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It's Saturday, December 30, 2023.

Today’s edition covers the arrest of a church elder in China, the physicality of the future resurrection, the ontological argument for God’s existence, and much more.

“The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge…” (Proverbs 15:14). For those who are seeking, here’s a bit of knowledge.

Of Christian Concern

HOUSE CHURCH ELDER ARRESTED IN CHINA AMIDST INCREASING CRACKDOWNS ON RELIGION

A December 2018 photo of house church elder Ding Zhongfu. (Ge Yunxia via AP)

Ding Zhongfu was arrested by in an early morning raid on his home in Anhui province of China last month while his 6-year-old daughter looked on, The Associated Press reports. The family of the house church elder claims that four others of the same church have also been detained, as part of a broad crackdown on religious liberties in China.

“Under the fabricated charge of ‘fraud,’ many Christians faced harsh persecution,” says Bob Fu, founder of ChinaAid, a Christian rights group seeking Ding’s release. In China, where Christian churches are only legal when registered with the state, the charge of fraud has been officials’ vehicle of choice for going after leaders of unregistered, informal “house churches.”

Starting in 2018, China’s paramount leader Xi Jinping initiated a campaign to “‘Sinicize’ all the nation’s officially allowed religions, from Islam to Christianity to Buddhism, by infusing them with ‘Chinese characteristics’ such as loyalty to the Communist Party.” House church members, however, “say that joining a state church means worshiping the supremacy of the government and Communist Party over God…”

Also Noteworthy

→ Teen sexual activity is decreasing in the United States, according to updated CDC data. For example, in 2015-2019, 38.7% of never-married male teenagers had ever had intercourse with a female. That’s down from 45.7% in 2002. More than that, according to commentator Michael J. New, “the percentage of teen boys who ever had sexual intercourse fell by more than 21 percentage points since 1988.”

→ A nativity scene featuring two mothers instead of Mary and Joseph was displayed this year at a Catholic Church in Italy. Vitaliano Della Sala, the priest of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the Avellino hamlet of Capocastello di Mercogliano, says, “I wanted to show with this scene that families are no longer just the traditional ones.” Della Sala, known for his LGBT sympathies, claims his views align with the Pope’s. More than 21,000 signers petitioned for the display’s removal.

→ Almost three in four American Christians deny that the Bible has influenced their opinions about Israel, according to a recent Lifeway Research survey. Only 27% say it influenced their opinion.

→ Pornhub’s parent company Aylo Holdings “admits to receiving proceeds of sex trafficking,” and has taken a deferred prosecution agreement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agreement includes a three-year monitor and payments to the government ($1.8M) and victims.

→ Nearly 200 Nigerians were massacred in a Christmas Eve attack of Christian villages in Plateau State. Plateau State Commissioner of Information and Communication Hon. Musa Ashoms has told communities to “take up arms as needed” and “defend themselves,” Persecution.org reports.

Content Catch-Up

Recent, notable content by Christian creators, or of Christian interest.*

→ The Bible Is Ignorant?: In a social media thread, Project 18:15 responds to a skeptic’s claim that the knowledge contained in the Bible is limited to one small geographical area—the implication being that the Bible is not divinely inspired. (Thread)

→ Jesus’ Burial Place: Israeli YouTubers Sergio & Rhoda visit and showcase The Garden Tomb, an attraction in Jerusalem built around what may be the actual burial site of Christ. (Video)

→ Avoid A Loud Woman: In a feather-rustling post viewed 113K times, Pastor Michael Foster of East River in Batavia, Ohio comments on Proverbs 7:11, cautioning against marrying a “loud” woman. (Post)

*Not necessarily an endorsement

The Bible, Briefly

The Physicality of the Future Resurrection

Photo: Brett Sayles

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23-24)

In this passage, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead—not “on the last day,” but immediately. Still, is Martha’s declaration true? Will believers be physically raised from the dead some time in the future?

“Yes,” Matt Perman says in an article for Desiring God, “our bodies will be raised not spiritually or ethereally, but physically and materially. …Scripture teaches this in many ways.” He outlines five:

1. The word “resurrection” implies physicality (Matt 22:30-31; Luke 14:14; 1 Cor 15:52; 1 Thess 4:16). Resurrection is physical by definition.

2. The way Christ’s resurrected body is, is how our resurrected body will be—He will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:20-21)—and His resurrected body is clearly physical (Matthew 28:9; John 20:27; Acts 10:41; 13:33-37). He even says, “a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).

3. We wait for the “redemption of our bodies,” not only of our souls (Romans 8:21-23).

4. Jesus says that, at the resurrection, “all who are in the tombs…will come forth” (John 5:28-29).

5. The Old Testament also refers to the resurrection as physical. For example, “many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake” (Daniel 12:2), and “Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-27).

So, yes, the Bible is clear that we will be resurrected physically. We won’t spend eternity as spirits floating around in the clouds, but as physical human beings—as we were created to be, and as Jesus Christ Himself is.

Church History Tidbit

Anselm’s Ontological Argument

A screenshot from a YouTube video explaining “The Ontological Argument.” (drcraigvideos / YouTube)

Last week we introduced the medieval theologian and philosopher Anselm of Canterbury, and highlighted his explanation of how Jesus’ death saves from sin. Another idea for which Anselm is famous is his “ontological argument for the existence of God.”

Basically, he argued that God must exist because God is “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived,” and a being that can be conceived and exists is greater than a being that can be conceived but does not exist. Therefore, since it’s possible to conceive of this being, it’s impossible that He doesn’t exist.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (IEP) explains that this argument was criticized by Anselm’s contemporary Guanilo for—as it’s sometimes summarized—“simply defin[ing] things into existence.” However, IEP observes, it’s not quite as simple as that, since other things one might try to define into existence may fail to meet the prerequisites that God does in order for Anselm’s argument to work.

There have been other criticisms and revisions of Anselm’s argument, down to a version set forth by Christian philosopher Alvin Platinga, called “the modal ontological argument.” You can you see this version of the argument explained visually and in layman’s terms in this 5 minute video.

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Why "18:15"? The name Project 18:15 is based on Proverbs 18:15: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” The aim is for this weekly email—a Christian news briefing, a Bible study, and a Church history lesson rolled into one—to be one way you keep abreast of current events and acquire knowledge you might not acquire elsewhere.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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