Jim Leffel

Everyone has a set of beliefs. In this essay, we will discuss the concept of "basic beliefs," and describe the basic belief systems that shape contemporary ideologies.

Jim Leffel

I am convinced that as the social and ideological landscape changes, the way Christians approach evangelism in the university is in need of change. All too often, we continue taking the same approach that we did two or three decades ago--only to a new generation that no longer accepts many of our key assumptions. Here's one measure of what I mean: Twenty years ago when I was an undergraduate philosophy major, Christianity was largely rejected because it was thought to be "unscientific" and consequently untrue. But today Christianity is widely rejected, not because it was carefully examined and found wanting, but merely because it claims to be true.

James M. Rochford

Cult groups have spread rapidly across the United States in recent years. Secular author Margaret Thaler Singer estimates that in the last two decades roughly 20 million Americans have been involved in a cult.1 Christian cult expert Ron Rhodes concurs with this estimate, claiming that this has been a 3,000 percent increase over the last 150 years.2 Rhodes writes, “It is for good reason that every book in the New Testament except Philemon has something to say about false teachers, false prophets, false gospels, or heresies.”3 While cults have certainly proliferated over the last century, many have had difficulty clearly defining what they mean when they use the term cult. Atheistic critics have grouped all religious groups together.