My longing soul
"It's OK. I can do whatever I want because God's forgiveness is always available and limitless." What wrong thinking can you identify in that statement? I met a man who, at age 57, has neuropathy in his feet, neck, and spine. The constant excruciating pain, numbness, and incapacity are relieved only with several strong medications and physical therapy. On a rare day, when he is feeling good, he could do what he really wants to
Did the Jesus of the Bible exist?
My earlier post asked the question did Jesus exist? This post addresses a slightly different question. Did the historical figure Jesus whose existence is attested by secular history resemble the Jesus which is described in the Christian Scriptures? We could ask this question in several different ways. Is the New Testament historically credible or is it merely a ragged collection of ancient myths and legends? Were the historical accounts of Jesus' life edited and manipulated
Lectures on theology with Kevin Rudd
I was hoping Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's comments on Q&A Monday night would be forgotten and we could all pretend it didn't happen. Not because it wasn't important. It was. Rather because it isn't helpful. I'll explain in a moment. First, allow me to make a few comments on what happened. Why is this significant? There are several reasons this interchange was important. First, the Australian Prime Minister publicly ridiculed Christianity as a lie and
Election 2013: A Christian perspective on asylum seekers
ABC NewsRadio Drive host Glen Bartholomew interviewed the Roman Catholic Father Bob Maguire yesterday about his support of the Live Wire for Refugees 24-hour speak out at Federation Square in Melbourne today. Maguire argued that it is a Christian duty to welcome the stranger and compared illegal immigration in Australia to our failure to welcome Jewish refugees after the Holocaust. He also argued that the influx of refugees would be good for Australia. My goal
President Rudd?
On the night of 26 June, I was riveted to the TV screen just like most of you. I admit though that my interest in the (tragic) State of Origin II was dwarfed by my interest in what was happening in the halls of Parliament House that night. I spent most of the game groaning at the game and simultaneously trying to follow the political developments via Twitter, announcing each turn of events to those
Christians and war: The innocence of horror
War is hell. At least that's what those who've seen it say. If my vicarious experiences of war via Hollywood are anything resembling realistic, I'm inclined to agree. Many Christians over the years have considered themselves pacifists. I do not count myself among them. Still, there is something fundamentally broken about war. No other human dynamic is so perfectly tuned to bring out the worst—occasionally the best, but usually the worst—in human nature. I remember
Defining ourselves
In today's world of social media, personal branding has become important. Many people are concerned about how they are perceived and how others define them. Facebook statuses, categories, and posts are often crafted to create a certain opinion of how we want to be known. However... How we define ourselves is less important than how we know ourselves to be. How others define us is less important than how they know us to be. Or
When church discipline is sin
We all know intuitively that there is a line between giving your child a smack and physically abusing him. While we may draw our lines in slightly different places, all decent people understand that there is a line and crossing it is evil. Church discipline is similar, but when it comes to church discipline, where is the line between loving confrontation and abusive harassment? Recent decades have seen a resurgence in the practice of biblical
Relationship conflicts
A sad characteristic that follows some people is the need to be critical or in conflict. This 'way of relating' is often observed in 'independent churches' who have made an art form of it. However, conflict and criticism has also flowed over into how individuals from such backgrounds relate to other individuals in life in general.
The mega church
Upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Twenty centuries later, Christ's church has crossed the globe. Yet, in its visible form, we often define it by buildings or large gatherings of people. So how big does a church need to be in order to be effective? If we believe the church growth movement, then mega-churches of two or three thousand members are the ones