I can do no other
The debate about Calvinism and Arminianism has flared up again in the Netherlands. I think it’s great that this conversation is happening again. Because it touches on the core of the gospel: How does God work in the salvation of people? But we rarely talk about the greater role of the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation.
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 […]
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 […]
![🇬🇧 Reformed, Evangelical or Pentecostal [Self-righteous or Humble]](https://i0.wp.com/www.apologeet.nl/wp-content/uploads/images/faq/Hervormd_of_Pinkster-GB-thumb.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
You may have heard this word before: apostasy. The basic meaning is falling away from the truth. It is a kind of rejection, even though someone knows the truth. In this section, we will see if we can recognise some signs of developing apostasy in the church.
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 once believed and then rejected the truth of God. Let’s dive into this topic and see what we can learn.
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 […]
Article reposted with permission from ‘The Jesus Fandom’ Original can be found here and posted on 10 April 2023. Translated by Jurgen Hofmann. Introduction Globally, women are more religious than men. They see their faith as more important, tend to pray daily and attend church more than men. This is well reflected in church practice: […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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. […]
One question that keeps popping up is that of why people won’t accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.So, what than are the reasons people don’t accept the Gospel? The reasons can be all sorts of things such as religious traditions, peer pressure within the family or within friendships, the work of Satan, or even doubting […]
Several scientific studies have now shown that immunity after a natural infection gives a better protection than immunity after Covid-19-vaccination. Natural immunity may well be necessary to build up full protection in the population, writes immunologist dr. Carla Peeters.a By now, the vulnerable and at-risk groups in most western countries have been vaccinated with one […]
Conclusion – They have proven Boston’s points Intro The conclusion of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They have proven Boston’s points Introductory video The first video was an introduction to this series. And yes! Right away I made a mistake. Not a huge one, but I did misrepresent Calvinism by stating that Calvinism says […]
Reason 8 – They are not content with Christ but on terms of their own making Intro The eight reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They are not content with Christ but on terms of their own making Boston said: They are not content with Christ but on terms of their own making. […]
Reason 7 – They have no anxiety for the supply of their soul-wants Intro The seventh reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They have no anxiety for the supply of their soul-wants Boston said: They have no anxiety for the supply of their soul-wants. They want grace and holiness, but they can be […]
Reason 6 – They see not their own unworthiness of a Saviour’s help Intro The sixth reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They see not their own unworthiness of a Saviours help Boston said: They come to the market of grace with their money in their hand. They look on themselves as worthy […]
Reason 5 – They do not feel their need of Christ Intro The fifth reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They do not feel their need of Christ Boston said: Revelation 3:17 “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art […]
Reason 4 – ‘They are strangers to their utter inability to help themselves’ Intro The fourth reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They are strangers to their utter inability to help themselves Boston said: They are like Samson, in another case, who knew not that his strength was departed from him. We may […]
Reason 3 – They have no idea about ‘the clouds of wrath which are hanging over their heads’ Intro The third reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel: They have no idea about ‘the clouds of wrath which are hanging over their heads’. Boston said: Their eyes are veiled, so that they see not […]
Reason 2 – ‘Men have no true sight and sense of their own sinfulness.’ Intro Okay! We’re on a roll here! This is the second reason of why people won’t accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ve been pretty busy in the week after the introductory video about this series. I didn’t say much about […]
Reason 1 – ‘No Due Sense of Spiritual want.’ So here we go, this is part one of eight reasons why people won’t accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The first reason: ‘No due sense of spiritual want.’ And I do apologize for the noise in the background it started to rain here and you […]
Introduction I’ve been making 20 videos in which I tried to give simple answers on regular critical questions. I called this series the ‘silly Christian series’. Some, especially my kids, were wondering why I did that. One of them said that it is kind of offending to her. And she is quit right. I am […]
Yes, you heard it right. I am worried about the credibility of the church and with that the message the churches ought to preach. Before I continue, I would like to say that when I talk about Christians and the church I tend to talk about ‘we’ and ‘us’. This is because I believe that […]
To be clear, I am Dutch. Some things I say may not be applicable for those living outside the Netherlands… Or maybe, it does. Anyway. Christians, like all other people in the Netherlands, are affected by the Covid-Sars2 virus. How do we deal with it? Are we going to get caught up in the panic […]
Apologeet.nl’s statement January 2019, the Dutch are in conflict with each other! the Nashville declaration is a document in which Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood from the US states what the church’s believes are on the topic of marriage. In short the document declares precisely what the church’s doctrine on marriage has been for […]
Life is a precious gift of God. Although one will not find the term ‘abortion’ in the Bible, Scripture has definitely a stance on the practise of abortion. Jeremiah 1:5 tells us that God knows us before He forms us in the womb. Psalm 139:13-16 speaks of God’s active role in our creation and formation […]
Evolution related Brian Catalucci (Seminars) CSE Creation Boot Camp 2005 The Voyage That Shook The World Expelled: No intelligence allowed A Question of Origins Evolution: Fact/fiction Life’s Story Drama in Rocks Icons of evolution Unlocking Mysteries Dinosaurs/Dragons Evolution related The Human Heart The Eye: Design or Evolution? Whales: Designed or Evolved? Dinosaurs, Genesis & the […]
Seen From a Secular Viewpoint1 Introduction A commonly heard statement against missionary work is to leave people alone: do not spoil their culture and belief systems. One should not bother people groups with alien belief systems. This argument is understandable because many appreciate the diversity of cultures around the world. Rightly so, it is one […]
(A) priorities The scientific aspects of creation are important, but secondary to the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Ruler, Creator, Redeemer and Judge. The teachings on the Creator and Creation are inseparable from the Gospel of Christ, they cannot be separated from it. (B) The fundamentals The 66 books of the Bible […]
Introduction Hello, nice of you to take a moment to read this. At the time of writing, we (my family and I) are living and working as missionaries on Madagascar. This, then, is equally my passion: Telling others about the wonderful news that Jesus died and rose for them! Before this vocation, I studied theology […]
This is an important page on this website! An apologist is a person who defends his faith, and it needs no explanation about the importance of this fact. Most apologists are likely people who like to read books, follow lectures, or gather information differently. If this information contributes to the arsenal of a defender of […]
“The sacredness of life is in Christian eyes an absolute which should not be violated” (Lambeth Conference of Bishops, 1958) Can or Should One Apply This Statement to Abortion? Note: There is a postscript included after the bibliography.Please, read this to understand my point of view! Jurgen Hofmann Total word-count: 2479 20th January 2014 Introduction […]
