Tim Challies

I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

Tim Challies — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 05:02:00 +0000

I regret to inform you, dear reader, that heaven tourism is back. The genre possibly never went away entirely, but it did at least disappear from the bestseller lists for several years. Sadly, it has returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven, which was one of the bestselling Christian books last month and even made its way to the New York Times list of bestsellers—a feat most authors can only dream of. Out of sheer magnanimity (and perhaps a morbid sense of curiosity), I read it so you don’t have to.

Before I tell you what it’s all about, here’s a brief history of heaven tourism. Don Piper kicked off the genre in 2004 with 90 Minutes in Heaven, and it proved a surprise hit that quickly dominated the sales charts, eventually tallying upwards of 8 million copies sold. Todd Burpo’s Heaven Is for Real followed in 2010 with over 10 million copies sold. That same year brought Kevin and Alex Malarkey’s The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, which sold more than a million copies before Alex recanted his story and the publisher pulled it. The genre went on to deliver many more heaven books and a handful of less-popular hell books like Bill Wiese’s 23 Minutes in Hell, though none ever reached the same heights as the first few—no pun intended. My contribution to the genre was little more than reviewing several of the books and coining the snarky phrase “heaven tourism,” which, much to my delight, soon caught on.

The genre inevitably ran its course, but has now returned in Gabe Poirot’s 18 Days in Heaven: I Left My Body. I Met Jesus. What He Told Me Will Alter Your Eternity. Sadly, but not surprisingly, it is just as bad as its predecessors, mixing truth with errors and documented facts with spurious speculations until it is as confusing and unreliable as any of them.

18 Days in Heaven follows the standard pattern by beginning with an account of a terrible accident—in this case, a head injury that resulted from a skateboarding mishap. Poirot, a young evangelist with a sizable YouTube following, was rendered comatose and remained hovering between life and death for 18 days. But while his body was inert, his soul was transported to heaven, where it experienced heavenly wonders, not the least of which was spending time with Jesus.

What did he see and experience there? Many things, of course, some of which he is able to describe and many of which he insists he cannot, either because God told him not to or because they defy description.

What can he describe? Jesus’s eyes, in which “I saw all the colors that had ever existed or could exist, all in one. He was the deepest ocean of liquid love that had no end. A spectrum of intensity that only increased the longer I stared. His eyebrows, hair, jawline, arms, chest, heart, stature, ears, forehead, eyelashes, teeth, mouth, skin, and complexion all said the same thing: I love you, I love you, I love you.”

He describes Jesus’s scars which “were like an ocean that had no floor,” and had the name “Gabriel” written immediately above them. He learned from them that Jesus has completely and eternally forgotten his sins so that he could no longer remember them even if he wanted to.

He smelled Jesus and observed that his “fragrance wasn’t like the humidity of the Florida Everglades. No, this was something eternal—an everlasting fountain of fire, not just surrounding me but burning into me. Wrapping around me like a robe, like a living garment of pure, unending presence. It felt burning hot and freezing cold at the same time.”

He heard Jesus say many words and noted that his “words were not just a separate entity that He ‘released.’ They were like the sharpest spears that went right into the core of my very being. But these spears were not separate from Him—they were Him.”

Poirot even saw his own conception: “The light from Father God united with the earthly seed from my father and the egg of my mother in that moment, and I began my existence on earth. I was not born just on earth. I was born from the heart of the Father. As a spirit, I came from the Father of spirits.”

And so it goes, through 30 chaotic but blessedly short chapters.

You might be tempted to think that 18 days in heaven would provide a man with profound and original insights into the nature of God and man. He might return with fresh theological knowledge or deep revelations about God’s purposes in this world or his acts throughout history. But you would be mistaken, for Poirot offers nothing of the sort.

For example, one of the great theological questions concerns the presence of evil in this world despite God having the ability to stop it. What did Poirot learn about this? He learned that God took a great risk by giving humanity complete free will and leaving them to their own devices, even forgoing his sovereignty over human affairs.

This was why it was so risky for Love to create these creatures who could be just like Him—because they would have the full ability to choose to never be with Him ever again. This free will was so powerful, in fact, that He set a boundary at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a safeguard against our own downfall. While I was in heaven, I encountered the Jesus who desired relationship above all else.

When you understand this, you will know how such evil and horrible things have happened on the earth. It has nothing to do with God’s will—it results from our disobedience and choices to rebel against Love Himself. God is only good and is not responsible for anything evil or broken. God is not in control or causing everything that occurs on the earth. He is a gentleman. That is the Jesus I met.

Theologians have wondered why God created humanity in the first place. Poirot learned it is because God had a relational lack that only humanity could fill.

You must understand just how special you are to the Father. When He decided to create you, He had already created many creatures and planets. He had the wealth and possessions beyond measure, but there was a lack that He desired to fill: Fellowship. Family. He didn’t just want another “servant,” He wanted a son, a daughter. He didn’t just want to speak to someone. He wanted someone He could speak with.

He even learned that God the Father himself formerly ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

Father God could not just brush off the fact that Adam and Eve ate from the tree. That was the tree that He would eat from when He would walk and talk and fellowship with them. That was their intimate, special, central place where they fellowshipped together. It was a great and holy place where God would eat from the tree and they would watch and learn of Him, while trusting Him enough to let Him eat, while not eating from it themselves. It was their tithe to God, the only part of the Garden that they could keep and honor solely as the Lord’s. While the entire Garden was amazing, that tree was there as a reminder to keep the center the center and never forget that it was the Lord who had brought them to where they were.

He also learned that humanity has been given seven senses, not five, because “in heaven, all my senses came alive, and I saw this gem from His perspective. God has evenly sprinkled many gems throughout the earth, giving everyone an opportunity to know Him and find Him. The number 7 throughout the Bible means ‘to be full’ or ‘complete.’ … When anyone wakes up to the truth, they will walk in complete soundness and full rest. All seven of their senses will be alive. When I was in heaven, my seven senses were multiplied, and it seemed everything came alive and had such depth, containing so many layers and dimensions. All my senses were complete in Him. My awareness mirrored His. I thought His thoughts and heard His words even before they were spoken.”

Some of this is speculative (e.g., seven senses), and some of it is just plain wrong (e.g., complete free will; God the Father eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; God being relationally incomplete without humanity).

To give credit where credit is due, Poirot does push his readers to turn to the Lord in repentance and faith and insists that salvation can be had only by grace through faith. He quotes huge portions of Scripture, though they are huge enough and often out of context enough that a reader might wonder if he needed to pad his page count. Still, it means there is a substantial core of Scripture in the book. He concludes by instructing the reader to weigh everything against the Bible, “which alone is God’s perfect and final authority.”

But he may regret that, since the book falls far short of Scripture. In fact, it fails every one of the standard heaven tourism tests. It depends upon an unverifiable experience that the Bible never holds up as expected or normative—an experience that could possibly be genuine, but could as easily be hallucinated or fabricated. It depends upon a false authority in which he claims that the reader ought to heed his words because God told him to write them down. Then, even while he insists that Scripture is God’s perfect and final revelation, he does not insist that Scripture is God’s sufficient revelation. Hence, while his account describes a kind of “second blessing” of purpose and sanctification he received by being in God’s unmediated presence in heaven, it offers the reader no means to achieve that, short of a near-death experience. Speaking of which, despite this book and every other entry in the genre depending upon a comparison to Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians 12, there is no indication that Paul’s experience was related to an accident or injury. It was an experience of sorts, but not a near-death experience. This book is as messy and wrong as every other heaven tourism book.

It is worth pointing out that Poirot’s publisher is Harrison House. There are some publishers that can hardly publish a bad book and some that can hardly publish a good one. Nori Media Group, whose imprints include Harrison House and Destiny Image, falls squarely in the latter category. 18 Days in Heaven is published alongside other works like The Seer’s Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions that Activate and Engage Your Spiritual Senses, Your Language from Heaven: The Life-Changing Power of Praying in Tongues, and Accessing the Realms of Heaven: Prayer, Authority, and the Hidden Order of the Unseen World. Not surprisingly, then, Poirot’s book is influenced by charismatic and Word of Faith theology and, toward the end, begins to outright advocate it. I’m not convinced there is a single book in the entire Nori Media Group that I could recommend, and that includes 18 Days in Heaven.

The reader will finish this book asking the same question that needs to be asked at the end of every book in the genre: Is the author’s experience genuine? But I don’t feel the need to adjudicate that, because it makes no difference to me. If God’s Word is inerrant and authoritative and sufficient, I have no need for books like this and no need to learn from them. Whether he is outright lying or thinks he is telling the truth, there is no reason to read this book, for there is no benefit to be gained from it.

A La Carte (November 6)

Tim Challies — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Good morning. I’ve got A La Carte and a regretful book review for you today. Over the weekend you’ll find Saturday’s Weekend A La Carte plus Sunday’s Works & Wonders, which shares content that is just right for a Sunday morning. I hope you enjoy reading it all as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals are headlined by Joel Beeke’s A Radical, Comprehensive Call to Holiness. You may also be interested in a book about women who overcame a difficult past or a biography written for a younger audience.

Reviews

I like to share the occasional reminder that it is tremendously helpful to authors if you post even brief reviews of their books at Amazon. On that note, it would mean a lot to me (if you’d read one of my books) if you would do that very thing. Perhaps it would be one of these:

Flashback

What the Mightiest Man Could Never Do. Like a little child, we can take his hand and he will gladly be drawn down, he will joyfully stoop to hear us, to lovingly tend to us.

Supportive partnership begins with accepting God’s sovereignty in pairing you and your spouse-weakness and all.
—Justin Smith

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A La Carte (November 5)

Tim Challies — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 05:01:00 +0000

May the Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a couple of Christmas devotionals, a Greg Koukl classic, and Seth Lewis’s Dream Small, among others.

In case it’s of interest, Audible continues to offer a great deal—three months of service plus a $20 bonus for $0.99/month. You can unsubscribe at any time.

What I’m Enjoying

Every week I ask the readers of this site to tell me what they are enjoying and, therefore, what they recommend to others. Sometimes I like to give my own perspective on it.

A Retraction. First, though, a retraction. Some time ago I said that I was enjoying the new Siri AI features in the beta versions of macOS and iPadOS. Now that they have both fully launched, I retract that. It is awful compared to any of the major AI apps out there like Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini. It’s slow (especially on Apple Watch), it is poor at capturing voice-to-text and even worse at understanding and punctuating it, and it lacks key features. Apple is lagging far behind in this area, and it’s bad enough that I’m thinking of going back to the older Siri.

Going Phone-Free. I recently wrote about why I pretty much stopped carrying a phone with me unless I’m traveling far from home. As much as I love the look of new products like the iPhone Duo or iPhone 18 Pro, it’s nice to not have to concern myself with buying them. It saves some good money, too. So if it’s possible in your life, I recommend trying it.

Colorado. I have been to most of the U.S. states by now, and one I always especially enjoy is Colorado. I had meetings last week near Steamboat Springs and I enjoyed both the town and the countryside around it. I’ll visit Colorado just about any time!

Flashback

Why You Can Confidently Pray for the Most Hardened Sinner You Know. We were in the same state as the person we are praying for. We were every bit as lost and helpless until God broke through and saved us. And if he saved us, surely he can save them.

Those who are born twice die once. Those who are born once die twice.
—Joe Holland

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A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

Tim Challies — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 05:02:00 +0000

Netflix appears to have fallen on hard times. The company’s co-CEOs recently announced they would be laying off around 1,000 employees, the deepest round of cuts in years. A day later, the chief content officer made a sudden exit and was immediately replaced. Just a week after that, the market responded unfavorably to Netflix’s Q3 results, causing the stock to drop sharply.

There are many reasons for Netflix’s woes, not the least of which are increasingly heavy competition for viewers and its failure to land marquee shows—the kind of shows that convince people to maintain their subscription instead of canceling it in favor of Disney+, Prime Video, or one of the many other options. While there’s little doubt that Netflix will make it through this challenge, it may never regain the market dominance it once held.

I have a daring suggestion for Netflix that I’d like to think could help it: make more shows that are clean and suitable for family viewing. To frame it another way, stop putting sex, nudity, and harsh profanity in nearly every show. There are many potential subscribers who are eager to be entertained, but not by shows they deem unsuitable or inappropriate. I’ll grant that Netflix has viewing data that probably shows its TV-MA content is especially popular, but data can only count the people who watched a show, not the ones who never pressed play in the first place. It’s also can’t tell whether the sex and swearing are essential to those who watch it, or whether they’d watch it even if it was much cleaner.

Perhaps you could think about it this way: a single explicit sex scene in a series is unlikely to gain more viewers than it will lose. What I mean is that a content warning on IMDb or Common Sense Media stating that a show contains an explicit sex scene is enough for me and many others to skip that entire show. But I very much doubt the opposite is true—that a person will learn that there is no sex scene and decide to skip it on that basis. Some of us simply have no interest in viewing such things and will guard both ourselves and our families from seeing them.

For those who don’t believe me, I’m sure I can put them in touch with a thousand people who will affirm what I’m saying. I am convinced there is a deep desire for shows and movies we can watch without cringing, without feeling violated, and without knowing we are watching what we consider not only unsuitable but immoral. It’s not that we’re prudes or opposed to sex—we’re all for it. It’s that we think sex and nudity are for private contexts, not public ones, and that some matters are to be kept between a husband and wife rather than displayed for all the world to see. Sex is so good and powerful that making it public diminishes it rather than elevates it, which means we deliberately avoid shows and movies that feature it.

I would say something similar about language. Does a show need to drop hundreds of F-bombs across just a few hours of runtime? Does it need to constantly use the name of God as a swear word? It doesn’t need any of this. Once again, is it more likely that people will not watch shows unless they are profane, or that they will avoid them if they are? I think the answer is obvious: many more people will be driven away by swearing than drawn by it.

If I had to offer one more piece of advice, it would be to stop tampering with beloved intellectual properties to make them consistent with modern sensibilities. Why not just make adaptations that are faithful to the vision of the original creators and let us deal with the differences between their context and today’s? Have the courage to let the stories stand on their own without inserting modern messaging. I strongly believe this would do more to provoke good thinking and spur important conversations. There’s no need to be so heavy-handed.

To summarize, I think Netflix has been going about this all wrong and has been creating content that alienates an eager audience rather than drawing it in. So Netflix, why not try this: Create original shows and movies that are free of sex, nudity, and foul language. Create adaptations of classic intellectual properties that are similarly free of sex, nudity, and foul language and that remain consistent with the vision of the men and women who first imagined them. Make shows that are pleasant, that are entertaining, and that can be enjoyed by those who exercise caution about the scenes they see and the words they hear. I’m convinced you’ll find there’s an audience that will eagerly subscribe to your service and gladly view your shows.

A La Carte (November 4)

Tim Challies — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Good morning. The God of peace be with you today.

Sales & Deals

Some of today’s noteworthy Kindle deals include Al Mohler’s reader-friendly commentary on Hebrews, Julie Lowe’s guide to safeguarding our homes, and Marty Machowski’s family Christian devotional.

Headlines

Here are just a couple of interesting headlines from Christian news outlets.

Christianity Today reports that Churches Face a Shortage of Worship Leaders. “A growing shortage of worship leaders has researchers, educators, and pastors wondering if it’s time to rethink music ministry recruitment and preparation.” Maybe some churches will ask whether they actually need a worship leader, since I have often wondered whether it’s a necessity for many of them.

Across the pond, Evangelical Times considers the government’s proposal to ban conversion therapy and says Secular Press Wakes Up to the Danger of Labour’s Plan to Criminalise Conversion. “For months, indeed for years, Christians and others concerned about freedom of speech have warned that the government’s proposed ban on so-called conversion practices could criminalise ordinary conversations, parental responsibilities and the everyday ministry of churches. Those warnings have too often been dismissed as scaremongering. Now, however, some of Britain’s leading newspapers are beginning to recognise the danger.”

Flashback

Why It Matters that We Call the Final Book of the Bible Revelation, not Revelations. The book of Revelation is in fact The Revelation of Jesus Christ. What follows that opening word is a single and definitive revelation, not a series of them.

You may not be able to leave your children a great inheritance, but day by day you may be weaving coats for them which they will wear through all eternity.
—Theodore Cuyler

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This Week in Christian Books (November 3, 2026)

Tim Challies — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 05:02:00 +0000

Tuesday is the day most Christian publishers release their new books, so each week I let you know what has just come our way from the publishers I follow most closely. This week brings Andrew Walker’s diagnosis of our prodigal culture, a graphic-novel edition of The Pilgrim’s Progress, and Samuel James’s Scroll Less, Live More. On the academic side, you will find reference works and commentaries. You may also want to consider Trevin Wax’s liturgy for daily prayer. For each book, I’ve included the publisher’s description and its list of endorsers.

Books for Everyone

Crossway

Prodigal Culture

A People in Ruins and the Way Back Home

Andrew T. Walker

Endorsed by: R. Albert Mohler Jr., Carl R. Trueman, Allie Beth Stuckey, Seth Dillon, and Kristen Waggoner

Publisher’s description

A La Carte (November 3)

Tim Challies — Tue, 03 Nov 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Grace and peace to you, my friends. I’ve got a list of great links for you to consider reading today, then a brief look at some of this week’s new Christian books (plus a link to discover many more).

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals are excellent! Concise Reformed Dogmatics is a great deal, since the list price is $40. Also consider Nancy Guthrie’s devotional resource to help you pray for your children. The Discipline of Grace is one of my all-time favorite books.

Over at Westminster Books, you can get the best pricing on Dissecting the Heart, a book that “brings some of David Powlison’s best insights to a new generation that is struggling to deal with its relationship to secular psychology and spiritual formation.”

New Book Releases

New Christian books tend to release on Tuesdays. Here are just a few of the books that have become available today. For a more thorough list—and there are far more than I have listed here—visit This Week in Christian Books.

Get to Work: Seeing Your Daily Grind as God’s Good Gift by Jonny Ardavanis. “Learn to avoid both passivity and burnout by discovering God’s glorious design for work—and how to labor, rest, and steward your time in ways that glorify God and maximize your joy.”
Pilgrim’s Progress: The Graphic Novel by Jeremy Patenaude. “This graphic novel, saturated with bold and expressive artwork, visually tells Bunyan’s well-loved story to a brand-new generation of readers. Adapted with the utmost care, this condensed edition retains the same rich and timeless language consistent with the original work.”
The Lord Is My Light by Trevin Wax. “The Lord Is My Light invites you to anchor every day in the steady rhythm of prayer and Bible reading. Each daily liturgy arranges passages of God’s Word to highlight the themes and connections within Scripture, and then surrounds them with confessions and prayers voiced by believers across the centuries.”
Scroll Less, Live More: 10 Healthy Tech Habits for Teens by Samuel James. “Scroll Less, Live More offers teens and families 10 practical habits for navigating the world of technology from a Christian perspective.”

Flashback

Do You Have the Faith to be Faithful? Fill yourself with the Word. Be a man or woman of the Word. Devote yourself to Scripture. As you do this, your faith will grow, and as your faith grows, so too will your faithfulness.

It is not great talents that God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.
—Robert Murray M’Cheyne

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The Beauty of the Law

Tim Challies — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:01:00 +0000

This week, the blog is sponsored by Zondervan. This article is taken from The Jesus Bible, from Passion Publishing and Zondervan.

The Lord called Joshua to be strong and courageous as Joshua replaced Moses as Israel’s leader and led the people into the promised land. This calling was based on his obedience and submission to the Word of God. As the Creator, God knows how life is meant to be lived and the way for people to experience life to the full ( Jn 10:10). The gift of the law was a gracious act of God to instruct his people in his ways. It was never intended to be a moralistic plan to earn God’s favor. Rather, the law was given to those who had already experienced God’s redeeming grace. In the law, God provided instructions for how his children can love him and other people. This law is not a collection of arbitrary dictates from a malevolent deity, but instead it is the wisdom of God distilled in human language. It is a path to joy and life — the way people were meant to live.

The Bible continually portrays the law of God in this fashion. For example, in the longest psalm in the Bible, Psalm 119, the author says that he loves, treasures, delights in and longs for the law. It is a source of hope, peace, joy and direction. In Psalm 19, the psalmist says the law refreshes the soul, makes wise the simple, gives joy to the heart and gives light to the eyes (Ps 19:7 – 8). The law is a beautiful gift from a gracious God.

Jesus testified to the lasting value of the law when he said that he did not come to abolish the law (Mt 5:17). Instead, Jesus amplified the law, explaining the transformation that should result as a proper response to his work. In his masterful Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through 7, Jesus called people to a far greater standard of obedience than mere conformity to external regulations. Instead of simply condemning murder, Jesus unmasked the anger that fueled this act. Adultery is not the prime culprit, but lust rooted in the human heart is the real problem. Jesus methodically outlined the heart-level change that the law relied upon. Rather than rendering the law obsolete, Jesus showed that the law continued to provide an authoritative standard and guidance for God’s people. Now, because of the finished work of Christ, believers have hope that the price for their disobedience of the law has been paid and that they have God’s Spirit dwelling within them, providing them the power to live the life God intends.

Tips for Resolving Conflict in Marriage

Tim Challies — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:02:00 +0000

It is inevitable that lives lived in deep intimacy will generate conflict. We wish this weren’t so, but sadly, it is. Therefore, wise couples learn to anticipate conflict and learn to resolve it well. I was recently asked to provide some thoughts on conflict resolution, and thought I’d share what I came up with.

Yet as I have sat with couples and tried to help them work through various issues, it has shocked me to find how many have never learned to settle conflict well. Many set habits and patterns in their early years that become hard to break or overcome. I have met with couples who have only ever tried to resolve conflict by raising their voices, and with others who have only ever tried to resolve it by going silent. I have met with some who have only ever relied on text messaging instead of speaking face to face, and with others who have long since given up and don’t even bother trying anymore. Much of this stems from their first years and their failure to get well grounded in conflict resolution. To that end, here are a few suggestions on resolving conflict well.

First, borrowing from Robert Murray M’Cheyne, follow this pattern: For every one look at your spouse’s sin, take ten at your own. It’s easy enough to become an expert in the way your spouse sins against you, but it’s far more important to become an expert in the ways you sin against your spouse. It concerns me when I see someone who seems adamantly committed to his spouse’s holiness but seemingly not very interested in his own. Your first calling before the Lord is to deal with your own sin so you can put it to death and come alive to righteousness.

Second, invite your spouse to identify your sin. Because of the sheer quantity of the time and intimacy you share, you will inevitably sin against your spouse more than you will sin against anyone else. Not only that, but married life lets your spouse see the kinds of sins that no one else will. Only he or she sees how you sin in the bedroom, for example, or when you’re running late and nobody else is around. What’s more, your spouse sees deeper into your soul than anyone else and, therefore, knows more about you. In a healthy marriage, if you are truly committed to holiness, it only makes sense that you will ask your spouse to speak into your life. It is wise to provide a safe setting to do this where you won’t be a baby or a bully, and won’t sulk or lash out. Set aside some time, tell your spouse that you’d like to hear what sins you are committing, then listen patiently and calmly, without showing anger or being defensive. Having done that, go away, think about it, pray about it, and don’t respond until a day later. This could be a great means of grace in your life.

Third, identify times when you won’t try to resolve conflict. Aileen and I, for example, have a long-established 10 o’clock rule, which means we won’t try to fix anything after 10 p.m. We are well aware that Ephesians 4:26 says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger,” but we have also learned that some issues simply cannot be neatly resolved by bedtime. (Married folk will know that some of the most common conflicts tend to happen between the time you get into bed together and the time you actually fall asleep.) The later the day gets, the more we tend to operate out of emotion rather than reason. And some things seem way worse in the evening when we’re tired than in the morning when we’re fresh. So if we haven’t worked it out by 10, we will call a halt, kiss one another, pray with one another, say something like “I love you and we are going to be all right,” and then go to sleep. Then we can try to work it out at a better time, when we are in a better frame of mind. And honestly, in the light of day, we often realize the situation wasn’t nearly as dire as we thought and that it can be covered by love (1 Peter 4:8).

Fourth, invite others in when necessary. Sometimes the most helpful thing you can do in a time of conflict is invite some friends or some elders to sit and listen as you try to navigate an issue together. There’s something about having other people in the room that can be helpful and clarifying, and that’s true even if those other people are simply witnessing your interaction without mediating or attempting to help you solve it. It can keep you from acting out emotionally in ways you might when only your spouse is present. Marriage counseling can accomplish this, but often simply sitting with friends will do just as much. Sin thrives in the dark, so do whatever it takes to get your sin and conflict out into the light—even if that means humbling yourself by inviting others in.

Fifth, don’t keep score. We are all prone to keep a running total of our spouse’s failures and our own successes, but that’s not the way of love. There is greater joy in loving than in being loved, so if there is any competitiveness in marriage, it should only be about outdoing your spouse in showing love and honor (Romans 12:10). You would never want God to keep a running total of your sins measured against your virtues, and you ought to extend that same grace to your spouse.

Finally, become more of an expert in the evidences of grace in the life of your spouse than in the evidences of his or her remaining sin. This requires training yourself to search carefully for the ways the Lord is working within your spouse. Looking for grace in another person is always far more rewarding than looking for sin, and it is far closer to the heart of Christ as well. It will give you many reasons to praise God and to thank him for his work in the life of the one you love the most.

I am convinced that a relationship grows just as much through “Please forgive me” as through “I love you.” Intimacy is fostered through seeking and extending forgiveness as much as through dancing, cuddling, or whatever else speaks your love language. Conflict is inevitable, and wise couples learn how to resolve it well. They learn this as soon as they can and apply it from the day of their wedding until the day death parts them, knowing that it is a key to a healthy and satisfying marriage.

A La Carte (November 2)

Tim Challies — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 05:01:00 +0000

Good morning. Grace and peace to you.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a lot of great books to start a new month. If all goes according to schedule, the list will include works on apologetics, singing, Karl Marx and D.L. Moody, missionaries who were recently martyred in Haiti, and much more. Enjoy the bounty!

Logos users will want to take a look at this month’s free and nearly-free books. You’ll also find some early Black Friday deals that include some commentaries at up to 80% off. It’s also worth browsing the monthly sales.

Reader Recommendations

Once a week, I like to ask what you enjoy and recommend. What books, products, videos, sites, or other experiences do you recommend to others who read this blog/newsletter? Let me know, and I’ll share a collection on Saturday. (If you’re reading this via email, you’ll need to visit my site to fill out the form. Go here to read last week’s recommendations.)

Submit a form.

Flashback

Why Anne of Green Gables Is One of My Favorite Novels. I’m drawn to the way Anne makes the world and the people around her so much better by simply being who she is in her strengths, her weaknesses, and her eccentricities. I appreciate her even more now that I’ve got girls of my own. They remind me of her; she reminds me of them.

If it be good to come under the love of God once, surely it is good to keep ourselves there. And yet how reluctant we are!
—Robert Murray M’Cheyne

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Works & Wonders (November 1)

Tim Challies — Sun, 01 Nov 2026 04:01:00 +0000

In my weekly Works & Wonders column, I combine a brief devotional with other interesting and uplifting bits and pieces I gleaned throughout the week. I hope you enjoy this week’s collection! It includes:

When God Acts in Power
Wikipop
Weather Photographer of the Year
Bring on the Dawn
Big Words
Men Sing

When God Acts in Power

No element of God’s character can be separated from any other. You or I may use the power available to us recklessly, imperfectly, or sinfully—we may act forcefully yet unwisely, or authoritatively yet with evil motives and immoral outcomes. We may act impulsively, on the basis of false information, or in ways that foster prejudice or injustice. In this way, power can be used to bring about great good or great harm. But God never acts in such a way that he diminishes any part of his character. Hence, when God acts in power, he invariably exercises that power in ways that are wise, holy, just, good, and true. I think Jen Wilkin says this well: “The truth of God’s limitless power would be absolutely terrifying were it not paired with the truth of His limitless goodness.” God’s power separated from his other attributes would mean there is nothing that would withhold or restrain him. Yet God’s power paired with his other attributes is tremendously comforting, for we know he will use his power only in ways that are ultimately for our good and his glory.

Wikipop

Wikipop is a microsite that offers the answer to just one question: What Wikipedia page was everyone looking at yesterday? You probably won’t be shocked to know that on Saturday, when I finalized this article, it told me that everyone had been looking for Patrick Stewart, who died a few days prior.

(Note: I add this site with a bit of trepidation because I can’t predict what article will be featured on the day you click the link, so hopefully it’s nothing bad!)

Weather Photographer of the Year

I know I keep sharing photography contests, but as I said last week, this is the time of year when many of them announce the winners. But this one is different from others I have shared since it features weather. In the Weather Photographer of the Year shortlist, you’ll find exactly what you’d expect—a stunning collection of photos of the weather.

Bring on the Dawn

I know many people who have appreciated Douglas McKelvey’s Every Moment Holy books, which offer liturgies and prayers for all of life’s moments. Anchor Hymns recently collaborated with McKelvey on an album titled Bring on the Dawn that was inspired by his books. I’m pretty sure that if you appreciate the books, you’ll also like the music.

Big Words

Sometimes the best apps are the simplest—the ones that do just one thing, but do it well. That’s the case with Big Words. What does it do? It lets you use your phone (or iPad or other screen) to display big words. “Make a full-screen sign, timer or message from a link. Hold up your phone at arrivals, put a countdown on the TV, or show the Wi-Fi password at the front desk. No account, no app, nothing stored on a server. The link is the whole display, so you can share it or bookmark it.” There is nothing to download, so you can just go ahead and bookmark it to use when the need arises.

Men Sing

I love this delightfully countercultural “Men Sing” trend that’s happening among Dutch Reformed churches, and would love to see it spread. What is it? It’s just men getting together to sing hymns. I had hoped to attend the recent one in Hamilton, but was on the road at the time. Hopefully I can make it to the next one. You can find videos from churches in Hamilton, Grand Rapids, and Chilliwack. I assume it’s happening in other places where there are lots of Dutch Reformed churches. Well done, Dutch guys!

Weekend A La Carte (October 31)

Tim Challies — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 04:01:00 +0000

Good morning. My gratitude goes to Ligonier Ministries for sponsoring the blog this week to ensure you know about the new Grow app. It’s a free download and offers a lot of great content.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include a variety of deals spanning a bunch of different eras and genres.

Reader Recommendations

I like to solicit recommendations for things readers are reading, listening to, watching, eating, or otherwise experiencing. Here’s what you sent along:

Andrew recommends Roy McDaniel’s Enacting Atonement: The Narrative Logic of Sacrifice and Sonship in Leviticus. “If Morales’ work on Leviticus connects biblical study with biblical theological categories, McDaniel bridges biblical study with systematics in a very fruitful way.”

John says, “For the past 3 years I have used a Leuchtturm1917 ‘Some Lines A Day’ 5 Year journal to write a brief daily note to my daughter. Over the course of 5 years I reckon this will amount to some 100,000 words, just for her. It serves as a daily summary of our day and a deliberate habit of recording memories and gospel truths for her. I have a journal for each of my daughters and a third soon to begin for baby on the way!”

Peter has “resumed the habit of listening to an audiobook before I go to sleep. I’m almost finished with The Deerslayer, chronologically the first book in James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, set during the French and Indian War.”

Adele recommends A Praying Life and A Praying Church by Paul Miller. “Both books convict, provoke, and inspire to stop depending on human effort and to start relying on the Holy Spirit.”

Geoff recommends William Inboden’s The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. “The book focuses on Reagan’s foreign policy, particularly as it concerns the threat of war and relations with the USSR. However, it is also interesting to see how Reagan’s core beliefs influenced his policy and the compromises that were sometimes required.”

Bill enjoyed Sinclair Ferguson’s new Ligonier teaching series My Joy and Crown: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.

Karin recommends “Tie-Dye Heart,” a story of God’s grace in foster care and adoption, told from the perspective of a young woman whose parents took in 13 foster children during her growing-up years.

Brad recommends three sites: Gospel-Centered Discipleship, Core Christianity, and Doxology & Theology. (TC: I link to all of these from time to time!)

Lisa says, “One of my most frequent recommendations for Bible study and teaching is BiblePlaces.com for visual resources (geographical photos, maps, and museum items) organized verse by verse through almost the entire Bible. Todd Bolen and the team at BiblePlaces is also partnering with Jason Wolin at BibleSlides.app for more presentation tools for Bible teachers and pastors.”

Jim is almost done reading Arnold Dallimore’s George Whitefield: God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century (the condensed paperback). “Wonderful history. Regardless of one’s end time view, it should cause one to pray for revival.”

Another Jim recommends Tommee Profitt’s Christmas album The Birth of a King. “Do yourself a favor—but maybe wait until at least November!—and give it a listen. Carols like you’ve never heard them, described as cinematic.”

Holly recommends the podcast Room for Nuance. “I like to listen while I am walking because I find them fascinating and because they are so lengthy, I get a good solid walk in!”

Mike recommends the Bible Talk podcast, “which features brilliant hosts having lively conversation about Biblical Theology delivered in a thoroughly enjoyable and accessible manner.”

Nicole says September McCarthy’s Raising Daughters “was a refreshing help to me in my pursuits of fostering deep understanding and connectedness with my daughters. Much of the book is geared toward teenage years and fledglings, and it is shaping my long term view of not just raising young girls right now, but raising future best friends.”

Michele recommends “reading Dust to Dust (Jen Wilkin’s book on aging biblically) in community with a book club, preferably with steaming cups of tea and a solid commitment to progressive sanctification.”

Flashback

We Are All Cultists On the Inside. The inner cultist tries to convince us that life would be better, relationships would be easier, the church would be safer, if only everyone was the same—the same as me.

Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate.
—G.K. Chesterton

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Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier Ministries)

Tim Challies — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 16:01:00 +0000

This week’s Free Stuff Friday is sponsored by Ligonier Ministries, who also sponsored the blog this week.

These days, Martin Luther is known as the man who stood against popes and emperors in defense of the gospel. What drove this lone German monk to defy the Roman Catholic Church?

Today, Ligonier Ministries is offering R.C. Sproul’s Luther and the Reformation as a free download for Challies readers. In this ebook, Dr. Sproul surveys several crisis moments in the life of Martin Luther, showing how they ultimately led to his rediscovery of the gospel revealed in Scripture.

With this download, you’ll also enter to win one of ten hardcover copies of Ligonier’s 500th-anniversary edition of The Bondage of the Will, Luther’s classic book defending humanity’s absolute need for God’s sovereign grace in salvation.

Learn more about Luther and the Reformation here.

After downloading your free ebook, you can access it in the new Grow app.

New and Notable Christian Books for October 2026 (Plus a Preview of November)

Tim Challies — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 04:02:00 +0000

October was a strong month for new Christian books. I tried to keep you in the loop week by week, but I also wanted to provide a roundup for the end of the month. Of all the books that came our way in October, here are the ones that most stood out to me, arranged in what I think is a nice new format. As always, I’ve included the publisher’s editorial description for each.

Book of the Month

Crossway · Hardcover · 736 pages

The Westminster Confession of Faith: A Comprehensive Commentary on Its History, Theology, and Application

Edited by J. V. Fesko, John R. Muether, and D. Blair Smith

If I had to put one book on the top of the stack this month, it would probably be this commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith—and I say that as a Baptist who respects, but does not hold to, the WCF. The contributors include Sinclair Ferguson, Chad Van Dixhoorn, and Kevin DeYoung. This is a reference work that pastors and serious readers will want to add to their libraries.

“This essential collection of essays presents an accessible guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith for 21st-century readers. Each chapter is devoted to a section of the historic document, carefully studying its context, its significance to the faith, and its application, as well as any controversies.”

Buy it at Amazon · Westminster Books

For Your Own Soul

Books for any thoughtful Christian reader.

Crossway · Hardcover · 264 pages

Finally Home: The Christian Hope of Heaven

Dane Ortlund

In this book, Dane Ortlund (Gentle and Lowly) turns his attention to heaven. He draws on Scripture, of course, and also on writers like Thomas Goodwin, Jonathan Edwards, and C. S. Lewis.

“If we are not in Christ, this life is the best we will ever experience. If we are in Christ, this life is the worst we will ever experience. … In Finally Home, Dane Ortlund plunges into the word of God and the wisdom of the saints to help us rightly think about heaven, and to draw strength from our coming future more deeply than we ever have before.”

Buy it at Amazon · Westminster Books

IVP · Paperback · 192 pages

Everyday Discipleship: How Faith Shapes the Most Practical Areas of Life

Jeremy Treat

This is a practical book that teaches how following Jesus extends into every part of life, including those that are very ordinary, like meals, work, rest, and technology. It includes a discussion guide for groups.

“Pastor Jeremy Treat understands this disconnect. In Everyday Discipleship, he dismantles the harmful sacred-secular divide that leaves many Christians feeling spiritually compartmentalized, uncertain about how faith applies to ordinary life, and unable to fully enjoy Christ in the entirety of our lives.”

Buy it at Amazon

Banner of Truth · Clothbound · 248 pages

God Is Our Refuge and Strength: 150 Devotionals Through the Psalms

William Boekestein & Rob Ventura

Every Banner of Truth release is noteworthy, isn’t it? This one offers a short devotional reading to accompany each of the 150 psalms.

“You need the Psalms. The Psalms are the Bible’s devotional heart. … Through brief, practical expositions of all 150 psalms, this volume proclaims, explains, and applies each one in light of the New Testament and the finished work of Jesus Christ the Lord.”

Buy it at Amazon · Westminster Books

Counseling & Care

Resources to care for Christians.

One Measure Ministries · Redemption Press · Paperback workbooks

SoulCare Groups™ Workbooks: Anxiety, Grief, and Sexual Integrity

Gary & Linda Baer

I am excited about the SoulCare Groups™ workbooks, which came out this month. Each is a twelve-week group study meant to be used alongside a few trusted biblical counseling books. The first three volumes cover anxiety, grief, and sexual integrity.

“SoulCare Groups™, a biblical counseling workbook series from One Measure Ministries, equips churches to offer groups-based care through structured twelve-week topical studies.”

Buy them at Amazon: Anxiety · Grief · Sexual Integrity

For the Church and Its History

Books to understand the history of the church.

Crossway · Hardcover · 416 pages

Church History for Everyone, Volume 1

Kevin DeYoung, illustrated by Peter Voth

Kevin DeYoung tells the early history of the Christian church through twenty lives. This book, which will soon be followed by a second volume, reaches from the fall of Jerusalem to the pre-Reformation. It would serve well for family reading or for a small group.

“In Church History for Everyone, Kevin DeYoung examines the development of the church from AD 70 to 1415 through the lives of key figures—including world leaders, theologians, martyrs, and the early monks—and their historical moments, connecting the dots with what came before and after while also highlighting the tensions that endure today.”

Buy it at Amazon · Westminster Books

Reformation Heritage Books · 13-volume hardcover set

An Ongoing Legacy: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1905–1917, Volumes 51–63

C. H. Spurgeon

These 13 volumes complete Reformation Heritage Book’s reissue of all 63 volumes of Spurgeon’s sermons. That is no small achievement for a publisher, and reading them all would be no small achievement for a reader!

“Spurgeon’s final sermons rolled off the press in 1917, concluding an epic project known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. His publisher wanted to continue, but paper shortages during World War I finally forced the venture to end. Now these final messages are available again in the fifth and final set released by Reformation Heritage Books and Midwestern Seminary.”

Buy it at Amazon

Baker Academic · Paperback · 320 pages

Justification and the Churches: Pastoral Questions at the Heart of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Theology

Gerald Hiestand

This is a careful comparison of how the Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions approach justification. Each offers a response from a representative of the three traditions. This will serve those who wish to better understand the similarities and differences between them.

“In Justification and the Churches, Gerald Hiestand explores one of the most debated doctrines in Christian theology—justification and salvation—by asking a deceptively simple question: What if Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians aren’t just giving different answers but are answering different pastoral questions?”

Buy it at Amazon

For Thinking Well

Books that help engage a changing world for Christ.

Baker Books · Paperback · 222 pages

Irreplaceable: Humanity, Vocation, and the Limits of Technology

Gene Edward Veith Jr. & A. Trevor Sutton

This is a timely book on technology and AI that grounds its answers in the doctrine of vocation—a subject Veith has written on before.

“From the invention of the wheel to the rise of AI, humans have always made tools to extend our work—but what happens when our tools begin to supplant us? … In this book Gene Veith and A. Trevor Sutton show how vocation—the life God has assigned us in our relationships, commitments, and everyday callings—is not only bigger than our jobs but more resilient than our technology.”

Buy it at Amazon

Zondervan Academic · Hardcover · 368 pages

Apologetics at the Cross, Second Edition: An Introduction for Christian Witness

Joshua D. Chatraw & Mark D. Allen

This is a revised and expanded edition of a popular apologetics textbook that is built around 1 Peter and the example of Jesus.

“Apologetics at the Cross offers a comprehensive, classroom-ready introduction to the study and practice of Christian apologetics. Using Jesus as the model and 1 Peter as a guiding text, this textbook equips students to defend the faith with clarity, humility, and confidence. … The authors emphasize not only what to say but how to say it—training readers to give reasoned answers with gentleness and respect.”

Buy it at Amazon

For the Study

Commentaries and reference works.

Crossway · Premium Hardcover · Two boxed sets

ESV Expository Commentary: Old Testament Set and New Testament Set

Edited by Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar

The full series of the excellent ESV Expository Commentary is now available in two boxed sets, Old Testament (7,328 pages) and New Testament (3,816 pages). I think it’s the best commentary of its kind, and it is ideal for pastors or general readers alike.

“Editors Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton Jr., and Jay Sklar have gathered a team of experienced pastor-theologians to provide a new generation of pastors and other teachers of the Bible around the world with a globally-minded commentary rich in biblical theology and broadly Reformed doctrine, making the message of redemption found in all of Scripture clear and available to all.”

Old Testament: Amazon · Westminster Books
New Testament: Amazon · Westminster Books

Eerdmans · Hardcover · 464 pages

Joshua (The Pillar Old Testament Commentary)

John D. Currid

It is always a big deal when the Pillar series adds a new volume. I expect this volume on Joshua will soon be proven a must-have commentary.

“In this new contribution to the Pillar Old Testament commentary series, John D. Currid illuminates the book of Joshua by examining its historical, archaeological, and theological significance. … The commentary features Currid’s own translation of the Hebrew text. His careful attention to exegetical detail gives preachers a solid foundation for their exposition.”

Buy it at Amazon

Coming in November

Here are some of the books I’m looking forward to in November.

Nov 1 · The Good Book Company · Paperback

The Joyful Pastor (Despite Everything): Encouragement for the Hard-Pressed Shepherd

Matt Fuller

Amazon

Nov 1 · B&H · Hardcover

The Lord Is My Light: A Liturgy for Daily Prayer

Trevin Wax

Amazon

Nov 3 · Crossway · Hardcover

Prodigal Culture: A People in Ruins and the Way Back Home

Andrew T. Walker

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 3 · Crossway · Paperback

Scroll Less, Live More: 10 Healthy Tech Habits for Teens

Samuel D. James

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 3 · Baker Books · Paperback

What Saith the Lord?

Mark Ward

Amazon

Nov 3 · Baker Academic · Hardcover

For Us and for Our Salvation

N. Gray Sutanto

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 4 · P&R · Paperback

When Divorce Is Mercy: Finding Biblical Answers to Questions You Never Wanted to Ask

Michael Scott Gembola & Darby Strickland

Amazon

Nov 10 · Zondervan · Paperback

From Silence to Sinai: A Guided Tour of Exodus

Alex Duke

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 11 · P&R · Hardcover

Biblical and Theological Studies: Revised and Enhanced

B. B. Warfield, edited by John J. Hughes

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 17 · Christian Focus · Paperback

Shattered Dreams and God’s Plan: The Joseph Narrative in Genesis 37–50

Dale Ralph Davis

Amazon

Nov 17 · IVP · Paperback

Truth and Power: The Place of Scripture in the Christian Life

J. I. Packer

Amazon

Nov 17 · Crossway · Paperback

Biblical Worship: A Christ-Centered Practical Theology

Matthew Westerholm

Amazon

Nov 18 · P&R · Hardcover

2 Peter & Jude (Reformed Expository Commentary)

Richard D. Phillips & Jeffrey J. Windt

Amazon · Westminster Books

Nov 24 · Crossway · Hardcover

Do You Believe? 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life

Paul David Tripp

Amazon · Westminster Books

A La Carte (October 30)

Tim Challies — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 04:01:00 +0000

Good morning. I am making my way home from Colorado today after a productive series of meetings and video shoots. I’ll look forward to a more normal week next week! In the meantime, be sure to check in tomorrow for Weekend A La Carte and on Sunday for a favorite feature, Works & Wonders.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include lots of interesting books like an exposition of the London Baptist Confession, some brief biographies of Christians you should know, and Thaddeus Williams’s book on reverence.

Some of my books are 50% off at ChurchSource in their print editions: Visual Theology, A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible, and Pilgrim Prayers.

The Funnies

My friend Chris Martin maintains a Substack called The Funnies, and every Saturday he shares a few fun and silly things he found on the Internet—something I see as a modern equivalent to the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.

Flashback

From Practice to Perfection. We shouldn’t be surprised or particularly dismayed when others mess up their part or when we mess up ours, for we are all learning and all growing in skill. We apologize, we forgive, we press on.

The best part of all Christian work is that part which only God sees.
—Andrew Bonar

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A La Carte (October 29)

Tim Challies — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 04:01:00 +0000

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include books about the Old Testament, Proverbs, faithful presence, the life and influence of Tim Keller, and a whole lot more.

Westminster Books is continuing their Reformation sale by offering discounts on ESV Bibles as well as the tremendous new 500th anniversary edition of Tyndale’s New Testament.

Something Worth Doing

These words by Maltbie Davenport Babcock have often been a challenge to me, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they challenge you as well.

We often think that if we had that man’s means or that man’s ability or that man’s opportunity, we could do something worth doing; but, as we are, there is no possibility of any great thing. Yet God does not want us to fill any other man’s place, or to do any other man’s work. God wants us to improve our own opportunity with the possessions and the powers that He has given us. It is a very great thing for us to do the very best we can do just where and as we are. God asks no one of us to do more than this, nor has any one of us a right to do less.

Flashback

You’re Their Mom or Dad, Not Their Pastor or Evangelist. A parent longs for their child to be saved, yet no one has ever been nagged into the Christian faith. God never identifies nagging as a means of grace or cajoling as a strategy for evangelism.

We waste time when we do not pray.
—Iain Murray

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Is It a Sin to Use AI Porn?

Tim Challies — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:02:00 +0000

Over the past two decades, I have written a great deal about pornography. At many different times and in many different forms, I have urged people to consider a long list of arguments against it. I’m thankful to have interacted with many people who have come to see pornography as evil and who have committed themselves to sexual purity.

Some of the strongest and most effective arguments against using pornography are based upon the humanity of the people who are involved in it. So, for example, in “7 Good Reasons To Stop Looking at Porn Right Now,” I wrote that we need to consider the cost to those who make it. “Pornography exacts a high cost of those who create it—the cost to their bodies, to their souls, to their mental well-being, to their dignity, to their future. A vast amount of the pornography you enjoy is created by people against their wills. The simple fact is, by watching porn, you are watching rape and deriving pleasure from it. You become a willing participant in sexual violence and you allow that actor on the screen to suffer for your pleasure.” Even if some pornography is consensual, a great deal of pornography is not, and the viewer cannot know which is which.

Similarly, in “8 Sins You Commit Whenever You Look at Porn,” I said that those who watch it are guilty of sexual assault. “A person who drives a getaway car for a band of bank robbers will rightly be charged with murder for anyone who is killed in committing that crime. The person who voluntarily watches sexual assault for purposes of titillation is rightly guilty of that sexual assault. And a nauseating quantity of pornography is violent in nature, displaying men taking advantage of women. Sometimes these women have volunteered for such degradation and sometimes they are forced or raped into it. To watch such horrifying smut is to be a participant in it and to bear the moral blemish of it.”

While these are far from the only arguments against pornography, I believe they are especially effective ones. But what happens when the characters involved in pornography are no longer people? What happens when they no longer exist at all, but are merely generated by AI? Could AI allow us to create “ethical pornography” that solves one of the foremost concerns that come with “real” pornography? In other words, is it a sin to look at AI-generated porn? (For our purposes, we will assume that we are already rejecting deepfake porn—using the likeness of an existing person—as morally repugnant and both immoral and illegal. Instead, we are considering images of people who are generated entirely by AI.)

The simple answer is yes: it is as sinful to look at AI-generated porn as it is to look at human-created porn. While some of the arguments may not be as relevant, the majority are unchanged. Before I explain how and why, I want you to listen to a warning: we are all experts at circumventing the spirit of the law by abiding within the strict letter of the law. There is something deep within us that wants to defy the rules that are given to us, and we become skilled at justifying the ways we do this. Often this involves reducing morality to a strict binary, then convincing ourselves that because we have not blatantly broken the law, we have abided by it. This was exactly the sin of the Pharisees of Jesus’s day who would strictly tithe the spices they grew in their gardens, yet fail to live according to the higher principles of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. There is something of the Pharisee in each one of us.

With that in mind, here are reasons why it is a sin to use pornography that has been generated by AI.

You are still lusting, even if you are lusting after a person who exists only on a screen. To lust is to long for an illicit sexual pleasure, and to long for an illicit sexual pleasure is to find satisfaction in what God has forbidden. It is to make something other than God necessary for your joy—in this case, the sexual release that would come with looking at an image and acting out accordingly. It is to fail to take God at his word that you can live a satisfying life without acting in sinful ways.

You are still committing the sin of adultery, even if you are fantasizing about a nonexistent person. There is a sense in which all sinful sexual fantasies are fictitious because no one lusts after a whole person—a person with hopes, dreams, fears, struggles, strengths, weaknesses, and human dignity. To the contrary, we dehumanize the people we fantasize about by fabricating a version of them that is no more than physical and that exists only for our pleasure. In this way, fantasizing about an AI-generated person is no different from any other fantasy. It is still an expression of an adulterous heart that longs for what God has withheld from it (Matthew 5:28).

You are still progressing in a sin that wants to draw you deeper. One of the most terrifying realities of sin is that sin is always progressive, always wanting to draw you deeper into its clutches. Many will attest that they first dabbled with a kind of “gateway sin” that soon enough led them into a much deeper sin. AI-generated porn will never satisfy, and those who begin with it will be unlikely to remain there. Instead, they will almost certainly move on to real pornography. You are giving yourself over to a sin that wants not just some of you, but all of you.

You are still committing the sin of sloth. God has given us an important mandate in this world, and he calls us to make use of the time he gives us (Ephesians 5:16). Sloth is the sin of laziness, of indolence, and of not only failing to do what God commands, but also doing those things that he forbids. Those who waste away their hours looking at porn, whether real or generated by AI, are wasting precious minutes, hours, and days entrusted to them by God. They are failing to make God’s will their priority.

You are still committing the sin of deceit. Those who want to look at AI-generated porn will almost certainly do so in a deceitful way—by hiding what they are doing, covering it up, and failing to tell others about it. In other words, they will practice deceit rather than living with a godly transparency before one another. This is a sin that God warns us about, for “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes” (Psalm 101:7).

You are still committing the sin of ignoring the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, you have the honor and privilege of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who warns you about sins you are committing. The Scripture assures Christians that the Spirit warns us against sexual sin and provides this caution: “Therefore whoever disregards this [warning], disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). To commit sexual sin is to ignore the Holy Spirit. It is to actively suppress his voice as he warns that you must not commit this sin. It is to suppress him as he offers all you need to resist and overcome this temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). To resist the Spirit and ignore his ministry is a serious offense against a God who is committed to your holiness.

For these reasons and many more, looking at AI-generated pornography is a sin. It is a sin not wholly different from looking at human-made porn. Indeed, apart from possibly negating a couple of arguments, it is essentially indistinguishable from it. Many will be sinfully tempted to see it as a different matter entirely, but those who are committed to honoring God will reject it as nothing more than an attempt to justify what they know to be forbidden.

A La Carte (October 28)

Tim Challies — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 04:01:00 +0000

Good morning. May the Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include lots of good books from New Growth Press and other publishers. Among them you’ll find several good options from Jared Wilson.

Videos Worth Watching

Here are several brief videos that are worth your time.

5 Signs Your Church Might Be Too Seeker Sensitive. Adriel Sanchez explains seeker sensitivity and offers signs your church might lean too much in that direction and become seeker driven.

How to Leave a Church Well. Hershael York speaks specifically to pastors to explain how and when to leave a church well.

The Enduring Word. This short film from Crossway celebrates God’s providence through the history of Bible translation.

Flashback

What’s The Point Of Family Devotions? There are many activities families can and will do together. But by establishing family devotions as a shared habit and by calling us to gather for it every weekday morning, we meant to show that time together with the Lord is a priority.

What comfort can be had in the being of God without thinking of him with reverence and delight? A God forgotten—is as good as no God to us.
—Stephen Charnock

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This Week in Christian Books (October 27, 2026)

Tim Challies — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 04:02:00 +0000

Tuesday is the day most publishers release their new books, so each week I let you know what has just come our way from the publishers I follow most closely. This week brings a substantial new commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith from a whole team of Reformed scholars, an updated edition of a well-known apologetics book, a couple of books for kids, and a new edition of the ESV. In each case, I’ve included the publisher’s description.

(This is a new feature I trialed last week. The response was positive, so I’m going to keep it going. I have tried to improve the format and layout to make it easier to read.)

Books for Everyone

Crossway

The Westminster Confession of Faith

A Comprehensive Commentary on Its History, Theology, and Application

Edited by J. V. Fesko, John R. Muether, and D. Blair Smith

Endorsed by: Joel R. Beeke, Michael Horton, Keith A. Mathison, Robert Letham, and Jonathan L. Master

Publisher’s description

A La Carte (October 27)

Tim Challies — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 04:01:00 +0000

Good morning from somewhere in rural Colorado. I’m here for the next few days for meetings and training, as well as a bit of hiking and photography and, best of all, some quiet times of writing.

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include O. Palmer Robertson’s two-part Christ of the Consummation, which was commended by, among others, D.A. Carson, Sinclair Ferguson, and Joel Beeke. You’ll also find lots of great deals from Zondervan from books that are related to Protestant theology.

Extra

New Christian books tend to release on Tuesdays. Here are just a few of the books that have become available today. (For a more thorough list, visit This Week in Christian Books.)

The Westminster Confession of Faith, edited by J.V. Fesko. “This essential collection of essays presents an accessible guide to the Westminster Confession of Faith for 21st-century readers.” It includes contributions from Kevin DeYoung, Sinclair Ferguson, Chad Van Dixhoorn, and others.

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Frank Turek & Norman Geisler. This is an updated edition of a popular apologetics book in which the authors argue “that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself.”

A History of Ancient Israel by Michael Alan Grisanti & Todd Bolen. This book tells the history of ancient Israel from Abraham to exile “with the biblical record enriched by the latest historical research, archaeological discoveries, and geographical insights.”

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Thy Will Be Endured. “God, teach me how to serve you in sickness even better than I did in health. God, show me how to honor you in grief with even greater faithfulness than in joy. God, lead me to greater fruitfulness in lack than in abundance.”

People are seeking this or that quality in their wives. I say, “Give me a praying wife.”
—Thomas Charles

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Tim Challies

I Regret to Inform You That Heaven Tourism Is Back

A La Carte (November 6)

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Reviews

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A La Carte (November 5)

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What I’m Enjoying

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A Daring Suggestion for Netflix

A La Carte (November 4)

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Headlines

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This Week in Christian Books (November 3, 2026)

Books for Everyone

Prodigal Culture

A La Carte (November 3)

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New Book Releases

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The Beauty of the Law

Tips for Resolving Conflict in Marriage

A La Carte (November 2)

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Reader Recommendations

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Works & Wonders (November 1)

Weekend A La Carte (October 31)

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Reader Recommendations

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Free Stuff Fridays (Ligonier Ministries)

New and Notable Christian Books for October 2026 (Plus a Preview of November)

The Westminster Confession of Faith: A Comprehensive Commentary on Its History, Theology, and Application

For Your Own Soul

Finally Home: The Christian Hope of Heaven

Everyday Discipleship: How Faith Shapes the Most Practical Areas of Life

God Is Our Refuge and Strength: 150 Devotionals Through the Psalms

Counseling & Care

SoulCare Groups™ Workbooks: Anxiety, Grief, and Sexual Integrity

For the Church and Its History

Church History for Everyone, Volume 1

An Ongoing Legacy: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1905–1917, Volumes 51–63

Justification and the Churches: Pastoral Questions at the Heart of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Theology

For Thinking Well

Irreplaceable: Humanity, Vocation, and the Limits of Technology

Apologetics at the Cross, Second Edition: An Introduction for Christian Witness

For the Study

ESV Expository Commentary: Old Testament Set and New Testament Set

Joshua (The Pillar Old Testament Commentary)

Coming in November

A La Carte (October 30)

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The Funnies

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A La Carte (October 29)

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Something Worth Doing

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Is It a Sin to Use AI Porn?

A La Carte (October 28)

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This Week in Christian Books (October 27, 2026)

Books for Everyone

The Westminster Confession of Faith

A La Carte (October 27)