Should we believe in Jesus because we believe in the Bible, or the other way around?
(November 6, 2014)Have you ever thought which came first – your belief in Jesus or your belief in the Bible? Do you think it matters?
Tag: history
Four views of the Bible
(August 12, 2014)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.
How could some Jews believe Jesus was God?
(August 4, 2014)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 […]
Close to understanding Jesus?
(June 3, 2014)One day, when I was a young christian, I had a surprising thought. As soon as I thought it, I knew it couldn’t be true. But this untrue thought set me on a path of discovery that I am still on today. This path has enriched my understanding of Jesus and changed the way I […]
How the four gospels came to be written?
(May 18, 2014)You can read the New Testament without knowing anything about the authors or the background to their writing. If that’s you, you probably won’t be interested in this post. But I have long been interested in these background matters, and lately I’ve be coming to a few conclusions.
Is the church dying? Do we need to be worried?
(April 16, 2014)Many atheists make strong statements about how the church is in terminal decline, and it’s only a matter of time til it is reduced to an insignificant minority in most western countries, and eventually worldwide. Some christians may be influenced by these claims. I did some research for my other blog to check out the […]
The Old Testament: an update on a journey (part 2)
(April 7, 2014)Last post I described how I have been on a journey working out what I think is true, or not, about the Old Testament. This post I try to draw some conclusions.
The Old Testament: an update on a journey (part 1)
(April 1, 2014)This post is very much a personal reflection about a journey I am still on. For years I didn’t think much about the Old Testament. I read it sometimes, looked up passages occasionally, appreciated Isaiah and Ezekiel. But I didn’t really spend much time considering what I thought about it. After all, I am a […]
Book review: Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism
(March 24, 2014)I’ve been reading a few books on the Old Testament lately. Paradoxically, this is probably the one I most disagreed with, yet also the one I gained the most from.
Book review: 'I love Jesus and I accept evolution' by Denis Lamoureux
(March 19, 2014)Last year I posted about how christians are gradually becoming more accepting of the theory of evolution. As part of that post, I reviewed the work of Denis Lamoureux, Associate Professor of Science and Religion at the University of Alberta in Canada, based on some online slideshow teachings he has produced. I have now read […]