Author: Mark Tapscott

Follower of Christ, devoted husband of Claudia, doting father and grandfather, conservative lover of liberty, journalist and First Amendment fanatic, former Hill and Reagan aide, vintage Formula Ford racer, Okie by birth/Texan by blood/proud of both, resident of Maryland. Go here: https://hillfaith.blog/about-hillfaith-2/

These Ancient Secular Historians Explode The Recurring Myth That Jesus Never Actually Existed

There is a claim that comes and goes in public forums among critics of Jesus that contends there never was an actual person by that name who did the miracles described in the Gospel and who ultimately was crucified on a Roman cross, buried in a grave donated by a rich man and resurrected three days later.

With the advent of social media, the “Jesus never lived” claim is frequently recirculated on the Internet, thanks in great part to  evangelism efforts inspired by high-profile atheists like the late Physicist Stephen Hawking and astrophysicist/cable TV celebrity Neil deGrasse Tyson.

The reality is, as the following vimeo from David Couchman’s series on “Jesus Myths” makes abundantly clear, ancient secular historians who are readily accepted as legitimate sources for other persons and events in the world of the Roman Empire also attest to the life and death of Jesus:

 

Why Does God Allow Evil To Exist?

What can you say to the grieving parents of a child who was kidnapped and murdered? Or to the wife and children of the loving Dad who was killed by a drunk driver? And how do we account for natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that take thousands of lives?

J. Warner Wallace, Cold-Case Christianity.

These painful questions points us to the basic issue so often pondered by those wrestling with what they believe or disbelieve about God. Why does God, if He exists, allow evil to exist in this world He supposedly has created? Does he not care about all the pain and suffering seen throughout human history?

J. Warner Wallace of coldcasechristianity.org takes on these questions and notes among much else in a sensitive and thought-provoking analysis that there is no concept of evil without one of good, and both require the existence of a standard beyond the finite. Or, as Wallace puts it, “eternity changes everything:”

 

TESTIMONIES: Jonathan Bernis Knows He Will Be Seeing His Brother Again

What do you do when you’ve been invited to a Bible study, but it’s pouring down rain outside and your only transportation is your motorcycle?

If you’re Jonathan Bernis, you get on the bike and for reasons that you don’t understand at the time, you ride through the downpour, arriving at your destination absolutely totally soaked to the bone. And your life is forever changed.

Now, with an intro like that, how can you not click on the video below and listen to the rest of one man’s amazing story?

Things Got Hilarious When This Atheist Encountered A Blessedly Blunt Christian

There are no short cuts to either thoughtful faith or reasoned non-belief. Comedian Jeff Allen shares how he learned that particular lesson on life’s spiritual journey:

 

PAUL SPOKE ON MARS HILL. HELP ME SPEAK ON CAPITOL HILL. BE A PRAYER PARTNER. IT’S TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK: Can God Create A Rock So Heavy Even He Can’t Lift It?

If the answer to the question in the headline above is “no,” then there is something God cannot do, which means He isn’t omnipotent and the biblical claim that “all things are possible” with Him is false.

But, as cross-examined.org’s Dr. Frank Turek explains in the following video in response to a student’s question, there is a logical fallacy lurking within that headlined question:

 

THINK ABOUT THIS: Friday’s Poached Egg

Then Jesus said:

“Your sins are forgiven.” — Luke 7:48

Photo by Melanie Sosa on Unsplash.

And C.S. Lewis said:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.” – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

STAFF NEWS: Look Who’s Movin’ On Up The Hill This Week

Courtesy of Legistorm:

Susan Fortnam takes on her first job on Capitol Hill as California Democrat Rep. Mike Levin’s new Scheduler. Her previous work included nearly five years of event planning and management with Nardello & Co., and Education Reimagined. She’s a 2013 graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BA in international and global studies.

Derek Judd (Screenshot from Facebook).

Also moving up this week is Derek Judd, from Military Legislative Assistant for Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI) to Legislative Director for Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-NY). Derek earned his BA in political science from Colgate University in 2014.

It’s a promotion from Staff Assistant to Legislative Correspondent for Caroline Briscoe, working for Rep. Van Taylor (R-Texas).  Caroline earned her BA in Government from the University of Texas this year.

Brandon DiVulvio is the new Legislative Aide to Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL). Brandon previously held various positions on Kelly’s staff, beginning as a Fellow in June 2018. He is a 2016 American University graduate with a BS in political science. Continue reading “STAFF NEWS: Look Who’s Movin’ On Up The Hill This Week”

‘We Are Not Closing Down This Church’ — California Pastor Warns Officials

Pastor Jack Trieber of North Valley Baptist Church in Santa Clara, California, is appealing to all Americans for aid in his congregation’s struggle to exercise their First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.

In an impassioned Facebook video, Trieber declared “we are not closing down this church” as a result of more than $52,000 in fines levied against the congregation by Santa Clara County officials, based on Covid guidelines issued by California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Trieber joins Grace Community Church of Los Angeles and Pastor John MacArthur in defying Newsom’s guidelines that bar indoor meetings in churches.

Grace, represented by the Thomas More Society, has won four court decisions but county officials’ most recent retaliation was cancellation without prior warning of a parking lot lease that had been in force without problems for 45 years.

With resistance to seemingly unreasonable Covid-related restrictions growing, especially among Christian congregations, the issue is certain to assume greater prominence on Capitol Hill when Congress returns after Labor Day:

Shouldn’t You Be Following HillFaith By Now???

MYTH BUSTERS: No, Jesus Was Not A Copycat Savior

It’s one of those objections that comes and goes in public discussions about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as opponents of the Gospels claim His disciples simply made Him up by borrowing from similar pagan gods with which they were familiar.

Uh, no, there’s scant evidence that any of those pagan deities were anywhere near sufficiently alike the Jesus of the Gospels to be suitable for such a fictional enterprise of creation. Cold-case Christianity’s J. Warner Wallace explains:

 

Churches Are Defending The First Amendment. Does Anybody In Congress Care?

HillFaith has from the first post in July 2018 been kept scrupulously non-partisan and will continue to be so as long as I have anything to say about it.

“There is no pandemic.” Pastor John MacArthur, Grace Community Church. Screenshot from youtube.

To paraphrase the New Testament, there is no Jew or Greek, no Slave or Free, no Rich or Poor, and no Democrat or Republican in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He frees all alike who recognize Him as their resurrected Savior.

But abuses by government are happening at all levels in this country that are officially justified by the Covid Pandemic, but which clearly have little or nothing to do with stopping the spread of a disease whose dangers it is becoming increasingly clear have been severely exaggerated. Continue reading “Churches Are Defending The First Amendment. Does Anybody In Congress Care?”

WORKING ON CAPITOL HILL: These Are The Top 10 Best, Worst Paying Offices For Staff

Senators traditionally pay their staffs somewhat more on average than House members, but the latest comprehensive salary data from Legistorm makes clear that is not necessarily always the case.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) pays the highest average staff salary in Congress.

Scan through the top 10 highest average staff salary offices and you find seven senators, two House members and one non-voting House member.

At the other end of the database, all 10 of the lowest-paying members are in the House. Continue reading “WORKING ON CAPITOL HILL: These Are The Top 10 Best, Worst Paying Offices For Staff”

MYTH BUSTERS: Why The Stolen Body Theory Fails

Critics of the Bible and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead three days after His death on a Roman cross of crucifixion have often tried to argue the stolen body theory.

No, critics argue, Jesus was not resurrected from the dead, His body was stolen, either by the disciples, who then made up the resurrection story to “prove” His pre-crucifixion predictions about His death were “true,” or perhaps by grave robbers, who hid the body and then disappeared, fearful of the consequences of being discovered.

Dr. Frank Turek of cross-examined.org addresses this claim in the following video and presents a compelling case for the impossibility of Jesus’ body being stolen. Disproving the stolen body theory doesn’t thereby prove the resurrection happened, but it removes one of the commonly asserted alternative explanations for the empty tomb:

Want More Information?

Check out the offer in the right sidebar of a free copy of “More Than A Carpenter,” the classic, concise and convincing analysis of the evidence by Josh and Sean McDowell.