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From the early church to today, Christianity has been characterized by debate. Church councils, letters, books and 95 statements nailed to a church door are a few of the ways matters of religion and religious life have been bantered about. When I was in college, we took a coffee break after theology class, and we argued until the next class began. We didn’t solve the issues, but we did gain understanding by healthy discussion and debate.

Very few people deny that Jesus existed. We have historical verification from multiple sources that point to His first century presence. However, there is some disagreement about His nature and mission. Many will say He was a good man. In fact, people quote Jesus whenever it is to their advantage because He was a good man. Some will say He was a prophet—but no more than a prophet.

What is evil? What is wicked? By dictionary definition, evil means “morally bad or wrong.” The same source (Webster) defines wicked using the same terms but adds, “done with evil intent.” In a culture that has largely dismissed Biblical absolutes, who gets to define what is morally bad or wrong? And, if we can’t define it, how could we determine evil intent? It seems that most people will admit that evil exists, but we have a hard time agreeing about what “it” is without an objective source.

Remembering has a couple of problems. There are times when we remember and do not remember the whole story. Then there are times we remember, and we add too much darkness or too much on the bright side.

This weekend is Missions Weekend and ultimately missions is about good news. The nations are in need of good news. God loves the world and His one of a kind Son, Jesus Christ came to bring the nations “in.” Whoever believes in Him will not perish but will have a new and forever quality of life. This good news has been travelling the earth for close to 2,000 years and the message has not diminished or lost its luster in any way.