Booklets
The reader of this debate most likely fits into one of two categories:
- the “Apostolic” believer who thinks the “Trinitarians” are not saved because they haven’t been baptized in Jesus’ name only, and
- the “Trinitarians” think the “Apostolics” are not saved for denying the existence of Jesus’ Father.
I’m convinced that the vast majority of these do not understand the opposing view well. To better understand this great schism, this debate gives what I believe are the best arguments for and against each view.
By Dr. Patrick Johnston, D.O.
[Print this booklet on 8.5 x 14 legal sized paper; double sided]
For answers to important questions on:
- Birth Control
- Labor and Delivery
- Circumcision
- Breastfeeding vs. Bottle-Feeding
- Vaccines
- Prioritizing your marriage
Children Are a Blessing From God
Children are one of the greatest blessings we will ever have in this life. We invest so much time and energy into our new cars, a bigger home, a better job, more luxuries and recreation, and our retirement, but none of these will accompany us into eternity. Our children are the only gifts God gives us in this life that we can take to heaven with us.
Psalm 127 says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it… Lo, children are the heritage of he Lord, the fruit of the womb is His reward. As children are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them.”
The Battle Over Marriage
Baker v. Nelson, Supreme Court of Minnesota,
191 N.W.2d 185, 1971
In finding against homosexual plaintiffs the state Supreme Court judge said: "The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis."
Marriage is the foundation of any civil society. Before God established civil government, He established the family, starting with a man and a woman united in a lifelong commitment of fidelity. It is by His design that men and women become one in holy matrimony and express their intimacy by procreating and raising up children to be stewards of God's blessings when they are gone. Civil law does not arbitrarily create marriage as the Massachusetts Supreme Court suggested in November, it simply acknowledges this fundamental institution of humanity that predates all civil laws and governments. Society creates benefits for marriage because marriage has important benefits for society; stable marriages are the building block upon which nations and societies are built. If the brick crumbles, the building falls regardless of how grand its design. The state's interest in protecting this sacred, universal institution is self-evident.
THE PILLARS AND BELIEFS OF ISLAM WERE ADOPTED BY MOHAMMED FROM VARIOUS PAGAN RELIGIONS ALREADY PREVALENT IN 7TH CENTURY ARABIA.
* The Kabah was a sanctuary in Mecca in pre-Islamic Arabia where travelers would enter and worship their particular god. There were 360 idols in the Kabah.2,3,4
* "Allah", the name of the god of the Muslims, was the well-known name of one of the many gods worshiped in the Kabah in pre-Islamic times.9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25 Mohammed promoted a god of whom all in Arabia were well-aware.
by Dr. J. Patrick Johnston
1. Is there such a thing as right and wrong?
2. Are right and wrong determined by my culture, parental upbringing, personal preference, conscience, or a book of religion?
3. Is there a universal standard of right and wrong applicable to all?
4. How can I know right from wrong if we are all raised in different cultures with different belief systems?
THE TRANSCENDENTAL REFUTATION OF ATHEISM
The clash between Christian theism and atheism is primarily a worldview clash. A worldview is a network of presuppositions. One's worldview is one's view of reality. The debate over the existence of God is not simply a debate over sensory evidence. This is because our worldview determines what we will accept as evidence in the first place, what degree of certainty we require before we consider evidence authentic, and what options we will consider in our explanation of the evidence at our disposal. The atheist, for instance, looks at the magnificent expanse of the universe and stands in awe at the wonders of time and chance and evolution. The Christian looks at the same data and glorifies the God of the Bible, the Creator of heaven and earth. The atheist looks at the fossil evidence and sees overwhelming evidence for the theory of macroevolution, whereas the Christian looks at the same data and finds evidence for the Genesis flood and considers macroevolutionary theory contradicted by the lack of intermediate species. The Christian believes that answers to prayer and miraculous occurrences validate faith in Christ whereas the atheist resorts to the most likely naturalistic explanation and considers the power of the mind sufficient cause to explain those phenomena.