Paul Backholer
Articles by Paul Backholer
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DC’s Superman, Marvel and the Search for Christ, the Saviour
Have you observed that film executives have occupied cinemas with superhero movies for more than a decade? These movies reveal an unacknowledged spiritual longing for a Saviour, someone more powerful than us, who can save us from ourselves or others. It’s the outward manifestation of an inward need; a blurred reflection of the God-shaped hole portrayed in film.
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Climate Change Hypocrisy! The Poor will Suffer for the Rich
The green energy revolution is reforming the world and millions will suffer in dire poverty as a result. Billionaires in private jets have convinced politicians it is sinful for the poor to want affordable heat, food and travel. With energy prices soaring, the cost of food, energy and transport will become an impossible burden for the poorest in the world. Is this a price we should pay?
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The Danger of Fellowshipping with Thoughts of Failure
Your past is past, but the devil demands you live in it. He wants to focus your mind on everything which happened in your past that distressed you, especially your perceived failures. Satan wants to put your thought life in a loop. He will replay unpleasant memories and periods of shame from your history. This is called fellowshipping with failure.
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L.S. Lowry, Faith and Art
Lowry observed those with ragged clothes, worn shoes and dirty labouring faces. He saw the cruelty, laughter, darkness and beauty in working class lives. He painted the story of those forgotten by society: the mill workers, terraced streets and industrial towns. Raised in a Christian household, he went to Sunday School...
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Stock Market Crash – The Everything Bubble, Tulip Mania and the Second Great Depression
Money was unlimited, everyone was getting rich and valuations for investors always went up. The greatest asset of them all was the tulip and everyone was gambling with them. You could buy a tulip for the equivalent of a few dollars and sell it later for the price of a house! This was the Netherlands in the seventeenth century.
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Christianity, the Bible & Parliament: The Palace of Westminster
‘Except the Lord build the House, they labour in vain that build it.’ These words in Latin from Psalm 127:1 are inscribed in the stone floor of the Central Lobby, at the very heart of Britain’s Parliament. As part of my research for my books, I undertook an exploration of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. I found the Palace of Westminster to be full of Christian symbols and I will share a small part of the indagation. It was on this site the death knell for the slave trade was served and laws to protect working people and produce democracy were passed. The modern Palace of Westminster is…
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Christopher Nolan, Christianity, the Bible, Faith and Cinema
When film historians adjudicate the principal directors and screenwriters of our time, Christopher Nolan’s name will be in the top ten. Known for The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005–2012), Inception (2010), Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017) and Tenet (2020), amongst others, this filmmaker submits deep questions about the nature of the soul in blockbuster films.
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The Battle in Your Head, Guard Your Mind Against Enemy Attack
Your mind is like an airport. Thoughts are flying in from all directions and heading out. You may have a thought from a church meeting inside of you and suddenly off it goes, as an enemy thought lands. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to become our border force. He will teach us to send thoughts packing. He will remind us, “No entry,” for that thought. He will stop the negative, self-doubt, criticism, unbelief and backbiting thoughts from planting in our heart. The Holy Spirit is God in you. With your permission and obedience, He’ll send Satan’s thoughts out of your mind and prepare you for God’s thoughts to…
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Where was the Bible’s Red Sea? Where did Moses cross Yam-Suph?
The parting of the Red Sea is central to the Bible’s Exodus story, but no one has proved conclusively where the crossing took place. We know the starting point for the Exodus was the area of Ramesses, and one traditional idea is that the Hebrews headed south and crossed the tip of the presently named Red Sea...
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Satanic Lies and How to Defeat them in the Mind
Everything Satan says is a lie; this is why Jesus refused to get into a debate with the father of lies. The devil will never speak truth to you, only deception. We must not entertain Satan. We must not draw a chair to the table of our heart and engage him in open debate. There is nothing to talk about. In Christ, I am a child of God. I am blessed and I am a new creation in Christ.
