Signs of the times 1
August 14th, 2019
On the wall at our local shopping mall. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Romans 12:2
Do a personal clean-up
August 9th, 2019
Monthly challenge: August. The monthly challenge Do you want to make a difference in the world, but don’t have time and energy for something big? There are small things we can all do each week to live more sustainably, more justly and more equitably. In the monthly challenge I will offer suggestions for small things […]
How evangelical doctrine and Biblical inerrancy can distort the Bible and Jesus
August 1st, 2019
Most christians have been taught to reverence the Bible. This has been especially true of Protestant christianity. The Reformation was built on the doctrine of sola scriptura (by scripture alone). And when conservative christianity felt threatened by evolution, liberal theology and modernist thinking in the 19th century, it developed a statement of “the fundamentals”, one […]
Larry Hurtado
July 15th, 2019
Larry Hurtado is retired New Testament scholar, Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He has continued hs scholarly work since retiring.
Losing my religion
July 1st, 2019
The word “religion” can have different meanings. At its simplest, it means “belief in and worship of God or gods” (Oxford Dictionary). But more precisely, religion is often seen as a designated set of beliefs and rituals by which people relate to a god. Thus religion (implying dogma and restrictions) is often contrasted to spirituality […]
Evangelical, Liberal and Progressive Christianity – three diverging paths
June 16th, 2019
There’s a lot of new, and sometimes scary, ideas flying around the christian scene these days. What are we to make of them?? Where is Protestant christianity heading? If you have doubts and questions about your form of christian belief, perhaps another form has something to offer. Check out a few ideas here.
Christians and politics – a deep devastation or glorious triumph?
May 27th, 2019
Just over a week ago was election day in Australia. After being behind in the polls for years, the Government was returned with a small majority. This was seen by most pundits as an important election, charting a course for Australia’s future. Christians seemed to be more active than in any previous election that I […]
Homophobia, Biblical truth and Israel Folau
May 16th, 2019
This is a post about what christians believe, how we should express our belief and how cultures can clash. This is a post about an unfortunate episode in Australian sport and culture, from which no-one is likely to emerge a winner. And hopefully this is a post that won’t add, even in a small way, […]
Modern western evangelicalism – easy religion for comfortable christians?
May 3rd, 2019
I’ve been thinking for a while about modern western evangelical christianity. Not what some people may see as the worst of this belief system – televangelists, conservative politics and a focus on sexual ethics – but the mainstream. My initial christian experience was in this culture and belief, and while I have moved on in […]
Can I say anything new about the resurrection of Jesus?
April 18th, 2019
I have been re-reading NT Wright’s chapter on the “The Surprise of Resurrection” in Jesus: the final days, where he corrects some doubtful christian ideas about the resurrection, and offers reasons why we should regard the gospel accounts as basically historical.
A list of all blog posts, in reverse chronological order, is on the Blog archive page.