(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 […]
(July 22, 2016)
One of the distinctives of the christian religion is the belief that Jesus was divine, the son of God, the second person of the Trinity. There’s a big difference between him and us, and we can never become divine like him. So what’s Jesus doing apparently saying ordinary people are gods?
(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 […]
(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?
(July 19, 2015)
Difficult issues series This one’s been around for a while, but I hadn’t seen it until recently, so maybe you haven’t either. When Jesus healed a centurion’s servant in Matthew 8:5-13 & Luke 7:1-10, the Greek word pais is used and translated as “servant”. The word pais had several meanings, including young boy or son, […]
(July 10, 2015)
Apologetics series Many atheists have alleged that great harm has been done by religion, christianity in particular. Even if they have overstated their case, we can, and must, still learn from their criticisms. And if the analysis is fair, we have all the more reason to listen and repent. Keith Parsons is a US philosopher […]
(June 2, 2015)
I had never heard of this book or its author until a friend bought it for me as a present. (Thanks S!) But it proved to be a really worthwhile read.
(April 18, 2015)
I was asked by a reader recently to outline why I recommend and refer to certain New Testament scholars and not others. I refer to historical scholars often enough, and other websites do too, she said, so how do we know who to trust? I thought this was a good question. So here’s how I […]
(April 3, 2015)
I began this blog almost 4 years ago with a post that included this comment: “In recent years I have met, mostly on the web but also in person, many believers who struggle with some aspects of their faith that they feel no longer seems right. They don’t have significant doubts about Jesus, but they […]