A literature review locates your original research – the kind you’d write up in a thesis, dissertation or long essay – within the existing academic literature. What exactly is a literature review? It is a critical account of the most salient and relevant material published on a topic. It analyses and evaluates the literature to …
What is distinctive about Luke’s Gospel?
Each of the four Gospels presents a unique perspective on the life of Jesus. The distinctiveness of John’s Gospel is well known. Of the three Synoptic Gospels, Luke shares many similarities with Matthew and Mark, but much is distinctive about Luke’s portrayal of Jesus. Four points deserve comment. First, only Luke explicitly identifies his purpose in …
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. …
“The vital breath of the church”: Prayer, personalism and spiritual power in the thought of G. H. Morling
Prayer, worship and intimacy with God feature strongly in George Henry Morling’s evangelical approach to spirituality. In a diary entry dated 19 August 1928, Morling famously states, “There must be a very strong stand taken for doctrinal-experimental truth.”[1] His commitment to this principle prompted him to seek a balance between what he viewed as rival extremes …
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