Old Testament God angry, New Testament God loving. Right? Or wrong?
May 15th, 2015
In the Old Testament, God, who is variously known by names like Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai and El Shaddai, is active, angry and violent – talking to Moses, defeating armies, guiding by pillars of smoke and of fire, and threatening those who disobey. But in the New Testament, God seems to be more relaxed – a […]
Knowing God's will – do we have to learn Greek?
May 4th, 2015
It was an argument about women preaching in church. The first guy was a moderate and a historian, and he wrote a book about why women should be allowed to preach. The second guy was a pastor and a conservative, and he argued against this view. The first guy replied, the second guy responded. Each […]
State of the earth, 2015
April 25th, 2015
I used to work as an engineering hydrologist, and an environmental manager. Multi-syllable words, but they meant I spent a lot of time collecting, analysing and using climate data, mostly rainfall and streamflow. And so I also did some reading on the then fledgling science of climate change. I am also a christian, so I […]
Which New Testament scholars should we trust?
April 18th, 2015
I was asked by a reader recently to outline why I recommend and refer to certain New Testament scholars and not others. I refer to historical scholars often enough, and other websites do too, she said, so how do we know who to trust? I thought this was a good question. So here’s how I […]
Cosmology, philosophy and theology – what more could you ask for?
April 11th, 2015
Apparently there are about a quarter of a billion blogs in the world, so it’s a special pleasure when you find one that’s really good. Of course it depends on what you’re interested in. But one blog I never fail to appreciate is Undivided Looking. Let me introduce you.
When the Bible becomes a reason to disbelieve
April 3rd, 2015
I began this blog almost 4 years ago with a post that included this comment: “In recent years I have met, mostly on the web but also in person, many believers who struggle with some aspects of their faith that they feel no longer seems right. They don’t have significant doubts about Jesus, but they […]
If Jesus ran for President would he bake a cake?
March 26th, 2015
It’s the beginning of the presidential “race” in the US, and although I live on the other side of the world, the outcome is important for Aussies. (For a start, if America decides to have another war, odds are Australia might join them. 🙁 ) I have heard that Senator Ted Cruz (about whom I […]
World War 1 – the war to end all wars?
March 21st, 2015
A hundred years ago, World War 1 was being fought across Europe. In a few weeks, Anzac Day, probably Australia’s holiest day, will be the 100th anniversary of the abortive, chaotic, mismanaged attempt by the Allies to occupy the Dardanelles. It was later said to be the war that would end all wars. Sadly, that […]
Unbounded church – church as we haven't known it for a society as we haven't known it
March 17th, 2015
Albert Einstein apparently once said: “The significant problems we face can’t be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Churches in the western world are facing declining numbers and interest. Most of them are continuing to do the same things they’ve always done, hoping maybe to do a […]
Are your donations to the poor doing good?
March 11th, 2015
The blurbs on the cover say that this is a ground-breaking book, required reading. I agree with them! I learnt so much from this book. Since I lead a social justice team at our church, it is important that I know about what makes aid and charitable programs successful, or not. Let me share some […]
A list of all blog posts, in reverse chronological order, is on the Blog archive page.