Posts

Really alive, really reborn

Photo by Sandeep Singh on Pexels.com

I revisited James 1:13 as part of my discussion on desire today.  It struck me that in that debate, we need to pay attention to what James says about how desire conceives and gives birth to sin which grows into death.  That statement should make us sit up and think carefully about what is going… Continue reading Really alive, really reborn

The problem with “classical theism”

Recent debates within Evangelicalism whether over if The Son submits to the Father, it is sinful to use empathy, the extent to which we can attribute emotions to God or temptation is a sin in itself have been marked by a dividing line between those who consider themselves to what is termed classical-theism and those… Continue reading The problem with “classical theism”

Who is Jesus? Engaging with the so called “Quest for the historical Jesus”

Based on El Greco

In the 19th and 20th century the perception grew and became common place that we could say very little for certain about Jesus, the historical person.  This perception was particularly shaped by the belief that the Gospels were written much later than the lifetime of Jesus and his earliest followers, that the earliest written sources… Continue reading Who is Jesus? Engaging with the so called “Quest for the historical Jesus”

Who wrote the Gospels?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

As previously mentioned, there was a strong presumption throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries that the Gospels, at least in their final form were produced significantly after the events they purported to report.  Dates were suggested going well into the 2nd Century A.D and even conservative estimates suggested that the Gospels originated from… Continue reading Who wrote the Gospels?

What did Luke want us to be certain about?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Our church have started working through Luke’s Gospel.  Chris who was preaching on the first bit of Luke 1 noted that we can be so caught up in the apologetic type questions about eye witnesses and reliability that we forger to read the Bible itself.   This is a helpful corrective to how we tend to… Continue reading What did Luke want us to be certain about?

When paedobaptism starts to become a primary issue

Generally speaking, the debate about baptism is treated as a secondary issue. This means that believers  disagree on the issue and continue to have a good level of fellowship and partnership in the Gospel.  It’s a secondary issue in that it is still important both because those on both sides consider there to be serious… Continue reading When paedobaptism starts to become a primary issue

Sold short on empathy

In March’s Evangelicals Now, Bill James seeks to address what he calls “The problem with Empathy.” A few Christian writers and speakers have sought to argue in recent times that whilst we ought to sympathise with others, we shouldn’t empathise. Some have gone so far as to call empathy sin.* James argues that empathy’s problem… Continue reading Sold short on empathy

An alien interloper?

One of the key questions that has come up in the debate about sin, desire and temptation is whether or not we are responsible for our temptations.  This in fact is key to the position that Matthew Roberts and others hold.  The argument is that the desires which tempt us according to James are our… Continue reading An alien interloper?