(March 9, 2012)
Churches have been going through a remarkable revolution this past 50 years. Denominational barriers are much lower and less important. The Holy Spirit is more welcome. Christians are much more open to new ideas. But there is much more to come (I believe)! One of the very positive influences on world christianity is the ‘simple […]
(March 6, 2012)
The resurrection of Jesus is obviously one of the central teachings of christianity, and is also under attack from sceptics. Disciples need to know why they believe it in the first place, how to defend their belief, and even perhaps how to use the resurrection as a challenge to non-believers.
(February 26, 2012)
In christianity, faith is a virtue. Many christians believe in Jesus because they have been taught to believe by people they trust. Is this good or bad? Some people say, faith is the opposite of reason. So does this mean believing in Jesus is unreasonable? Why do we have faith anyway? And how do these […]
(February 21, 2012)
1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Jesus is the centre of our faith, so we need to understand, and be able to explain clearly, why we believe in him. This isn’t as easy as it used […]
(February 19, 2012)
In Training disciples to stand I suggested that we need to develop our methods of evangelism and discipleship to include some apologetics. Young disciples need to be encouraged to better think through why they believe, and how to defend their belief against attack. But what apologetics are important and relevant?
(February 11, 2012)
I met Jon Owen at the Black Stump music festival. Over three days I listened to his stories and was impressed. I laughed a lot, but had the odd tear as well. Jon and his wife Lisa live in one of Sydney’s most depressed suburbs as part of a community supported by Urban Neighbours of […]
(January 25, 2012)
These days, christians may have to face the common accusation that their belief is based on blind, reasonless faith, and not on evidence, and that therefore they should logically give up belief. “There’s no more evidence for the christian God than for Santa or Thor”, they may be told. This can be a major source […]
(January 5, 2012)
A friend asked me about this the other day, and I had to research it, so I thought I would post what I learned. The idea of an immortal soul which lives on after death is part of many people’s understanding of christianity. But it probably isn’t true.
(January 1, 2012)
In my last post (CS Lewis’ trilemma – not so effective now?), I discussed the much used argument, made famous by CS Lewis, that Jesus claimed to be divine, something a good and sane person would not do. Therefore Jesus must either have not been good, or not sane, or he was indeed divine. The […]
(December 30, 2011)
I have been a CS Lewis fan since my youth. So I remember being impressed by his argument, in Mere Christianity, that Jesus was divine. He could not have been merely a great moral teacher, Lewis argued, for his claims were such that either he was mad, or evil, or truly the Lord. These days, […]