Resources by Daniel McCoy:
Prayer of Repentance: Learning U-Turns from Nehemiah
What’s a prayer of repentance? In the Bible, “repentance” means a change in mind and behavior so that we go from doing whatever we feel like to living for God and doing what he says. So, a prayer of repentance is a prayer admitting that we have made wrong decisions and done wrong actions and...
Daniel McCoy
Singleness in the Bible: A Q&A with Pieter Valk Exploring the Gift of Singleness
Is the theme of singleness in the Bible? While we find romance and marriage celebrated in the Bible (e.g., Song of Solomon), we also find lifelong singleness described as a gift and calling from God for some Christians. What are we to make of the fact that both Jesus and Paul, themselves single, celebrated the...
Daniel McCoy
Who Was Caleb in the Bible? Spy, Soldier, and Settler
Who was Caleb in the Bible? Caleb is best known as one of the 12 spies sent by Moses on a reconnaissance tour of the land of Canaan. The reason we know Caleb’s name (and not the others such as Igal, Palti, or Sethur) is that Caleb, along with Joshua, dissented from the other ten...
Daniel McCoy
Messianic Secret: Why Did Jesus Quiet People Down About Him?
In what has been called the “Messianic Secret,” Jesus told both demons and people not to tell what they knew about him. Sometimes it was during an exorcism, after a healing, or even after his disciples recognized that he was the Messiah. Why did Jesus want to keep people quiet? Did Jesus want people to...
Daniel McCoy
Will a Heated Election Melt Your Church?
Church bells have been used throughout church history for various reasons. Church bells have been rung to announce times of prayer, begin church services, mark the hours in a day, and even to announce momentous events for the community. Church bells have been used to announce a person’s death and to encourage people to pray...
Daniel McCoy
Who Was Joshua in the Bible? 10 Leadership Habits from the Life of Joshua
Who was Joshua in the Bible? Joshua was a national leader and military commander in ancient Israel. As Moses’ aide and successor, Joshua finished what God started through Moses: leading the liberated Israelites to settle in the Canaanite land God had promised them. Although a book in the Bible is named after him, Joshua shows...
Daniel McCoy
What Is New Age Spirituality? The Basics of New Age Spirituality in 10 Questions, 10 Terms, and 10 Quotes
What is New Age Spirituality? New Age Spirituality is a movement which brings together monism (all is one) and pantheism (all is good) with Eastern spiritual techniques. The idea is that, if we can overcome ignorance of our true nature and dissolve our separateness from each other and from god, we can attain higher consciousness...
Daniel McCoy
What Is Unitarian Universalism? The Basics of Unitarian Universalism in 10 Questions, 10 Definitions, and 10 Quotes
What are the basics of Unitarian Universalism? UU is historically a merger of two beliefs. First, Unitarianism: God is absolutely one (there is no Trinity). Second, Universalism: everyone will be saved in the end. These two beliefs assume some basic elements of the Christian worldview (God’s existence, salvation, eternity) which today’s UU does not necessarily...
Daniel McCoy
Who Was Samuel in the Bible? Meet Your Instructor in Resisting Cynicism.
Who was Samuel in the Bible? Samuel was a prophet in ancient Israel who served as the hinge between the time of the judges and reign of the kings. He stabilized the nation after a period of national chaos and religious corruption. He led his nation for many years as judge and prophetic compass. Even...
Daniel McCoy
Philosophy Questions: What Is Christian Philosophy?
What is Christian philosophy? As the “love of wisdom,” philosophy is thinking hard about life’s biggest questions of what’s real, true, and good. Christian philosophy is thinking hard about life’s biggest questions from a Christian perspective. Some of the greatest Christian philosophers throughout history include the medieval thinkers Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. Christians conversing with...
Daniel McCoy
Christ the Victor: How Did Jesus Beat Our Worst Enemies?
One of Jesus’ titles throughout history is “Christ the Victor.” This title describes how Jesus is victorious over his enemies. But if Jesus is the victor over his enemies, why is there still so much suffering and death in this world? In this excerpt from Real Life Theology Handbook, we explore how Jesus became victorious...
What Are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? The Basics of the JW’s in 10 Questions, 10 Definitions, and 10 Quotes
What are the basics of the Jehovah’s Witnesses? Jehovah’s Witnesses began with a young man named Charles Taze Russell who was disillusioned by the creeds of Christianity. He founded a Bible study group (the “Watchtower Bible and Tract Society”) with the group eventually becoming known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, based on what they believed to...
Daniel McCoy
Real Life Theology Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Your Life on What’s True
A SOUL-SEARCHING, GOD-CENTERED TRAINING IN WHAT’S TRUE Knowing a few Bible stories and having a few inspiring spiritual experiences won’t sustain your faith journey through an unpredictable life. Such a journey calls for serious training. This handbook takes Renew.org’s Real Life Theology series…
Jesus Heals a Leper (and Trades Places with Him)
In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus heals a leper. Although Jesus was notorious for defying social boundaries, the way he healed the leper was unthinkable: he reached out and touched him. In that context, people would never purposefully make contact with such a contagious and stigmatized condition. In so doing, Jesus didn’t catch the disease, yet he...
Daniel McCoy
Philosophy Questions: Who/What Is God?
Who/what is God? Although there have been prominent atheistic philosophers throughout history, many philosophers have speculated that there must be a deity of some kind. For some, god is in eternal process of growth (process philosophy), or is an “unmoved mover,” is synonymous with the universe, or is the one who took the already-existing material...
Daniel McCoy
Who Was Nicodemus in the Bible? An Introduction to the Gospels’ Longest Fence-Sitter
Who was Nicodemus in the Bible? Nicodemus was an esteemed rabbi who had a favorable view of Jesus, but who kept his admiration of Jesus a secret. We meet him three times in the Gospel of John, most prominently in a dialogue with Jesus (which provides the context for the famed John 3:16 verse). Nicodemus’s...
Daniel McCoy