Q.19 Why do all the scientific studies on prayer say it doesn’t do anything?

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Police offices pray in

Police officers in prayer in “Courageous”

In this age of easily accessible AI (artificial intelligence) it’s dangerous (in a not-very-wise sense) to make sweeping statements where you’re indicating something is always or never true, as was done with this statement. With AI at your finger tips, such statements are easily checked. I did a check, so let’s start there with what a couple of AI engines found.

The question I asked the AIs was: “How many scientific studies on prayer have there been and are there any (what percentage) that conclude that prayer is effective?”

Grok:
Grok focused in immediately on intercessory prayer and included this in its summary of results. Continue Reading

The Tower of Babel – The End of The Beginning

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The Tower of Babel? Presentation - The Tower of Babel - the End of the Beginning

Though the events recorded about the tower of Babel take up a scant nine verses in the Bible (Gen 11.1-9), its effects are visible through the ages and are revealed not only in the languages we speak and the physical differences among people groups. The account also foreshadows the times at the end and the “man of lawlessness”  foretold in scripture (2 Thess 2.3-4).  As we move inexorably further into the last days, the account of the events of Babel remind us not only of the lawless leader, the antichrist, to be revealed but also of the heart of the people who refused to obey God, making themselves easy targets of deception. It serves as a warning. Will you be among those who Continue Reading

Will you fall for giving Christmas gifts for the wrong reason?

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Baby Jesus surrounded by Joseph, Mary and gives while the two witnesses of Rev 11 await their time of ministry
A Christmas Meditation

For many people, Christmas time is, as Andy Williams sings, “The most wonderful time of the year.” [1] There are many reasons for that—the beauty of the lights, the warming of hearts that Christmas cheer brings, gathering with loved ones, and, of course, the giving and receiving of gifts. Before I get too far into this meditation, let me warn you this will not be the standard type of Christmas meditation to help you revel in the season. This is the type to make you examine your own heart closely. Jesus is the reason for the season, and we should indeed focus on God’s gift of the baby in the manger that allows us to draw near to God. But, as the apostle Paul says, ‘What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short.” (1 Cor 7.29) and it is much shorter than when Paul first gave that warning to the Corinthian church nearly 2,000 years ago. Jesus gave many signs that would portend a time of trouble before his return. Those signs are upon us. So I feel compelled to give the appropriate meditation and warning in light of the current signs of the times.

Continue Reading

Q119 – When Was Jesus really Born?

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Jonathan Cahn - When was Jesus REALLY born?

Jonathan Cahn – When was Jesus REALLY born?

Amazingly, to the question “When was Jesus born?” some, are still answering December 25th,while other ministries are defending that whatever the date, it’s okay for Christians to celebrate Jesus birthday on that day. I agree that Christians can celebrate it on December 2th, but we should be clear – that’s not the actual day Jesus was born. There are a number of reasons why that date is incorrect. Jonathan Cahn gives well researched, Biblically consistent reasons in the above video. Every Christian should watch this every Christmas.
Though he gives the exact date, I will preview the month for you: Nissan – the first month in the Jewish calendar. Watch for the exact date.
Youtube  Archive 

Duane Caldwell  | December 2025 | Printer Friendly Version
 

Q.6 What’s the problem with people living the gender they identify as?

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Tony Curtis as Joe and Josephine in

One of the pillars that the Christian faith and the gospel of Jesus Christ are built upon is the pillar of truth. Not only is the gospel built on it, but, in fact, the requirement to be truthful runs throughout Christianity and, indeed, the entire Bible and thus the Jewish faith as well.

Satan, disguised as a snake, successfully got Adam and Eve to sin by questioning the truth God told them. (Gen 3.4) Satan has been enticing people to lie and doubt the truth of God since the beginning. Continue Reading

Q.43 No one has any idea who wrote the Gospels

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The Gospel according to...

The Gospel according to…

For the average Christian, the statement: “no one has any idea who wrote the Gospels” is nonsensical. In every Bible, printed at the top of each Gospel account, is the name of the author:

The Gospel according to Matthew
The Gospel according to Mark
The Gospel according to Luke
The Gospel according to John

Sometimes it’s listed in a simplified version with just the name:

Matthew
Mark
Luke
John

Before Bibles were printed, the name of the author was included with the handwritten documents, and the name of the authors were well established from the beginning of their widespread circulation.[1] So it is not true that “no one has any idea who wrote the Gospels.” What this doubter means is he doesn’t believe that the Gospels were written by the people traditionally accepted to be the authors. He rejects what the first Christians believed from the time of initial receipt of these texts even though this belief was later confirmed by the early church. The question of authorship does not even occur to most Christians who believe the entire Bible. Continue Reading

Q.23 Isn’t God so distant and different he’s unknowable to humans?

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Adam and Eve in the Garden with the LORD God

Adam and Eve in the Garden with the LORD God

On the one hand, this question—”Isn’t God so distant and different he’s unknowable to humans?”—is a reasonable question because, to many people, perhaps to most, God seems distant. On the other hand, it shows how far those same people, for whom God seems distant, have drifted from God’s heart and his original and ongoing intention, which is intimacy with each and every one of us.

When God promised a New Covenant to the House of Israel via the prophet Jeremiah which was meant to apply to all, he said the time is coming when everyone would know him: Continue Reading

Q.40 The Exodus – Does archaeology show it happened?

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The Split rock at Horeb - The Exodus

The Split rock at Horeb

After the resurrection, the Exodus and the miracles surrounding it are arguably the greatest miracles God performed. Indeed, before the incarnation of Jesus, God regularly identified himself as the God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt (Ex 20.2, 29.46, Ps 81.10, Jer 11.4, etc.) So this is a very important question. But like other questions in this series, it was given as a statement too long for the title. So let’s start with the original statement, point  out the implied questions, and take it from there. The original statement:

If the Exodus really happened we’d see more signs of it in archaeology. We don’t, so it’s not believable.

So let’s make explicit the implicit challenges and assumptions.
Continue Reading

Q.9 Why Do Christians believe guns are good? Guns kill!

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Remington 30.06

With last week’s assassination of Charlie Kirk (X tribute | Archives: post video) still fresh on everyone’s mind, this seemed like a good time to address this question: “Why do Christians believe guns are good? Guns kill!” As usual, there is a fallacious assumption here, so let’s start with that. The assumption is of course that it is guns that kill, without recognizing that the gun is just the instrument of the person who is controlling it.

Saying that guns kill is like a student coming home from school and telling his parents, “My pencil failed my tests today.” Would any parent accept that? Would you accept that? Of course not. Pencils do not take tests by themselves. An agent is in control of the pencil, and the pencil is merely a tool by which the intention of the agent is manifested.  Continue Reading

Q.67 Why won’t you go along with Covid vaccinations like everyone else?

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Covid-19 vaccine - lethal?

As with most of these questions, there is an incorrect underlying assumption. Here, it’s that everyone is going along with the Covid-19 vaccines – with the exception of Christians. That is most certainly not the case. Actually, there is a further assumption that we should be doing what everyone else is doing. I’ll come back to that one.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020 in their Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) Situation Report – 51. The Covid vaccines were developed at “record speed” as ChatGPT puts it and were made available in December of 2020.[1] We now have the benefit of hindsight informed by the years of research and data collection on the effectiveness of, and issues with, the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines that have been collected in the intervening years. To answer the question—Why won’t you [Christians] go along with Covid vaccinations like everyone else?—I will supply both past and current concerns as well as the validation of those concerns that has been revealed by the research of multiple sources over the intervening years.

Why Refuse the Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines?

There were three primary concerns that Christians and others had concerning the mRNA Covid-19 Vaccines and a fourth concern that drove the already high suspicions even higher. Continue Reading