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The genetic variation between the different 'races' of humans is minuscule. Not even reaching the level of 'sub-species' (although it's possible that if global travel had never been invented, a few million years of separation in different areas of the world might allow sufficient genetic...

Taking communion 'on your own' would not feel right to me either. It's something to be done together, in fellowship - otherwise a large part of the symbolism is missing.

What "Christian" circles do you move in? In my (mainly evangelical) experience, it's the other way round.

In Darwin's time, naturalists had to rely largely on physical appearance to distinguish species, but genetics has revealed a lot of 'surprises' in this area. With Darwin's finches we could well be seeing evolution in progress: species that have begun to diverge (it might be more accurate to call...

1) To learn 2) To share (fellowship, encouragement, money... this list could be a long one) 3) To serve as a member of the Body I've been a Christian for 45 years. At the beginning, (1) was the dominant reason for being in a church; these days I learn relatively little, but I have much more...

I think it's generally agreed that the fossil record alone does not prove evolution. But most Christians seem to be totally unaware of the mass of genetic evidence for evolution that has been discovered in the last two decades (or if they do know about it, they never mention it).

OK, to be more exact, the Holy Spirit inspired the apostles to use the Septuagint translation of the Tanakh for their OT quotes.

The writers of the New Testament used the Septuagint when quoting Scripture. This seems pretty well undeniable. And it was, after all, the ONLY Greek version of the Old Testament available, and the version that the Gentile churches (the recipients of most of the letters and gospels) were...

It means distorting or withholding the truth from those who have a right to know (the judge/jury) in order to make a correct judgement. False witness could be a murder weapon if the crime was a capital offence. False witness is a form of lying, but not all lying is 'false witness'. In certain...

The problem is, how does the average person know which words have archaic meanings and which ones are unchanged? The modern meaning of 'conversation' makes (almost) sense in the context. To make sure that everything is being understood correctly, you'd have to look up every single word you read...

Which religions fall into the category of "doctrines of demons"? Everything that isn't Christianity? In most countries, Christian doctors are in a minority, so most of us don't have the luxury of choosing a Christian doctor. If all unbelievers are "under Satan's control", should we be afraid to...

The Bible is surprisingly relaxed about lying, under certain circumstances. None of the commandments says, "Thou shalt not tell lies." The ninth commandment does say, "Do not give false testimony" - but this isn't quite the same thing. Lying and deception are permissible in war, or in order to...

This sentence is a bit confused. Both literal and figurative expressions obey the same rules of grammar. What determines whether something is literal or figurative is the context. "Let the cat out of the bag" is a figure of speech - but the literal meaning might apply if you really did have a...

The 'missing' words are also to be found in verse 4 (in all versions).

Agreed - nobody actually follows the Bible as a "sole" authority. The term "sola scriptura" refers to final authority, not only authority (because you still have to take into account tradition and interpretation). And the Bereans, as you yourself point out, checked Paul's teaching against...

Most of the people who knock the whole concept of 'tradition' simply do not realise that traditions are unavoidable. We all have them. But it isn't a simple question of whether tradition is 'good' or 'bad'. Some traditions are good, others bad. You can't lump them all together. It isn't even a...

I have thought a lot about this question. I believe that our pets will be with us in eternity. My reasoning is too long to post here, but you can read it at this link; Do our pets go to heaven?

It's by no means certain that Cain was required to bring a blood sacrifice. It was a tribute offering, not a sin offering. And if Jude 11 is read in context, "the way of Cain" doesn't refer to "religious" people but to irreligious people!

Online debates rarely bear much resemblance to the 'real' world. How many people here actually represent churches? I would presume that the tradition originated when people 're-discovered' believers' baptism after the Reformation. By then, of course, there was no collective memory of how the...

Amillennial answer: We are still waiting for Jesus to return. Surely this is obvious?