In the west we generally live in post-christian societies. Although the majority of people in many countries may list their religion as “christian”, weekly church attendance is down around 5-15% in many countries, and somewhere around 30% in the US. It seems that in many cases, churches haven’t really adjusted to the end of Christendom […]
Difficult issues series The inerrancy of the Bible has become a divisive doctrine in recent years. Many churches and colleges, in the US in particular, treat this as a “make or break” doctrine, lecturers have been sacked for denying it, and accusations are made against those who hold a different view. At the same time, […]
Difficult issues series This one’s been around for a while, but I hadn’t seen it until recently, so maybe you haven’t either. When Jesus healed a centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:5-13 & Luke 7:1-10, the Greek word pais is used and translated as “servant”. The word pais had several meanings, including young boy or son, […]
I was reading an article today by a christian minister who I respect, and he said: “Christians gather in order to listen to the Scriptures being read, and to the gospel being proclaimed.” It made me think ….. Why?
The Old Testament presents a number of problems for many christians. We are taught it is the inspired Word of God, yet it contains many things we find difficult – Genesis 1-3 is contradicted by evolution, God commands his people to invade and kill, and there are some strange events that are hard to swallow […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Guest post by Jim Saint I’m a pretty regular christian. I use Facebook quite a lot – I find it is a very effective witnessing tool. One of the best things about Facebook is that it provides a great opportunity to call out christians who are leading people astray. Put them in their place and […]
CS Lewis was one of the most influential christian writers of the past century. His view of the Bible comes from his expert knowledge of ancient literature, history, language and culture. I think he points us to a better and more faithful understanding of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, that can help us all […]