We use the words “proselytize” and “evangelize” synonymously, but did Jesus distinguish between them? What about other words we use to mean roughly the same thing: Witnessing, sharing our faith, soul winning, indoctrination? In the “Woes” what was Jesus referring to when He condemned Pharisee proselytism? Some scholars argue that He was referring to the…

What is so evil about proselytizing, about winning souls? In some parts of Scripture, Jesus seems to encourage it: “…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the…

The second woe to afflict the Pharisees was this: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15) How can the goal of religious teaching, practice,…

God’s original plan, and His final plan for the new earth, do not entail or involve suffering. Yet suffering is a way of life for all of us on earth. Some may suffer more than others, but there is no-one who does not suffer at some time or other. Although God is not the cause…

We’ve been discussing prayer: What makes it effective, how should we pray, and what should we expect from it? The Lord’s Prayer is a communal prayer, and one of its core elements is a plea to be led not into temptation. In Gethsemane, Jesus again put prayer and temptation in such a juxtaposition that it…

Last week we discussed the suffering that seems to be the common element in several prayers, including the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane on the night of His arrest. We questioned whether or not suffering is part of God’s plan, God’s will. It was evidently His plan for the Egyptians during the period in which…