslims have been having visions and dreams of Isa (“Jesus” in Arabic) – and as a result, that many – perhaps tens of thousands – are coming to saving faith in Him. I have been aware of these stories for a number of years, but until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t done much research into the matter. My studies led me to a very well-written article by Dennis McBride, in which he addresses the major issues surrounding

Read more

“Son of God” Translation Controversy

For years there has been a discussion among missiologists and linguists concerning the proper translation of certain biblical passages into various languages in the Muslim world. Over the years, the discussion has turned into a debate and more recently into a full-blown controversy that has gained a lot of momentum over the last few weeks. The present controversy centers around specific decisions by Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International and Frontiers (an exclusively Muslim ministry) concerning the translation of the “Father-Son” (“divine familial”) language in a number of Bible versions created for the Muslim world. Note: In the case of Frontiers,

Read more

Bruce Waltke’s Comments Create Firestorm

(This article is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2 column article format: Click here to download) Bruce Waltke is one of the most well-known Old Testament scholars in the Reformed tradition of this generation. Known by many as a conservative, his comments made in a recently-released 2009 interview may have created one of the most significant theological firestorms to sweep through the evangelical community in recent memory. (This issue has generated a tremendous number of articles, blogs and comments and because of the sheer volume it has become very difficult to trace everything back to the primary sources for

Read more

In India with The Agape Puppets

This ABI blog is a bit of a departure from most articles – but it does focus on reaching the lost with the gospel in a unique way. This blog features an email from a dear friend, Linda Summer, who is the Director of the Agape Puppet ministry. Linda and her team are currently in India and reaching thousands of Hindu children with the gospel of Jesus Christ. As always, she is accompanied by Sam Shaw (from Northern Ireland), who is the Associate Director for the ministry and his wife, Silvana, who is from Brazil. Linda Summer is a truly

Read more

What about those who haven’t heard? (Part 3)

This is part of a blog series concerning the question of the eternal fate of those who have not heard the gospel by the time of their death. So far, 77 people have participated in the first survey and 41 in the second, follow-up survey (which are part of this blog series). The tabulated results can be seen in the graphs below. Even though these results are not statistically significant due to the low number of respondents, they do seem to show that there is a fairly significant divergence of opinion regarding this issue. And although the results are not

Read more

What about those who haven’t heard? (Part II)

This is a follow-up to the first ABI Quick Survey in this current series on an important theological and practical issue. It is well-known that the way survey questions are framed can have a significant influence on the way people respond. One factor can be when questions are posed in such a way that they seem more real or personal to the respondent – and aren’t just theoretical / hypothetical. This can be particularly true with questions related to difficult theological issues. I hope you will take a moment to read the following scenario and then continue to the second

Read more

Pondering the Incarnation: Was Christ really tempted?

Over the years Karen and I have engaged in a lot of ministry through the internet by interacting in a number of forums. It has been an amazing opportunity to share the gospel and other biblical truth about a wide range of topics. Over the last couple of days I have been involved in some discussions over at Grace Centered Christian Forums (note: this is not an endorsement of this website because I haven’t yet fully investigated their theological positions). One of the questions that was posted a couple of hours ago was related to the temptation that Christ experienced.

Read more

Manhattan Declaration: A Response – Part I

(An article combining this post and the previous one on the Manhattan Declaration is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2-column article format: Click here to download) . A week ago today, the Manhattan Declaration was released by Chuck Colson and almost 150 other signers at the National Press Conference. Since then there have been countless blogs and articles written about the 4700-word document and the response has been quite mixed. Predictably, it has been denounced by liberals of all stripes who support the LGBT agenda and who advocate “a woman’s right to choose.” But neither has it been received

Read more

Does “I am the way…” Teach Universalism?

This appears to be the essence of Brian McLaren’s claims concerning John 14:6 in one of the chapters of his upcoming book A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith (to be released in February 2010). On his blog, Mr. McLaren writes the following in response to a comment received from a reader concerning John 14:6: I reworked that material into an important chapter in my upcoming book, A New Kind of Christianity: Ten Questions that are Transforming the Faith. The passage is often used to answer the question, “How do we relate to people of

Read more