I’ve been a Bob Dylan fan since 1963, when he was often described as a “protest singer”. But after only a few albums of “protest music”, he turned his back on it all, and wrote a song with the refrain: “Ah but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.” Sometimes I […]
Christians disagree, and sometimes argue, about many things. Current hot topics include: homosexuality, divorce, hell, evolution and Genesis, the place of women in the church, Biblical inerrancy, war, climate change, and the importance of ‘good works’ like social justice and social welfare. Some christians get very worried about the failure of many of their fellow […]
Jesus is arguably the most influential person who ever lived. But what is his influence? How should we understand him, and how should we respond to him? I think the Anabaptists have something worthwhile to tell us here. (See my previous post on the Anabaptists.)
“You can tell a lot about a place by the way they treat their own …. The way they treat their own deserters.” David Bridie, ‘The Deserters’ Statistics (see below) show that a significant number of people, active church members and apparently believers, are leaving their churches and in many cases leaving the faith. In […]
The battle lines used to seem so clear. Religion taught that we earned favour with God by “being good” or “doing good works”. Christianity, on the other hand, taught that we received favour from God by grace, through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9. QED.
“Make your life extraordinary” is the advice school teacher John Keating gives his class in Dead Poets Society. Otis Clark seemed to achieve this without really trying. Otis died recently at the age of 109. He had a long and eventful life.
I have previously posted on the various views christians have on who will be saved (Can only christians be saved?). The exclusivists say only those who specifically believe in Jesus. The universalists say everyone, eventually. And the inclusivists say anyone who follows whatever light they have been given. Recently I came across a quote that […]
Not long ago I commented on the number of Atheists who once were christians I had come across on the web and in real life. Recently, I’m finding former pastors. Many of these guys are still struggling with doubt, unwilling to give up their job and let down the people who depend on them, but […]
Most christians are familiar with missionary stories, where brave christians battle great odds and dangers, but end up triumphant. Most of us are encouraged by these stories, written by christians for christians. But here are stories of incredibly persevering christians written by a Chinese non-believer who clearly respects each hero he interviews.
Another common argument used against christian belief is that the New Testament is unreliable and historically inaccurate. The argument focuses on a number of apparent inconsistencies in the gospel accounts, which, it is said, make the accounts unbelievable. Is there any substance to these claims?