by Carl Wendell Hines Jr. Now that he is safely dead, Let us praise him. Build monuments to his glory. Sing Hosannas to his name. Dead men make such convenient heroes. For they cannot rise to challenge the images That we might fashion from their lives. It is easier to build monuments Than to build …
Should the church shun released prisoners?
On 19 May 2015 I was asked by a leader of a large NSW Baptist Church to provide advice on possible "biblical grounds" for a request by the church to exclude a person from attending services and other local church events. The person in question (let's call him "Dave") was formerly an active member of …
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John Wesley’s ‘Directions for singing.’
John Wesley (1703-1791) was an Anglican minister and founder of the Methodist denomination. On the last page of the hymn book, Select Hymns: with Tunes Annext, published in 1761, he set forth seven principles to guide Christians as they sing. As well as offering practical advice, they indicate aspects of his theology of worship, and his ecclesiology. …
Love’s as warm as tears
An Easter poem by C. S. Lewis: Love’s as warm as tears,Love is tears:Pressure within the brain,Tension at the throat,Deluge, weeks of rain,Haystacks afloat,Featureless seas betweenHedges, where once was green Love’s as fierce as fire, Love is fire:All sorts–Infernal heatClinkered with greed and pride, Lyric desire, sharp-sweet,Laughing, even when denied, And that empyreal flame Whence …
Why four Gospels?
Most of us are familiar with the story of Jesus, as told in the biblical books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. But why are there four Gospels? Why only four? Why not one super-Gospel? When compared and contrasted with the apocryphal gospels that began to circulate, each of the four canonical Gospels was found …
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