By Clark Bates and Alisa Childers
How should Christians understand the Old Testament? Since the birth of Christianity, this has been a topic of hot debate, and to this day many Christians don’t really understand how their faith in Jesus interacts with what they read in the Old Testament. It can be tempting to ignore it—or throw it out altogether. Many Christians have no idea how to read the Old Testament and are under the impression they are supposed to obey every command God gave to Israel. While it’s true that we, as Christians, no longer need to sacrifice animals, engage in purity rituals, and stone people for certain sins, God’s moral law revealed in the Old Testament is based on His nature and character, which is unchanging—and still applicable today.
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When I decided to take the intellectual aspect of my spiritual beliefs more seriously, it left some of my Christian friends scratching their heads. My newly acquired love of learning landed me on the receiving end of comments like, "Don't let your head get in the way of your heart," and "I don't need to study because I have faith," and "Be careful not to study too much because 'knowledge puffs up' (1 Corinthians 8:1).” 
Two men. Both grew up in Christian homes in suburban America. Both have famous Evangelical fathers. Both made personal decisions for Christ and became actively involved and well-known in ministry. One walked away from his faith and became a secular humanist. The other has become one of the top apologists and defenders of the Christian faith. Who are these two men? The first is Bart Campolo, son of evangelist and author Tony Campolo, and the other is Sean McDowell, son of evangelist and author Josh McDowell. Why did their fairly similar paths lead them to such radically different destinations? What Are The 5 Most Misunderstood Bible Verses? With Clark Bates — The Alisa Childers Podcast #184/6/2018 
[This op-ed was originally published at The Christian Post.]
I was that kid. You know the one. The one who studied her Bible until it fell apart. The one who got up at the crack of dawn to do devotions and get to school an hour early to walk around her campus and pray for revival. The one who genuinely loved Jesus with all her heart and couldn't wait to tell everyone about him—even passing out gospel tracts to the drug dealers, goths, and drag queens on Hollywood Boulevard. The one who was "on fire for God." 
We are coming up on a time of year when the resurrection of a virgin-born child whose followers called the "Good Shepherd" and "Messiah" is celebrated. He had twelve disciples, performed miracles, and sacrificed himself for the peace of the world. He was buried in a tomb only to rise from the dead three days later. His followers went on to celebrate his resurrection every year, and this celebration eventually became what we call "Easter." Think I'm talking about Jesus? Nope. I'm talking about Mithras. 
Did you ever think you'd be living in a day when believing in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus' blood would be controversial among Christians? Welcome to 2018, when saying "Jesus died for my sins" is considered at best a pagan idea (1) and at worst "psychologically damaging" to children. What did Jesus accomplish on the cross? This is possibly the most important question a Christian can ask. Did He go to the cross in order to take the punishment of our sins upon Himself? To bring us into an adoptive relationship with God the Father? To ransom us to God? To set a moral example for us to follow? To victoriously defeat sin and death? |
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