It’s not uncommon for evangelical Christians to say that Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship. Or to contrast works-based religion with faith-based Christianity, making that the difference between religion and non-religion. But it’s a mistake to say that Christianity is not a religion. For one thing, that would mean religious freedom wouldn’t be […]
I am offended by judges who unilaterally decide that unborn children do not have a right to life. I am offended by politicians who defend abortion as “health care”. I am offended by politicians who ignore problems and by their inaction let them become worse. I am offended by politicians who take advantage of crises to promote
Knowledge is conditional. Knowledge starts with an antecedent, which is assumed, and proceeds from there. Its consequences are therefore certain, but relative to the antecedent. “If P, then Q” is the form of knowledge. Belief is unconditional. Belief is a beginning; it does not begin from something else. “In the beginning God…” is the form of belief. Belief
Google’s Ngram Viewer gives the frequencies of words and phrases in books since about 1800. It is an interesting way of looking at history in the last two centuries. What follows are some observations about the usage of words associated with religion and Christianity: Usage of the word religion has gradually decreased since 1810, steeply until 1860.
Aren’t “secular” and “religious” mutually exclusive terms? Not necessarily. The term “religion” has two basic senses. The narrow sense of the term that means an historical religion, a self-identified religion, does not include secular religion. But religion in the broader sense is something that constitutes one’s life goal, the highest authority one recognizes, the self-existing
