Papua New Guinea amended its constitution identifying itself as a Christian nation earlier this year. I’ve recently been asked what I make of this and whether or not I can commend it as a good thing. This is really a concrete example of the hypothetical question “wouldn’t you rather have a nation that is built… Continue reading Is it a good thing that Papua New Guinea has declared itself a Christian Nation?
Tag: common grace
Can we impose our values onto everyone else?
We may conclude that Christians should be against abortion and euthanasia based on what the Bible teaches us about God, ourselves, creation and new creation. However, does this mean that we can impose this value on the rest of society? If the democratic majority think that assisted dying is okay, or even if this is… Continue reading Can we impose our values onto everyone else?
Common Grace without special grace?
I want to flesh out my thinking a little bit more on something I touched on in my comments on the M&S advert. There I engaged with the question “what were you expecting from an advert?” Was it crass, self-centred commercialism? Well yes of course. The question is whether we should have expected better. Others… Continue reading Common Grace without special grace?
If Sabbath is a creation ordinance, then…
I recently argued that one of the reasons why we should continue to keep a sabbath holy is because it is a creation ordinance. In other words, our relationship to Sabbath is based not just on the laws given in Exodus- Deuteronomy but relates to something given by God at creation. “The Sabbath was made… Continue reading If Sabbath is a creation ordinance, then…
Does God hear the prayers of unbelievers?
My friend, Steve Kneale, says no. You can read his reasoning here. Why does it matter? Well, it will affect our approach to church life, pastoral ministry and evangelism. A lot of churches organise their meetings around the assumption that unbelievers will be there. We invite them to stand and sing with us. We organise… Continue reading Does God hear the prayers of unbelievers?
Looking for Utopia? Seeking the Good of the City as apologetics
We seek the good of the city not because we believe that we can achieve utopia but exactly because we know that we will not. What I mean by this is that some Christians have a confused and unhelpful view about the role of the church in public life and social action. Some people speak… Continue reading Looking for Utopia? Seeking the Good of the City as apologetics
Church PTSD – listening to outside voices
Over the past couple of days I’ve shared a couple of posts drawing on observations that psychologists make about trauma and suggesting some lessons for church leaders. Some of us might be a little bit nervous of seeing articles that appear to draw primarily from secular thinking. I mean, there’s huge scepticism about the ability… Continue reading Church PTSD – listening to outside voices
An overflow of grace for the good of the city
One reason why I think it is right to say that a church exists for the good of the city is that if things are done right, then this simply is the case. Why do I say that? Well have a look at Hebrews 6:4-7 with me. It says: We tend to look at those… Continue reading An overflow of grace for the good of the city
For the good of the city
Our church has a list of reasons that we exist. One of them is that we exist “for the good of the city.” Our church has been planted here in Birmingham with the conviction that we should not just become a “holy huddle.” A challenge is sometimes given to churches “If you ceased to exist… Continue reading For the good of the city
Is it just psychobabble?
Over the past couple of days I’ve shared a couple of posts drawing on observations that psychologists make about trauma and suggesting some lessons for church leaders. Some of us might be a little bit nervous of seeing articles that appear to draw primarily from secular thinking. I mean, there’s huge scepticism about the ability… Continue reading Is it just psychobabble?
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