Thoughts on faith, culture, and public life.
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 …
Continue reading "Should the church shun released prisoners?"
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. …
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 …
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 …
The church has long affirmed that the New Testament consists of a canon (that is, a “rule” or “standard”) of 27 books. That raises several important questions, such as: Why 27 books? Why only 27? Why four Gospels? Who made the choices regarding inclusion and exclusion, and on what basis? From a divine perspective, Scripture …
All Told 