love Resolving Doubts. Renewing Purpose. Reasons for God

60+ Ways To Love Your Friends on Facebook

How do we love our friends on Facebook? It is a new tool, so I’m not sure we have the answers we need to this important question. But with over a billion users, when Christians participate on Facebook, they should do so in a way that honors God and serves their friends. Why? Because we are called to be salt and light wherever we are (see Matthew 5:13-16).

It is time to be creative, intentional, and prayerful in how we use this website.

So here are 60+ suggestions for how to love your friends on Facebook:

Five Ways To Answer A Question

Christians seem to have a poor reputation for answering questions.

Would you like to know why people don’t listen to our answers? And do you want some ideas for changing this situation? Then this post is for you!

Let’s start by understanding the problem a little better. There are at least three reasons why people are not always interested in our answers:

For one, sometimes we are offering an answer when no one asked us a question.
Two, sometimes we seem to have only one way of answering questions: by giving a lecture. People start to doze off, frustrated that their mild curiosity has been taken advantage of and that they are now subject to a rambling theological discourse and a full-bore presentation of, say, the gospel message. It is like asking to see a movie trailer and being shown the extended Director’s Cut version.
Finally, the mismatch between our lives and words – this is called hypocrisy – means that others don’t really care what we think. They see our lives, they are unimpressed, and they decide they aren’t interested in what we have to say.

So today let’s break out of the box and look at five different ways to answer a question!

The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons – A Book Review

The Next Christians, by Gabe Lyons, offers a provocative but ultimately encouraging vision for the flourishing of the Christian faith in 21st century America. Both big-picture vision and practical ideas come together in this intriguing book; as the subtitle indicates, The Next Christians offers “seven ways you can live the gospel and restore the world.”

Lyons’ book is divided into two major sections: first, an analysis of the rapid cultural change in the U.S., with the challenges this has created for the American church, and second, defining what he calls the “restorers” — the next Christians whose bold and faithful lives to Jesus and the gospel, exhibited in creative and loving connection to those around them, will strengthen and grow the church.

The Prodigal God by Tim Keller – A Book Review

What is the most important question in the world? That’s hard to say, but one weighty contender has to be the question, “Who is God?” Whether you’re Richard Dawkins or a Bible-thumping KJV Christian, how you answer that question is of great consequence.

The Hypocrisy of Richard Dawkins

At yesterday’s Reason Rally, the acknowledged headline speaker was the famous Richard Dawkins. And Dawkins, true to form, managed to display both hypocrisy and irrationality in the course of his fifteen minute speech.

To set the stage, let’s remember the promise the Reason Rally organizers made to us on their website:

The Atheistic Leap of Faith

In the course of having thousands of conversations about the ultimate issues of life, I’ve encountered many skeptics who, out of a deep respect for their religious friends, are reluctant to explain their objections to faith. These skeptics have noticed that, for their friends, the practice of religion is fundamental to filling their lives with meaning, purpose, joy, and service to others. Out of a gracious and loving spirit they decide, “Hey, if that works for you, that’s great. I don’t want to mess with something that’s so beautiful to you.” Also to their credit, when sincerely invited to be open and direct about their perspective, these skeptics have been excellent conversation partners, and we’ve had rigorous, intriguing conversations about our respective beliefs.

Atheism, Humans and Robots

The standard disclaimer: I am not speaking about or attacking atheists. Instead, my goal is to rationally work through the logical implications of the atheistic worldview. (Please notice how I define atheism).

My conclusion is that, if atheism is true, then we need to re-imagine how we understand human beings.

Atheism and the Denial of Love

As I have argued earlier, atheism leads to determinism. (Please notice how I define atheism). The most important reason that atheism leads to determinism is that atheism requires that everything be subject to naturalistic, scientific explanation. From an atheistic perspective, there can be no thing, event, or action which cannot be given a total explanation by reference to physical objects and natural laws. As Charles Darwin put it: “Everything in nature is the result of fixed laws.” Humans and human actions are part of nature; therefore, we and our choices are the result of fixed laws.

Are Christians Evil?

One of the most notable and repeated ways that atheist leaders such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have attacked religion is by attacking religious people. Quotes abound, but here are a few particularly juicy ones. No matter what you think of the content, you have to admire the punchy, clever style of their writing.

Richard Dawkins:

We All Want Love

There are a lot of unending processes in the world. Crops will always need rain. Cars need maintenance. Dishes have to be washed, clothes need to be cleaned, floors must be swept and mopped.

We all have similar, equally insatiable desires. Children will always need encouragement and opportunity. Spouses will always want appreciation and affection. Employees want to be respected and rewarded.

At the heart of this is the universal desire to be loved.