Tommy Mann

Critics of Christianity often point to the existence of evil as proof that there cannot be a God. After all, if there is a God, as we say there is, and if that God is good, as He claims to be, then there should not be any evil in the world.  We all know there is evil in the world, so God is either too weak to prevent it, or too cruel to stop it. Such is the claim of the atheist.  But evil is not really a thing. It is comparable to coldness or darkness. Think about it: cold is not a thing. Something is cold when there is an absence of heat. The same is true of darkness, which is only the absence of light. Where no light is present, there is darkness. Evil is like that. It is simply the absence of good. And God made a good world. When He created the universe He called it "very good." In Genesis 1 we see the word good used seven times to describe God's creation. There was no evil because there was no absence of good.  That was all before sin. Two chapters after calling every...

Is the New Testament part of the inspired Bible? While there is far more that can be said then I have room to share here, I think there is an interesting piece of evidence slipped into 1 Timothy 5:8. After Paul said an elder is deserving of his pay from the church, he went on to say: "For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages.'”  Paul is clearly quoting Scripture. The reference to muzzling an ox comes from Deuteronomy 25. That was part of the old law, and verses like 2 Timothy 3:16 tell us "all Scripture" was breathed out by God. The Jews had collected all the books we call the Old Testament, and they viewed them as inspired writings from God through human authors, and thus incapable of containing errors. But Paul didn't just include Deuteronomy when he wrote "For the Scripture says." The second phrase about the laborer deserving his wages was a quote from Jesus re...

King Solomon had a lot to say about ancient landmarks, and how they should not be moved. This might make us think about people who deface or even topple statues, something that we have seen a rise in of late. But that is not what Solomon had in mind. The landmarks referred to boundary markers that separated one person's property line from another. You might know where your land ends and your neighbor's begins because there is a fence separating your lots, but during the days of the Bible people piled up stones for that purpose. If you wanted to expand your territory, all you had to do was move the stones a little farther onto your neighbor's side. If you wanted more land to farm or more room for cattle to graze, you could deceive your neighbor by moving the stones. This was considered one of the most heinous of offenses, but it happened.   So in Proverbs 23:10-11 Solomon wrote, "Do not move an ancient landmark or enter the fields of the fatherless, for their Redeemer i...