(November 24, 2016)
Critical issues:I think this post raises a crucially important matter for christians today. It was mob violence, but at least it didn’t lead to a lynching. Jason and a few friends, converts of the apostle Paul, were dragged before the city officials and angry accusations were made: “These men [meaning Paul and company] …. are […]
(October 26, 2016)
I came across a blog post today that summed up what I think has become a significant movement within christianity. Learning from a “hippie heretic” The post was This Nameless Movement of God on Chuck McKnight’s blog Hippie Heretic, and it was based on just one premise (taken from fellow blogger Brian Zahnd): “God is […]
(October 19, 2016)
I don’t believe the Bible is necessarily without error (i.e. inerrant). It doesn’t specifically claim to be, and I don’t think any of the arguments for inerrancy stand up to scrutiny. But I’m not going to argue about that here. Rather, I want to suggest ways that this doctrine, which I believe is not Biblical, […]
(May 30, 2016)
North Haven on the NSW mid-north coast, from the top of Big Brother mountain. The reason for showing this photo will become apparent in the post. Photo (c) John Naylor and Google. Christians hold three different views on who gains acceptance with God. I have looked at what the Bible says in detail at Can […]
(May 11, 2016)
So far I have looked at two doctrinal issues in this series – Three different views of the Bible and three different ways to read it and Three different views of social justice and the gospel – and each time I have concluded that the truth lies between the two more polarised views. It probably […]
(April 30, 2016)
What part do social justice and community welfare play in the church’s mission? Are they something different to the gospel, and not as important, or are they part of the gospel? There are several very different views on this.
(April 18, 2016)
Differences among christians We all know there are many, many matters on which christians hold different views. Many of them are merely matters of opinion and taste (though you would sometimes think they were highly important), but they include many important doctrines too. For many matters, there are a range of views, though often times […]
(February 9, 2016)
Difficult issues series Last post I considered the apparent differences between the teachings and emphasis of Jesus and Paul. I concluded that the differences are sometimes exaggerated, sometimes understated, but we should avoid trying to make them say the same things, and instead try to learn from both. The issue of faith vs works is […]
(January 22, 2016)
Difficult issues series It doesn’t take a lot of reading in the New Testament before you notice that Paul seems to have a different emphasis to Jesus. Can we learn something from these apparent differences?
(December 29, 2015)
I concluded my previous post on DNA and evolution with this comment: “DNA is fundamental to all life. As christians we can see it as part of the way God has set up the universe. So we should be willing and interested to learn what it tells us about life. I think what we learn […]