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I don't know which churches refuse to recognise baptism by 'pouring'. Many years ago, I witnessed a 'baptism by pouring' in a Baptist church. (The candidate had a serious heart condition and could not be 'dunked'.) I have always understood that the main idea was to get the candidate completely...

Although many 'evangelical' Anglican churches (I don't know about the Methodists) also baptise new believers by immersion if they were not christened in infancy.

Hi Mary. There are no 'criteria' to meet. There is no special prayer that one has to say or thing that one has to do. A lot of people who grew up in Christian families really don't remember how they became a Christian. As far as they are concerned, they have 'always' known Jesus. A 'personal...

The Biblical concept is recognising Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). In other words, recognising that He has authority over my life. But in our natural state we want to run our own lives. So becoming a Christian necessarily involves a step of surrender. This takes many forms - it's different for...

I was asked to relate an example from my experience. What did you expect? This is an internet forum. What else could my answer be, other than testimony? Take it or leave it, but don't complain about getting what you asked for. But if testimony is so "unreliable", why do law courts spend so much...

That's what I said. We had two witnesses. You only have one. I can't help that.

I wasn't submitting this as evidence for God's existence. This is a different thread. You asked me for an example of a genuine (non-psychosomatic) healing, and I've given you one. But you have no way of even checking that I'm telling the truth - for all you know, I might have made the whole...

And on a forum like this, that's all you will get. We had two witnesses: her testimony, and the audiograms before and after.

First of all, what is blasphemy? It’s more than ordinary insults or angry words; it’s a deliberate attempt to destroy God’s reputation through slander. Now people blaspheme against God and against Christ all the time, very often through blindness or ignorance. These sins are serious - but not...

I can't remember the reason for her deafness, but it was long-standing and not something that was expected to "self-correct". And for a spontaneous healing to coincide with the prayer for it would be quite a coincidence.

About 30 years ago, when I was a member of a charismatic church, I remember a young woman (who had been deaf in one ear) showing us the audiogram that documented her healing.

The fact that God can do anything doesn't oblige Him to do everything. There are very many things that He presumably could do but doesn't - and He doesn't explain all His choices to us, either.

I suspect that an awful lot of so-called "faith healing" (the kind that happens at "healing services") is psychosomatic. There are a few cases that are genuine (I've come across one or two), but they get far less publicity.

"If the medication can cure me, it can cure me." You would think so, but it isn't quite as simple as that. As a doctor, I was taught about the "placebo effect" - which is, basically, that what you believe about your treatment actually does affect your body's response to it. People who are...

It is, however, one-sided. Looking at the same issue from the other side: Calvinism and Arminianism Compared by Roger E. Olson (see point 18 for monergism/synergism)

I've nothing to add to what has already been said. Basically, they boil down to two: Creation Jesus But you've already said that you consider that evidence inadequate, so that's just too bad. Nobody's hiding anything from you. There's nothing else on offer. It doesn't say, "believe in what you...

This was a response to your statement, "Should we believe things that we cannot see such as the tooth fairy?" The fact that the tooth fairy is invisible is really not relevant; we have other reasons for not believing in a real tooth fairy. Similarly, the fact that God is not visible is...

We believe in lots of things that we can't see: gravity, electrons, love... Being able to see something is not the acid test of its reality. And no, simply believing in something doesn't make it true. (If only...) My faith in God doesn't make Him exist; if He doesn't exist, then I am wrong. I...

Not all Christians believe in a "young" earth. Nor is it necessary. The "1650 years" from the Fall to the Flood is based on an assumption that the genealogies in Genesis are complete (with no missed generations). But Biblical genealogies are not necessarily complete (look at Jesus' genealogy in...

Whatever this enigmatic verse (in KJV) means, it's NOT that "faith is believing things despite or in the absence of evidence"! "Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (NIV) “Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservations – a trust in...