Volume 44:Issue 1

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CONTENTS:

04  Learning to Rightly Interpret Scripture in an Age of Biblical Illiteracy

by Hank Hanegraaff

Practical Hermeneutics (From the President): In coming to grips with why the ineffable God chose to reveal Himself in the way He did, we must keep foremost in mind that Scripture is a heavenly condescension. God is far beyond our comprehension, and yet He condescends to communicate eternal verities in ways that are profoundly meaningful.

08 Effective Evangelism:

Faith, Fact, and Reason: Ingredients for Knowledge by Jonah Haddad

10 G. K. Chesterton on the Book of Job

by Rebekah Valerius

Philosophical Apologetics: An irrepressible note of joy rings throughout the literary corpus of the magnificent English writer G. K. Chesterton. It is surprising, then, that Job, the book that plunges headlong into the problem of unjust suffering, was Chesterton’s favorite book of the Bible. He found “the riddles of God…more comforting than the solutions of man.”

16 Ignatius of Antioch’s Desire for Martyrdom

by Matthew M. Kennedy

Historical Theology (Philosophers Series): Ignatius of Antioch knew men who had seen Jesus with their eyes, heard Him with their ears, and touched Him with their hands. Few martyrs have counted, embraced, and actually savored the high cost of discipleship more than Ignatius. For one bound to Christ and His resurrection, the throes of death become the pangs of birth.

22 In Defense of the Church’s Traditional Doctrine of Hell

by Fr. Lawrence R. Farley

Theological Discernment/Historical Theology: Against an increasingly popular proclamation “that all shall be saved” stands Scripture and the Church’s historic teaching. Following the truth wherever it leads, one discovers that hell’s punishment for those who “neglect so great a salvation” is everlasting and conscious. Closing our hearts to God in this life destroys our ability to repent and respond to His Love for all eternity.

30 Swimming Upstream: Why the Natural Law Resists Totalitarianism

by R. Keith Loftin

Philosophical Apologetics: Although totalitarians seek “to subdue reality to the wishes of men,” as C. S. Lewis put it, natural law is transcendent and stands in judgment over such actions, which is why totalitarians tend to marginalize and even attempt to eradicate religion. If the natural law is the foundation for all value judgments — rightness or wrongness — then its rejection leaves only unprincipled desires and will.

36 Marriage in Mid-Life: How Disappointment Helps Us Become More Christlike

by Dorothy Littell Greco

Christian Living: How couples respond to disappointments can make or break their marriage. If we fail to address disappointments, they can morph into disillusionment, despair, or resentment. Conversely, if we understand them as invitations to become more like Christ, we can learn to love our spouse unconditionally and experience more joy in our marriages.

42  Viewpoint

You Probably Aren’t Saved If…(This Is about Sex) by Clay Jones

44     Postmodern Realities

“Wayward Ted”: Celebrating the Fruit of the Spirit in Ted Lasso by K. B. Hoyle

46   Ask Hank

Are There Really Flames in Hell?  by Hank Hanegraaff