I can do no other
Introduction Many people ask themselves: “Why did God place the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in the first place?” Wasn’t that a trap? If God knew that Adam and Eve would sin, why did He put that tree there? At first glance, that seems like a valid question […]
Intro Does an obsession with becoming a ‘better’ Christian, fuelled by self-help books and productivity hacks, leave you spiritually exhausted? But what if I told you that this very fixation might be pulling you away from Christ — not closer to Him? This is what the so-called self-help movement is doing! All these books and […]
Are you familiar with the Christian magic word: Sincerity! We all want a sincere faith that is deep, genuine, and not just words. We want sincerity both in our hearts and in our actions. But sometimes faith becomes a kind of habit and can feel superficial. Something like a list of dos and don’ts, a […]
Tom de Wal was WRONG on Demons! Here is the Biblical Truth! Intro Is it possible that a follower of Jesus Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, can be possessed by a demon at the same time? Dutch public speaker, Tom de Wal says it is. Well? What is it? Yes or no? This is […]
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Introduction Imagine having to die for a story. Not a vague idea or some philosophy, but an actual story of which you were part off yourself. That was exactly the choice the first eyewitnesses of Jesus were facing. They did not die for a fairytale, they died for what they had seen with their own […]
It seems Christians in the West don’t have much better to do than attack each other. We see it in the churches. A young couple, struggling with the raw heartbreak of divorce, are quietly expelled from the small group they once called family, their brothers, and sisters. A new believer, full of awkward questions, is […]
Do you ever feel like you’re in a constant spiritual tug-of-war? It’s that exhausting, daily battle where one part of you desperately wants to surrender to God, but the other part just refuses to let go of the reins. Christians around you all say that the Holy Spirit gives you real peace and purpose, but […]
What if one of the most damaging ideas circulating in the church isn’t about money or hell… but about the Holy Spirit? What if I told you that the teaching that you need to wait for some dramatic, second experience to really receive the Spirit is not only a misreading of the Bible, but has […]
In my last video I talked about the role of prayer in the lives of Christians. One of you posted the following question: I often say that Jesus died for our sins and for our salvation, not for us to live a comfortable life. […] Is there anywhere in the Bible where God cares about […]
What role does prayer play in the life of a Christian? This question came to my mind when we had to take one of my children to hospital last week. What had happened? He had spent a more than a week with me in our village in southeastern Madagascar. We had a fantastic time and […]
As you can see, I am back from our village on Madagascar. On my Odysee channel, I explained a little bit about what the plans are. You can find that little article here Briefly, we will soon be bringing several groups of Bible students to our village. These students are eager to learn how to […]
Have you ever wondered what the Bible says about Israel’s future? For many, this topic evokes curiosity and often confusion. Don’t panic! That feeling is not strange. What makes it difficult is that this subject is approached by many as if it just the easiest thing in the world. Now the fact that you don’t […]
Many of the pro-abortion arguments are actually not that hard to refute at all. That’s why I think it’s good to sort this out with you and see why we, pro-lifers, take the most logical position in this debate. I am going to do a series on this. But I probably won’t make a new […]
Roman 13… The most cited Bible text by oppressing rulers. It is also a fiercely debated text among Christians. Is Paul just telling us just to obey the rulers, period! Or is there something else going on? In all fairness I need to say that I did have trouble obeying my Dutch government when we […]
We live in a time when information comes at us like a frenzy. It goes so superfast! The difference between what I had to learn in school and what my parents had to learn is huge. But I still had to go to a physical library to gather information. My kids go onto the internet […]
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Self-righteous or Humble? If you have been following me for a while then you will know by now that I do not like to be associated with one specific denomination only. Actually, for most missionaries, church denomination is not such a big thing. Wherever possible, we like to work together. I know two Dutch families […]
15 January 2025, I had a good conversation with my brother and friend, Kenneth Johannes, during a livestream. Beforehand, we had thought we might touch on the topic of Islam for a while. But then again, we hadn’t spoken to each other for such a long time that we had to move this topic to […]
Many of us like to distinguish between important and less important teachings within the Christian faith. But what are the necessities of the Christian faith? That’s what I like to explore together with you in this new series. Index Introduction to this series Part 2: God’s Revelation Part 3: About God Part 4: Creation Part […]
Whenever I talk about certain teachings within the Church, I often say that this or that teaching isn’t causing you to be lost when believed wrongly. Many teachings are not on the same level as the doctrine of Salvation. In this article we will see what this doctrine entails. Whenever I talk about certain teachings […]
The opinions are divided The idea of the rapture of the church keeps us busy, right? At least it keeps me busy! Especially now that we see all the developments around Israel, this topic becomes very relevant for many Christians. Are we in a march towards the one world order as we can read in […]
Many Christians yearn for the boldness we read about in early church. Many of us listen with admiration to the stories of missionaries and evangelists. Who does not know the books of Anne van der Bijl, or brother Andrew for the English folk among us, and Corrie ten Boom? At the same time, we realise […]
A while ago, I made a series on the various false teachings that have existed over the centuries. In the video on Docetism & Gnosticismi, I mentioned toe the so-called ‘demiurge.’ One of you asked if I could tell a bit more about that. I left that topic on the shelf for a while. But […]
And that is exactly what we have been hearing for years from the atheist world. The world would be a better place if we could jettison those weird religious ideas. It’s a bit how Jordan Peterson put it. Atheists seem to think that if we rid the world of the superstitions of the past, we […]
‘Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.’ This quote is attributed to Francis of Assisi. But yes, as is often the case with quotations, this is not true according to Assisi connoisseurs. Nor does it really matter who said it, the fact remains that this statement has become almost a lofty principle […]
Conspiracies. We’re busy at it! And let’s face it, we’re good at it! So just a few theories: The moon landing was staged; the earth is flat, and they don’t want us to know it; the construction of the temple is all prepared; big pharma controls all medical research; the Covid jab was meant to […]
We have been blessed with five children. All five we have brought up with the Christian faith as our guiding principle. They don’t know any better or daddy preaches Gospel to everybody and everyone else. Three of them have been baptised. Entirely on their own initiative, by the way. But yes, if some people are […]
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Dangerous Ideas in the Church of Christ Introduction Many dear brothers and sisters I know believe in the rapture before the great tribulation or pre-trib rapture as they call it. The main text used for this comes from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with […]
We have all heard about the ‘millennials.’ This generation was born between 1984 and 1998. But what about the generation right behind them? Generation Z, born between 1999 and 2015. I myself have 4 children from this generation, 5 if you count my youngest (who was born in July 2015). This generation is starting high […]
Article by I. Hofmann, July 2024. All right reserved. Published with permission on Apologeet.nl. Translation by J. Hofmann. Introduction Thomas Aquinas is a well-known Roman Catholic philosopher and theologian from the 13th century. He lived from 1225 to 1274 and was declared a saint in 1323, 49 years after his death. During his lifetime, he […]
You’ve probably heard the following two comments: “I’m not much of an evangelist …” and “Evangelism isn’t really my thing.” Maybe you are that person who has also said this at times. And, it still gnaws at you! After all, we have received the command plain and clear in Matthew 28:19-20a Go ye therefore, and […]
I have sometimes wondered why atheists bother others with their atheism. Well, I kind of received that answer a long time ago. But here is the counter question asked by some atheists. Why do Christians bother others with their faith? Why do Christians seek to rule over others with their religious ideas? This question is […]
Part 10 – Docetism & Gnosticism Some would say that the material world is inherently evil. If that is true, God could not have become flesh like we read in John 1. This teaching is also called ‘Docetism’ and it seems to tight in closely with Gnosticism. Which is Which? Okay, it might be a […]
Part 9 – Subordinationism We read in the Bible that Jesus voluntarily placed Himself under the authority of the Father. But could it be that Jesus and the Holy Spirit are subordinate in terms of their nature and in essence? This is what we are going to discuss today. Subordinationism Subordinationism teaches that Jesus (and […]
Part 8 – Kenosis Did Jesus empty himself of divinity in the incarnation? In other words, did Jesus give up His deity when He became human? This idea is sometimes called kenotic theology. Confusing This word, kenosis, is confusing at best and misleading at worst. The word kenosis comes from the Greek kenoo, which mean […]
Part 7 – Adoptionism As far back as the second century, several groups already debated Jesus’ preexistence. One such group are called Adoptionists. They denied the preexistence of Jesus and, as a consequence, His deity. Jesus was tested by God According to these teaching, Jesus was just a human like you and I. Adoptionism, says […]
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Part 6 – Pelagianism I came to Christ around 1994. In my testimony I often say that I chose to be saved by Jesus. I think you can even hear me saying that in my online testimony.i But, does that mean that I was capable of deciding all one my own? Pelagianism Well, it might […]
Part 5 – Donatism Is your baptism invalid if your baptiser was adulterer? Picture this: You decided to become a real follower of Christ. You realised that you needed to be baptist. That is your first step of obedience to Jesus. Your pastor was more than willing to baptise you. But, two weeks later you […]
Part 4 – Modalism Jesus is like an uncle, nephew, father, brother, or son… Come on Patrick! Try this: Ask your pastor, youth leader or someone else in your church to explain the trinity! That is a fun question to ask, don’t you think? Many will struggle to give a good answer, and that is […]
Part 3 – Antinomianism Let’s ditch the Old Testament laws! We are no longer under the law, right? Romans 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Still, in many churches, we find the commandments written on banners. What’s more, every Sunday many congregations […]
Part 2 – Arianism ➜ ➜ ➜ PS. Who noticed the mistake at the end of the video? No, it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It was really in my head…. But what? A Christian believes that salvation cannot come through works or by another created being. We believe that we can only be […]
Part 1 – What is heresy? Jehovah’s Witnesses are like the Dutch people… You’ll find them all around the world. Please don’t complain about this comparison. I myself am Dutch. And I know, the Dutch mostly go around the world to do business, which can be good, right? The Jehovah’s Witnesses mostly go around to […]
Despite living on Madagascar, the new developments in the West have not escaped my attention. What strikes me, and annoys me, is that many words are being redefined. This happens mainly because of the left-liberal movements we see popping up every where in western countries. For a Christian, words and their definitions are very important. […]
Before I came to faith, I really did take a critical look at other religions. Later, when I was already a Christian, I studied Islam over and over again. My conclusion? I am not exactly a huge fan of this religion. But that is too short and some might think I would dislike the people […]
Jan van Meerten is the driving force behind the website Fundamentum (oorsprong.info). Jan’s work goes far beyond his website. He has always been very active in all kinds of study days and conferences. It is thanks to Jan that I get informed, on a regulart basis, about what is going on in the more Reformed […]
If you think defending the Christian faith is just a small discipline within theology, you might be surprised that there are several styles. These styles come with their own extensive literature. There are four main types of Christian apologetics: Classical, evidential, presuppositional, and fideism. In this video I would like to look with you at […]
If you think defending the Christian faith is just a small discipline within theology, you might be surprised that there are several styles. These styles come with their own extensive literature. There are four main types of Christian apologetics: Classical, evidential, presuppositional, and fideism. In this video I would like to look with you at […]
If you think defending the Christian faith is just a small discipline within theology, you might be surprised that there are several styles. These styles come with their own extensive literature. There are four main types of Christian apologetics: Classical, evidential, presuppositional, and fideism. In this video I would like to look with you at […]
If you think defending the Christian faith is just a small discipline within theology, you might be surprised that there are several styles. These styles come with their own extensive literature. There are four main types of Christian apologetics: Classical, evidential, presuppositional, and fideism. In this video I would like to look with you at […]
Introduction I recently received a comment on one of my posts on my website. The person wasn’t really polite towards me because apparently I am completely brainwashed with complete loss of self-identity and therefore critical thinking. Not only that but I am also in a psychosis, totally trapped in a delusional system. Don’t you just […]
Romans 9:14-24 Did God created people to go to hell? Firstly, this is an important issue which demands an answer. The letter to the Romans is considered by many to be the most influential letter of Paul’s writings. Up till today it is still deemed to be the most doctrinal Epistle of the New Testament. […]
1. Have the New Testament documents not been corrupted? True enough, we hadn’t had the possibility to copy and paste the documents back then. So, all the documents had to be copied by hand, which was a tedious job. On top of that, we do not have the original documents, as written by the apostles […]
Part 2 – The Signs of Apostasy You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has once believed and then rejected the truth of God. In the […]
Part 1 – What makes an apostate? You might have heard this word before: Apostasy. It’s basic meaning is to fall away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection even though someone knows the truth. I am talking about the truth of the Gospel of course. Therefore, an apostate is someone who has […]
Persecution, you know? I don’t really like this word. Not that I deny that there is persecution in this world. No, more because many of us use this word in the most inappropriate situations. Let’s be honest here. Many of us who can afford to watch this video or reading this article experience no real […]
I never really bothered about the extra books in the Roman Catholic bible. I always thought that this was just about a dispute in the early church. But is it? Let’s find out. Many of our more respectable Bibles, such as the King James Version, Revised Standard Version, and the New International Version, have just […]
Masculinity or manliness, is the topic I started to address in my last video. In that video we have discussed the moral duty of a man to be virtuous. Virtue is the habit of choosing what is good and right, despite our own inclinations. So, a real godly man will try to find out what […]
Masculinity or manliness, is a topic I wanted to address for a long time already. I have already did a video about the idea of ‘What is a man.’ Actually, I have been thinking about what it means to be a man ever since I became a Christian somewhere in 1994. When I was a […]
I grew up with the books of Roald Dahl. I wasn’t such a great reader myself, but the teachers were doing a great job during the read aloud. I loved the story of the Twits and the Big Friendly Giant. These stories were colourful and exiting! But not very politically correct. What did I know […]
You might have heard of the five ‘solas’ of protestantism. It is basically a summary of what the protestants believe to be true after the reformation. Sola is latin for ‘only’ or ‘alone.’ I will explain a bit more about these ‘solas’ in a minute. But I mostly want to think with you about ‘sola […]
Last month I received a question through my website about universalism, and whether I could say a thing or two about it. Universalism (Greek: apokastastasis) states that sooner or later all people will be saved for eternity. This position holds that the concepts of hell and punishment are inconsistent with a loving God. Early Church […]
We hear a lot about the ‘woke’ movement. Everywhere you come you’ll meet people who refer to themselves as being ‘woke.’ In the supermarkets, on our universities, in the big companies, and even within some churches. What is this idea of being ‘woke’ anyway, and why do some Christians embrace this idea? Definition of the […]
Have you ever wondered whether the Holy Spirit lives in you or not? I know I have! When I became a Christian the whole concept of the Holy Spirit was baffling to me. Well willing Christians tried to explain it to me, and they came with all sorts of terms: Baptism in the Spirit; receiving […]
I guess this is the follow-up of the last video in which we tackled the doctrine of ‘once saved, always saved.’ Can a Christian lose salvation? Good question! What is a Christian? First, I think it will be smart to determine what a Christian is. A ‘Christian’ is not someone who sits in church every […]
Today, I would like to take a look at this doctrine of ‘once saved, always saved.’ Actually, I don’t think it is an official church doctrine today. The doctrine has been around for a long time already. This time, I think I am not going to give you just one answer. To be honest, I […]
Unity or Diversity… or Both? Last week we’ve had the annual conference with all the Missionaries from our organisation on Madagascar. My wife and I helped organising the week and that is nice because we get to plan when we have breaks and what kind of programme we have. We don’t really like the kind […]
or, How not to Debate an Atheist What not to say to an atheist or how not to debate an atheist. Two different approaches to the same topic in my opinion. First of all, let me say this: I do not like to debate with atheists, sceptics or any other who says they don’t believe […]
The Problem of Evil The Epicurean paradox is very often used as a tool to deny or at least too seed doubts about the existence of a God. Now, I am very luck to have my own atheistic and sceptical followers on my video channels. I mean, some would even say that a self-respecting apologist […]
#5 God Must be Horrible: Sadomasochistic, Capriciously Malevolent Bully Skip the introduction ↵ ↵ I believe it was 2006 that Mr Dawkins published his book, the God Delusion. I have never paid to much attention to his writings simply because I thought the hype would die a fast and silent death. His book isn’t, what […]
#4 God Must be Horrible: Pestilential & Megalomaniacal Skip the introduction ↵ ↵ I believe it was 2006 that Mr Dawkins published his book, the God Delusion. I have never paid to much attention to his writings simply because I thought the hype would die a fast and silent death. His book isn’t, what you […]
#3 Homophobic, Racist, Infanticidal, Genocidal, Filicidal Skip the introduction ↵ ↵ I believe it was 2006 that Mr Dawkins published his book, the God Delusion. I have never paid to much attention to his writings simply because I thought the hype would die a fast and silent death. His book isn’t, what you would call, […]
#2 God Must be Horrible: Vindictive, Bloodthirsty Ethnic Cleanser, Misogynistic Skip the introduction ↵ ↵ I believe it was 2006 that Mr Dawkins published his book, the God Delusion. I have never paid to much attention to his writings simply because I thought the hype would die a fast and silent death. His book isn’t, […]
#1 God Must be Horrible: Jealous, Petty, Unjust, Unforgiving, Control-freak Skip the introduction ↵ ↵ I believe it was 2006 that Mr Dawkins published his book, the God Delusion. I have never paid to much attention to his writings simply because I thought the hype would die a fast and silent death. His book isn’t, […]
Utterly Destroyed Intro I have touched on this subject, differently, several times before. Divine war is a confusing subject. How can a God of love command His people to kill others? How can this be seen as ‘divine’ while it more or less looks like genocide. First things First Before we discuss the topic we […]
Intro In the last video I talked about how you should not raise your kids, and hopefully it helped you to be more conscience about the importance of your role as a parent. Now, there is another thing I would like to discuss. I came to realise that one of the biggest weapons of Satan […]
I am going to do it again… That one thing that has brought me in trouble several times before. I am going to talk about raising children. Trouble So, why would this topic bring me in trouble? I think it is because it is a very emotional issue. I don’t know of any parents who […]
My daughter came up with a new documentary by Matt Walsh named: What is a woman? Living on Madagascar has its benefits when it comes to these issues. Here, a woman is a woman and a man is a man… Not many Malagasy understand the question anyway. Yes, there are man who are more feminine […]
[Part 1] Go to part two In the last video I already touched on one aspect of the importance of apologetics. I know, I am a bit strange. On the one hand I say that I will not use it, to much, in online debates. But on the other hand I believe it is very […]
Why I don’t debate atheists? Well, that statement is not entirely true because, so now and then, I do respond on their remarks. However, I try to avoid these endless debates on forums, YouTube and other online platforms. You see, it is often a quite different situation if you meet someone in person, and it […]
The Unsafe Position of an Apologist Part 2 Apologetics is the branch of Christian theology that deals with the defence and establishment of the Christian faith. An apologist uses logic, evidence, scripture, and wisdom when dealing with opposition, challenges and questions. An apologist loves to gain knowledge in a multitude of subjects like biblical theology, […]
The Unsafe Position of an Apologist Part 1 Click here for part two I love apologetics. Apologetics is the branch of Christian theology that deals with the defence and establishment of the Christian faith. An apologist uses logic, evidence, scripture, and wisdom when dealing with opposition, challenges and questions. But there are serious dangers when […]
Atheist Experience 30-03-2008i This wager thingy was still on my mind when I came across a YouTube channel called the ‘Atheist Experience.’ This channel is already running 13 years, so you could say that these guys are pretty experienced in them being atheistic and all. One of the faces of this channel is mister Matt […]
You Wanna Bet on it? My kids love to climb trees. Overall, I’m okay with that, but I normally give them one very important but simple rule: You are not allowed to fall out! And whatta you know… They tend to break that one simple rule every time. One day, one of them came running […]
Nortega came up a good topic. He said: If you can, would you mind explaining why we should use our (bodily or spiritual) capacities for the ends to which they are ordered? […] To my knowledge, the notion of ‘ordered’ in the sense in which I am using it derives from Thomistic and (originally) Aristotelian […]
In this series, we will discuss the Christian Stance on abortion. Many Christians are mute on this topic. This is unfortunate and unnecessary because there are good theological and reasonable arguments to take a firm stand in this debate. In the first part, I’ll lay out the lines along I would like to tackle this […]
A bit overdue but, better late than never. Last year, Brett send me a question about Deism. He said: In the Deistic model, a world with a God or a world without a God look the exact same. If God is a non-interventionist [in other words: When God is not intervening with the world], then […]
In the last video, and the videos before I asked you whether you have any topics you would like me to discuss. So far, I have several. One of you want to talk about deism and why it is or isn’t a flawed idea. And Nortega came up with also a good topic. He said: […]
What is good for you, isn’t necessarily good for me. Did you hear that one before? I did! It is called ‘moral subjectivism’, and it is very popular in our western society. But things seems to change if you start to talk about one’s conscience. I have met many who do not, or who refuse, […]
This argument from miracles, and others, like the argument from religious experience and the argument from change, are not designed to prove the absolute existence of God they only claim a strong probability. Still, I include these kinds of arguments because they, together with all the other arguments, form a strong cumulative case. Other arguments […]
This argument is closely related to the ontological argument. It starts from the idea of God. However, unlike the ontological argument, it does not say that real being is part of the content of that idea. Nope, it tries to demonstrate that only God Himself could have make this idea to develop in our thoughts. […]
The material world we know is a world of change. My oldest son is about 1.76 metre. But he was not always that height. When he was born, he was about 51 centimetres. Yes, he changed a lot during the last 15 years. General Sherman is the biggest tree in the world. According to estimates, […]
A Biblical Case for the Church’s Duty to Remain Open Christ is Lord of all. He is the one true head of the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18). He is also King of kings—sovereign over every earthly authority (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). The Church should stand immovably on those biblical principles. As […]
We have discussed several arguments for God. Now we’ve come to the fifth argument and I think this one will tricker most resistance. The Religious Experience argument for the existence of God! A religious experience is when someone feels they have had a direct or personal experience of God. This argument basically says that if […]
A new video! On apologetics again. I promised in my last video to show you a bit of our road here in the countryside of Madagascar. So, stay tuned, because I will paste some of that footage at the end of this video. Anyway, let’s get started. I grew up in a time that knew […]
Not a topic about apologetics this week. Something else got my attention. Last week I was reading the news items concerning my home country, the Netherlands. One article triggered my attention. It was an interview with a doctor about all the measures the government took and is still taking to prevent people from getting Corona. […]
As missionary among the un-reached Antanala-people of Madagascar, I have heard this question a million times… Well, maybe not a million but many times. Mostly these questions are hidden in presuppositions. Among Christians some think that nobody will be saved, except those who’ve heard and believed the Gospel. While others, say that there are people […]
What do you think? Are we like orphans or are we citizens of our universe? Are we just an accident, a fluke, a product of mere chance? If we have to belief the secular world we are just a result of time, space, matter, chance and impersonal laws. No, the universe is just what it […]
Do you know mister William Lane Craig? This is a hugely smart man, and listening to him sounds like you’re reading an official academic essay. I’ve written a lot of essays and I wish I could write them as fast as he formulates his sentences. Mister Craig is well known for his philosophical way of […]
Introduction In his 1078 work Proslogion, Anselm of Canterbury came with the idea which is known as ‘the ontological argument’. In this argument God’s existence is not just possible or probable or very likely, but is logically ensured. Anselm defined God as “that than which nothing greater can be thought”. Anselm said that this being […]
