We all know what the gospel is, don’t we, even though we might express it slightly differently? You’re a sinner (so am I), Jesus died to save you from your sins, now you can go to heaven instead of hell. That’s good news, and that’s what “gospel” means. Trouble is, that’s not exactly what the […]
I’ve been looking at some ways that christianity is changing, including changing views of evolution and gay marriage. But how much are christians free to change while remaining true to God and the Bible? Many christians fear any change is a slippery slope that will lead them right away from being faithful to God’s revealed […]
I imagine we all have doubts about all sorts of things we think are true, whether it is religious belief, politics, personal relationships or other choices we make. For many christians, especially those raised in christian families, adult life requires many aspects of belief to be re-considered. How should we deal with this?
Taize is an ecumenical monastery in Burgundy, France. The Lakota are an American Indian nation on a reservation in South Dakota, USA. You might not expect them to feature in the same story, but recently they did. It is a moving story. New insights Jason Micheli joined more than a thousand pilgrims attending a Taize […]
When Darwin first published his On the Origin of Species in 1859, it met with mixed reactions from christians. Some opposed evolution while others had no issues with it, and some even welcomed it. Since then, the Catholic church has decided it sees no problems with the scientific theory of evolution, whereas by the mid […]
Last post I looked at some comments by Tim Keller on gay marriage and its possible future acceptance by evangelical christians. I concluded by pointing to a broader issue that Keller also raised. So let’s look at whether changing an apparently Biblical doctrine is acceptable.
A few weeks back, influential New York minister Tim Keller spoke at a forum run by the US Ethics and Public Policy Centre, during which he made some comments on the issue of gay marriage. What he said attracted a lot of discussion, but was apparently misunderstood by some, and he subsequently issued an explanation. […]
I recently wrote about how academics in christian universities and colleges in the USA are finding their professional conclusions coming into conflict with the faith statements of their colleges. But this is an issue that to some degree affects all christians. How should we respond when secular learning seems to contradict traditional christian belief?
It seems inevitable that there will be a tension for christians between academic knowledge and faith. But sometimes the tension becomes very personal in its impacts, and feelings are high on both sides. These issues have come to a head a number of times in recent years at universities and colleges in the USA.
Many years ago, in a mis-spent youth, I completed some formal theological study. For one subject, I studied the prophet Isaiah. Just this week I prepared and led a study on Isaiah, and renewed my awe of this amazing man. I really think he had the deepest understanding of God of any person who lived […]