Matt Smethurst writes on The Gospel Coalition site: “When it comes to the gospel, we don’t need to dress it up to make it cool. We need to break it down to make it clear.” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/3-reasons-avoid-evangelism/ The context of the comment is in an article about why we can sometimes struggle with and seek to… Continue reading Do we need to break the Gospel down to make it clear?
Category: Apologetics
If Jesus is the bridegroom then …
It’s never really struck me before but perhaps one of the most overlooked examples of Jesus claim to God is found in Mark 2:18-22. This little passage is tucked away in between two examples that we usually pick up on as examples of his divine authority. The first is when Jesus heals and forgives the… Continue reading If Jesus is the bridegroom then …
Jesus through the son lens
The other day, I wrote about how a Muslim asked me to read the Gospels through what he called “the prophet lens”. He thought this would make better sense than a Christian hermeneutic. I was happy to do this because the Bible points to Jesus as Prophet, Priest and King. So the prophet lens will… Continue reading Jesus through the son lens
Perpetual Virginity – Making theology unnecessarily complicated
Roman Catholics place a strong emphasis on Mary as worthy of homage and devotion. They refer to her as The Virgin Mary, believing that she was a perpetual virgin. This goes beyond the idea of a virgin conception or virgin birth to a permanent, celibate life. I want to have a look at this in… Continue reading Perpetual Virginity – Making theology unnecessarily complicated
Looking at Jesus through “the prophet lens”
The other day I got stopped by a Muslim evangelist in town offering me a copy of the Quran. I politely said no thanks and explained that I had a copy but also that I knew Jesus as Lord and Saviour. He then sought to engage me in conversation. There were some fascinating observations I… Continue reading Looking at Jesus through “the prophet lens”
Where did we get the whole idea of Atonement from? – A response to Matthew Parris
Matthew Parris has written in the Spectator arguing that: Christians should face up to this: the whole atonement thing is a terrible muddle, a tangle of primitive and modern thinking, a proselytising salesman’s wheeze, a mess. Trying to make sense of it is a waste of time. Blame Paul. But don’t blame Jesus: it was… Continue reading Where did we get the whole idea of Atonement from? – A response to Matthew Parris
What the hope of resurrection doesn’t encourage us to do -and why that’s good news
Something struck me over the past few months, particularly as our family have been through a period of grief having seen Sarah’s dad and my mum die in a very short space of time. One of the emotions that we go through in grief is that strong sense of missing a person and wishing that… Continue reading What the hope of resurrection doesn’t encourage us to do -and why that’s good news
It’s about more than preaching
Yesterday, I argued that If we wanted churches that are theologically rich and culturally engaged (and I believe we need that), then rich preaching has a big part to play. However, even if we do the things that I argued for then I still think there’s a lot we need to do. We can’t expect… Continue reading It’s about more than preaching
Why Biblically rich cultural engagement may not be happening in our churches as much as we would like
I’m picking up on a theme from two sources. First, there is my friend Tim Suffield’s tweet that prompted my little survey the other day. Then there’s a recent book that has been generating a lot of excitement among conservative evangelicals “Biblical Critical Theory” by Christopher Watkins. The book, according to some of the most… Continue reading Why Biblically rich cultural engagement may not be happening in our churches as much as we would like
Does God “give and take away”?
This question got asked by a thoughtful person the other day. Are we right to sing “You give and take away” in the song “Blessed be the name of the Lord?” The line of course is drawn from Job’s response to his suffering (Job 1:21). But was Job right in his assessment. We know that… Continue reading Does God “give and take away”?
Faithroots 