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 […]
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 […]
The church I attend has embarked on a strategy of growth by trying to retain more visitors – either those attending weddings and funerals, or people members have invited to attend a church service. The services have been “streamlined”, visitors are welcomed in a systematic way, and the public spaces in the church building have […]
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, […]
I posted a while back on this topic. I have just come across an excellent article on the same topic.
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.
Two years ago I wrote about the progression we can see in the New Testament of the disciples’ belief in Jesus (see How did Jesus become God?), how they seemed to go from incomprehension to belief he was the Messiah, to belief in him as the unique son of God. In particular, I referenced New […]
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, […]