All art, whether visual, written, musical or film, is supposed to reflect something of the mind and world of the artist, and make the viewer, listener or reader think or feel something they might not otherwise do. An exhibition of artworks by High School students did exactly that for me.
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 […]
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.” I quoted this passage from Isaiah 9 […]
Some alternative ways to do evangelism in the twenty-first century.
Evangelical christianity in the 20th century tended to see its main task as making converts for Jesus. Sure, we ran mission hospitals and schools, but doing much of that at home smacked of the “social gospel”, which only ‘liberals’ did. There was little need to care for the environment because this world is only temporary, […]
When I was a young christian, most churches were part of a denomination and most people knew what denomination they belonged to, even if they never actually attended. People didn’t switch denominations very often. When they moved house, they would generally find the closest church of their denomination and attend it. Most new churches began […]
A lot of disagreements between christians come down to how we see the Bible. And a lot of how we present the christian faith to outsiders (whether well or badly) is similarly determined by how we see the Bible. I think there are four basic views, and I thought diagrams might make them clearer.
Most christians in the west come to belief in their teens or early 20s. From there, some stay constant in all their beliefs, some give up belief, and some start on a journey of change and growth. This post is about people who change (including me).
Martin Luther is examined for heresy. I remember about 40 years ago coming to the conclusion that the church in the western world was, in the next few decades, going to go through changes as significant as the Reformation. I felt we had got away from the truth in several important areas – introspective & […]
Last week (Close to understanding Jesus?) I outlined how I came to see that much of the evangelical teaching I had received about Jesus didn’t really explain Jesus and his ministry in accurate terms historically. It seems that many people are coming to similar conclusions, for example New Testament scholar NT Wright and the philosopher, […]