How I Know the New Testament Documents Are Reliable

Greg Heil | 7:00 AM | 6 Comments
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Originally written in 2008.

The authenticity of Christianity is greatly affected by the reliability of the New Testament documents. If they are reliable, the Christian faith is really bolstered. If they are not dependable, then Christianity does not count for a whole lot.


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Resisting Discouragement

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 2 Comments
 This is a commentary by a good friend of mine, Bryce Zeigle, that was originally written and published in September of 2009.  Bryce has spent the latest years of his life in central Wisconsin and is now attending Wheaton College, Illinois for his second consecutive year.  The grammar and format of the article has been revised, and now posted here, in its entirety, as a contribution to this blog with his expressed permission.

A note of encouragement to those (such as myself) who are struggling with discouragement.

“So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).

It is so easy to say, but so hard to put into practice. There are many things that work to keep us from completing our missions. It makes one wonder whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our obligations, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether. And yes, this includes homework!

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Aristotle on Action

Greg Heil | 7:07 AM | 3 Comments
"But most people, instead of acting, take refuge in theorizing: they imagine that they are philosophers and that philosophy will make them virtuous; in fact, they behave like people who listen attentively to their doctors but never do anything that their doctors tell them. But a healthy state of the soul will no more be produced by this kind of philosophizing than a healthy state of the body by this kind of medical treatment." -Aristotle

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8 Reasons to Memorize Scripture

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 1 Comment



1) Memorizing scripture makes meditation of scripture possible when you are not actively engaged in reading the Bible.  In other words, memorizing scripture allows us to constantly be thinking of scripture, God's written will.  By doing so, we can much more actively incorporate it into our daily lives.

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Resource Roundup: "Don't Waste Your Life"

Greg Heil | 7:00 AM | 3 Comments
"Don't Waste Your Life" Music Video By Lecrae:




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The Soapless Rinse

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 8 Comments
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It's an upcoming phenomenon. 
Maybe you've noticed it, or maybe you've been a direct participant in it....

I call it "the soap-less rinse".





What is it?
It has come to my attention that many people, in particular, college men, have developed a somewhat interesting bathroom habit.  It consists, firstly, of a normal restroom routine.  One goes about excretion of various sorts of bodily waste all while using his/her hands to assist the process in some way, shape or form (I will spare you the details, but you can think of any practical example of how everyone almost always uses there hands to do various things when exuding fecal matter - even if it be before or after).

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Evidence for the Existence of the Christian God

Greg Heil | 10:30 AM | 8 Comments
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The following is an essay that I wrote during an Apologetics class at Big Sky Bible Institute back in the fall of 2007. This is a short paper and is very broad in scope. There is much more specific evidence that I didn't have time to address. Hopefully I will have that opportunity some time in the future.

The title that I chose for this paper was not phrased the way it is by accident. I am going to attempt to present evidence for the existence of the Christian God. I am not going to prove with one hundred percent certainty that the Christian God exists. I do, however, believe that the vast majority of evidence truly does point towards the existence of God.

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"I'm a Christian - Why Should I Go to Church?"

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 14 Comments
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For many, it can be easy to fall into the temptation of doing something other than going to church. Whether it's seizing some extra time to sleep because you were up late the night before, or maybe you, instead, take some time off to enjoy your favorite extra curricular activity. Maybe it's to catchup on some homework and studying, or it could even be because you're feeling a little sickly; All of these could be the factor that causes someone to spend his or her time doing other things besides going to church.

The Question at Hand
From time to time, I encounter a person that states something of this sort: "I'm a Christian, I know that. But why should I go to Church every week?" They may go on to say something like, "I can worship God in other ways." "I prefer to read my Bible at home and meet with God one-on-one, and I think it's of equal value."

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Discussing the Biblical View in a Secular Classroom

Greg Heil | 6:49 AM | 9 Comments
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A study of world ethics could not possibly be complete without an examination of the Judeo-Christian view. Since the textbook that we are studying out of does not include a chapter covering the topic, our professor rightly added readings to compensate for the horrendous oversight on the author of our text.


Now if only those readings had come from an unbiased source! The book she photocopied chapters out of was Ten Theories of Human Nature by Leslie Stevenson. The reading selection was a classic example of a heavily skewed, relativistic-atheist view. If you want to read it out of curiosity, be sure to look it up. I may dive into the selection in greater detail in a future, but that is not the purpose of this present post.


But for now, here's a breakdown of an assignment from those readings, and my teacher's response:

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I Want to Fall in Love With You...

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 4 Comments
 This is a commentary contributed by a good friend of mine, Bryce Zeigle, that was originally written and published in June of 2009.  Bryce has spent the latest years of his life in central Wisconsin and is now attending Wheaton College, Illinois for his second consecutive year.  The grammar, format, and other aspects of this article have been revised, and now posted here with his expressed permission.



Some thoughts after listening to a song by Jars of Clay...

So the question I had was - How can I fall in love with you God? But not just in a dreamy, sing-songy kind of way, I'm talking about Total, Obsessive, Unconditional, Infatuation for my God.

"Open fields of wild flowers,
she breathes the air and flies away
She thanks her Jesus for the daises and the roses"




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World Ethics with No Judeo-Christian View?

Greg Heil | 7:00 AM | 9 Comments
I am currently enrolled in a world ethics class this semester entitled "Ethics from a Global Perspective." Our main text for the semester is Ethics Across Cultures: An Introductory Text with Readings by Michael C. Brannigan.

So far, I have found our text very interesting and informative. Despite being a secular textbook, it appears to take a very moderate, informative view instead of a heavily opinionated one, and I appreciate that effort. I've read Chapters 2, 1, and 11 so far, and in that order in accordance with our class syllabus.

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Christianity and the Bible: Second-Hand Scripture

AJ Heil | 8:00 AM | 5 Comments
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As a Christian in today's society, I feel that it is crucial to seek a deeper understanding of life and the meaning behind our existence and to conclusively find our identity in Jesus Christ. Along with this, it is first and foremost vital to emphasize the indispensable importance of raw scripture - The Bible - As the only source of true wisdom and knowledge (Jam 3:13-17) (Prov 2:6,9-11).

Often, blogs such as Cranial Collision are the source of second hand scripture. By second hand scripture, I mean Biblical interpretations, doctrines, and insight. Sources of second hand scripture can be anything from audio and videos of sermons, to books such as Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Although these books and articles may offer sounds Biblical wisdom and knowledge through human interpretation, they are all indirect sources of the Word of God.

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