Mark Tapscott

OFFICE HOURS: Got Questions About Jesus? Or Life? Or Careers On The Hill? Let’s Talk

Check out my Office Hours schedule for this week in the sidebar to the right. If you have questions about Jesus, who described Himself as “the Way, the Truth and Life,” or how things are going in your life or anything else that puzzles you, then come on by.

No appointments necessary and the coffee is on me! Stay as long or as little as you wish. I’ve been in this town since 1976 and have learned some lessons — spiritually, politically and lots of other ways, trust me!— and just might have something of value in the way of insights to help in your search for answers to your questions.

And don’t worry, I’m not a preacher, I understand what Jesus was talking about when he discussed the plank in my own eye, and nothing surprises me. I’m interested in conversation, not confrontation.

Just look for the guy with a Mac Air displaying this cobbled-together logo (And yes, that’s Scotch tape. Hey, this is a low-budget operation!):

Here’s America’s 10 Most ‘Post-Christian’ Cities

Yesterday, it was a joint report from the Barna Group and AlphaUSA indicating the Millennial generation is more open to Christianity than the conventional wisdom holds. Today, Barna has the top 10 post-Christian cities in America.

Do you live in or near a post-Christian American city?

New Study Debunks Conventional Wisdom That Millennials Don’t Care About Spiritual Issues

It’s become something of a truism that the Millennials are far less interested in spiritual matters and thus much harder to talk to about things like what it means to be a “Born-Again” follower of Jesus Christ.

But a new study jointly conducted by the Barna Group and Alpha USA finds that while there is truth to Millennial resistance to some forms of Christian evangelism, there is much more to the issue.

Compared to older generations, Millennials, according to the Barna/Alpha study, “report many more faith conversations or even evangelistic encounters than older non-Christians. Though this could be partly due to the greater diversity that exists for young people among their family and friends, this isn’t the whole story. For at least some young adults, there appears to be deeper interest in spirituality in general, and in Christianity specifically.”

More on this to come here on HillFaith, but for now, check out the study and this accompanying graphic for a host of data-driven insights that ought to be a source of tremendous encouragement.

HARD FACTS: 10 Reasons Jesus Is The Most Influential Person In All Of Human History

Whatever your view of Jesus of Nazareth, there is little room to question the claim that He is the most influential individual in history, even though he lived a mere 33 years two millennia ago in a backwater region of the Roman Empire.

Australian blogger and pastor Kurt Mahlburg says that is why Jesus is so often co-opted for causes other than His gospel, noting on his blog:

“Let’s be honest: It’s all too easy to highjack Jesus and make Him the pin-up boy for our cause. Depending on your flavor, He’s the middle-class moralist, the enlightened guru, the hellfire preacher, the social justice warrior—and the list grows every year.

“The reason Jesus keeps getting a rebrand—the reason He simply refuses to go away—is that He is without question the most influential person in history.”

Continue reading “HARD FACTS: 10 Reasons Jesus Is The Most Influential Person In All Of Human History”

JOBS: Getting In The Door On Capitol Hill

By Bret Bernhardt

Securing a meeting with your prospective employer is an important step in the process of landing a job on Capitol Hill.

Bret Bernhardt, former chief of staff for senators Don Nickles and Jim DeMint.

Before we get into the mechanics, it’s important to recognize that looking for a job is one of the most stressful things you will do in your professional life. After all, you are trying to “sell” yourself. And what if they don’t like what you are selling?

You are confronted with the prospect of rejection, as well as acceptance, every time you are considered for a position. Dealing with this will be the topic for deeper discussion later but it’s important to keep this in mind now: Embrace the value God has given you while practicing confident humility.

Continue reading “JOBS: Getting In The Door On Capitol Hill”

THINK ABOUT THIS: Ever Wonder ‘Who Created God?’

The answer begins with understanding what it means to live outside of time

Astronomer Hugh Ross says the question of “who created God” is the query he is most often asked on social media. That’s understandable as every human being at one time or another likely has wondered the same thing.

Astronomer Hugh Ross. Screen shot from Reasons to Believe video.

“Every atheist scientist I’ve ever debated publicly has raised that issue,” Ross explains in a recent interview on Reasons to Believe. “There is a fallacy there. They are assuming that God is constrained in time like the universe is and all life in the universe.”

Ross notes that “any entity that is constrained to a single dimension of time, where time can’t be stopped or reversed, at some point must have a beginning or a creation event.”

Continue reading “THINK ABOUT THIS: Ever Wonder ‘Who Created God?’”

How A Young British Astronomer Proved Albert Einstein’s Theory Of Relativity

Yes, today is Memorial Day, but it’s also just two days short of the 100th anniversary of the proving of what has been termed the greatest scientific achievement by a single individual in the history of mankind.

Most famous equation in human history? Photo courtesy of Freerange.

That was when British Astronomer Arthur Eddington and two teams dispatched by the “Joint Permanent Eclipse Committee of the Royal Society and the Royal Astronomical Society of Britain to observe and record photographically the full solar eclipse scheduled to take place on May 29, 1919,” according to Professor of Political Science Emeritus Salim Mansur, writing today on American Thinker.

“At the time under Portuguese rule, Principe was selected as one of the two sites – the other was Sobral in the Brazilian Nordeste – from where the total solar eclipse and its full effect could be best observed. The expedition was proposed by Eddington, a rising star among British astronomers, to test Einstein’s general theory of relativity published in the middle of the Great War.”

All sorts of things happened — not the least of which was inclement weather — that could have left the mission a failure. But Eddington was able to overcome the obstacles and completed the photographic work required to test Einstein’s theory.

It’s a fascinating and significant story and one I suspect you will thoroughly enjoy reading on this holiday Monday.