Solipsism is the idea that only one's own mind is certain to exist.

Very few people are sincere solipsists. Instead, solipsism is generally used as an argumentation tool. For example, one might ask how another knows that something is true, to which a scoffing reply might be "How does anyone know that anything is true? The only thing we can know for sure is that we exist."

This line of reasoning is related to René Descartes' cogito ergo sum, that is "I think, therefore I am". While one can only be certain that they exist, one cannot be certain that anyone else exists.

While thinking about such things as whether solipsism is true might be entertaining, there is no real value to the point of view in daily life. We act as we must: presuming that the universe and other people exist outside of ourselves.

The doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most contested doctrines in Christianity. As you might imagine, any attempt to explain or describe God might be met with skepticism or disagreement or outright condemnation. This post is not an attempt at laying out a full explanation for the doctrine, which will come later. It's simply an effort to get the doctrine 'on the record'.

God is described in the Bible as the Father, as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit. At the same time, the Bible is abundantly clear that there is only ONE God. Each of the three "persons" is described as having relationship (interacting) with one another, and as being present before, and taking part in, creation.

Because of this, the doctrine of the Trinity can be explained "simply" in this way:

• The Father is God.
• The Son (Jesus) is God.
• The Holy Spirit is God.
• The Father is not the Son, nor the Spirit.
• The Son is not the Father, nor the Spirit.
• The Spirit is not the Father, nor the Son.
• There is only one God.

Clear as mud, right? While analogies abound in our attempts at explaining how this can be so, we have no natural analogues for this kind of three-in-one relationship. We have only the Bible to help us understand, and the Bible doesn't usually lay out such things precisely. Suffice it to say that if anyone denies that one of the above items is true, their theological understanding of God would be considered both unbiblical and unorthodox.

A GodWords reader asks:

Did Jesus ever get sick?

The Bible doesn't record Jesus being sick, and it doesn't say that He never got sick...so we don't really know.

Some presume that He never got sick because He is God, but they forget or ignore that He is also fully human. He grew in wisdom and stature, got hungry, got tired, got frustrated, felt pain...so there's no reason to assume that He never got sick. Hebrews 2:17 says that "He had to be made like His brothers in every way".

Some have suggested that Jesus simply healed Himself whenever He started getting sick. That doesn't seem to be a good answer, because Jesus says over and over in John that He did nothing on His own...it was His Father who was doing His work" through Jesus. The Father could have kept Jesus from getting sick, but we have no evidence that He did or did not.

So: the answer to your question is "I don't know"...but - from what I can tell - it's also "Probably".

A GodWords reader asks:

Was the book of Revelation written for 1st century Christians, or for Christians today?

That's a great question. A lot of books have been written in the past few decades that pretend to have all of the answers, but people are still confused. I think there's a good reason for this confusion, and believe that we should read the Bible for ourselves instead of simply following one specific person or one particular viewpoint.

When you read Revelation, you will see that it was written first to specific people:

Chapter 1
"...to His bond-servants"
"...to the seven churches that are in Asia"

Clearly, Revelation was written FIRST to them. Those people really existed, and the cities where seven churches were can be seen on this Wikipedia map. John didn't write Revelation to some future generation of strangers, he wrote it to people he knew in places he'd been. However: not all of the events foretold in Revelation have happened yet. We've not yet arrived at Judgment Day, so Christians today can - and should - read Revelation to see what will happen.

There's some debate over which events have already occurred which is, I'm guessing, the reason for your question. Some believe that it's all been done. Those people are known as Preterists. Others believe that some of it has happened already, but not all. Those people are known as Partial Preterists, and you can read some general info on Wikipedia. I'm a Partial Preterist. I believe that some of the events of Revelation have already occurred, and that some are still in the future. I don't pretend to have all of the answers, of course...and you should run away from anyone who pretends they do. Here are a few reasons that I'm a Partial Preterist:

• John wrote to people who were alive at that time, warning them of the persecution THEY would endure. Since they're all dead now, I think it's safe to assume that John was right and that that persecution actually happened to them.
• I don't remember reading about a time in history when there was suddenly no pain, or tears, or death. That part must be future.
• Revelation tells of a great persecution lasting seven years. Interestingly, there was a seven-year war around that time, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the Jews were scattered around the world. You can read a little about the Roman-Jewish Wars on Wikipedia. When Jesus was asked about 'the end', He talked about the temple being destroyed...and told those listening that it would happen to them. The Jewish temple was destroyed in 70AD, as Jesus predicted. Seems like more than a coincidence to me.

As I said, I don't have all of the answers. I do know, however, that many of the people who are confused about Revelation have never really read it for themselves. I'd like to encourage you to go for it...you might learn a ton, as I did. Remember, though: it's just ONE book, and not at all the most important one. Christians are to be disciples of Jesus, so our FIRST responsibility is to know what Jesus did and what He taught.