Conversion is the central ethical message of Jesus and lies at the heart of evangelical faith and experience. For some, conversion is a slow, lifelong movement of the heart and will toward God. For others, it is a single dramatic experience, a sudden realignment of the self as the Apostle Paul experienced on the Damascus …
Is casting lots a justification for gambling?
What were people in biblical times doing when they cast lots? Should Christians practice this in decision-making today? Is casting lots a justification for gambling? Casting lots in biblical times The practice of rolling dice or selecting the short straw to make important decisions was common in biblical times. The practice often appears to relate …
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Ten words at Christmas
Yesterday was Christmas Day and I thought I'd go to a church service close to where I'm holidaying in Brisbane, Australia. Responding to a text message from my 16-year-old son giving me the start time, I turned up to Unnamed Baptist Church on time, alone, in a car emblazoned with bright yellow interstate number plates, …
People should live in tents
Tonight someone (who shall remain nameless) asked me to argue the case that all people should live in tents. I won't go into what prompted the request, but I thought you'd like to hear my answer. Here it is: 1. It's for good reason that many ancient societies preferred tents to permanent dwellings. They allowed …
A candid friend of historiography
A short commentary on the method employed in Diarmaid MacCulloch's Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years “Of making surveys of Christian history, there is no end,” Diarmaid MacCulloch observes in his 1161-page book, Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. Yet he suggests that his approach stands out as more daunting than certain other notable contemporary accounts.[1] As a historian, MacCulloch …
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