On Truth in Social Media Posting

Recently, a friend posted the following image on Facebook.

While it is technically true that the government has never forced anyone to stop smoking, the government at all levels – federal, state, and local – has passed laws and regulations placing restrictions on where and when smoking in permitted.

Faith is not a "power up" in Super Mario Bros.

Sometimes, in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles, the claim is made that some people don’t receive what they’re praying for because of a lack of faith. If they just really believed God enough, they would see the healing, financial breakthrough, salvation of a wayward child, or other miracle for which they are asking God. Some people even treat faith as a spiritual “substance”—as though it had volume and mass—that can somehow “tip the scales” in their favor, if only they have a sufficient quantity of it.

A couple of verses from the Gospels are sometimes used to support this idea.

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. (Matthew 13:58)

He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:5–6)

The way these verses sometimes get interpreted seems to treat faith as though it were a “power-up” in a video game that increases the player’s strength. Faith, in this interpretation, somehow increases God’s ability to work miracles.

Son confiables las traducciones modernas de la Biblia?

Otra vez andan circulando acusaciones diciendo que traducciones modernas como la Nueva Versión Internacional y la Nueva Traducción Viviente son corruptas y parte de un complót satánico para torcer la Palabra de Dios. Hace poco, escribí una serie en inglés mostrando que esas acusaciones no tienen fundamento en la verdad.

Estaba pensando tratar de traducir la serie al español, pero antes de poder hacerlo, descubrí que mi amigo en Facebook, el Dr. Gary Shogren (profesor en un seminario teológico en Costa Rica), ya ha tratado este asunto.

Entonces, aquí les presento enlaces a sus artículos sobre este tema.

Primero, el video de una conferencia en línea que presente la panorama del asunto:

Is a "cashless society" really a sign of the end times?

Over the past couple of months, with the coin shortage in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have seen many people posting on social media that the shortage is a fulfillment of end-times prophecies, moving us toward a cashless society for the Beast’s global economy.

One post in particular said: “This morning I stopped at a convenience store...they would not take cash!! No coins. Signs of the times.”

I responded to that post with the question that has been cycling through my brain for a few weeks: “Where in Scripture is there any mention of a cashless society?”

To which someone replied, “So what do you think Rev 13 is describing, if not a cashless society?”