Just keep reading

What would you think if someone got a letter in the post, and after opening it just dived into random sections of it, pulling out sentences with no regard to the context in which they were written.  Would you think that would be a sensible way to go about establishing the intent of the writer and the meaning of his correspondence?  I would guess your answer is no, but then why do so many people adopt that approach when dealing with Scripture?

Tomaytoes, tomatoes?

"Why all this petty bickering?  We all worship the same God, we just differ on the details.  Does it really matter?  Stop arguing, and unite!"  Does that sound familiar?

True for you, not for me!

It was a weird conversation - this gentleman maintained that there was no objective truth, I asked him if his statement was true...

Why didn't He just say it?

I have heard Jews, Muslims and "Jehovah's Witnesses" ask this question - "If Jesus really is God then why didn't He just say, 'I am God'?"  There's a good reason, if you think about it...

We already knew that!!!

"Are we to suppose that no one knew that murder was wrong until the Israelites got to Sinai and got the Ten Commandments?  Of course they knew it was wrong, and what that shows is that you don't get your morality from the Bible."  That's the assertion I have heard, but what is the answer?  Well, to a large extent, I agree!

Last of the Sullivan questions

It's been four weeks I think since I got buried beneath the avalanche of questions from Sullivan Upper SU, and I am just now emerging - to the students at Sullivan, thanks for your questions and thanks for your patience.  If you have any follow ups then let me know: mailto:greatnews4all@googlemail.com

The strawman takes another beating from Dawkins

Tip to winning an argument - define your opponent's views to suit yourself, then tear them apart.  That seems to be the tactic Richard Dawkins takes.

Double standards?

Why does God not go by the rules He gives us?  Some have accused God of having double standards...

What's the big deal about miracles?

I indicated in a previous post that I would look at why Christ's miracles showed Him to be the Son of God.  The reason for posting on this is because Christopher Hitchens has stated, in his usual dogmatic way, that even if the miracles and the resurrection did happen it would prove nothing about Jesus being the Son of God because others in the Bible performed miracles and were raised from the dead. 

It's a miracle!

Getting a handy parking space or having just the right amount of money for your shopping - miraculous?  Hardly, but there are some who are desperate to see miracles on a daily basis - it's not the way it works.

Christ supplemented or Christ sufficient?

Is salvation a work of the Lord or does He require your input?

Mopping up session from Sullivan

I will now try to address the remaining questions from Sullivan's SU.

All or nothing?

The man was intelligent - his objection wasn't...

More homework for Sullivan

I have fallen behind in my work for Sullivan SU!  Sorry!

Did I miss something?

Sometimes you can only catch on too late that you missed a wonderful opportunity that can never be recaptured...

That's just your interpretation!

It's the line that is trotted out when a person runs out of arguments, "That's just your interpretation."  I find it quite frustrating for a few reasons...

Impossible things before breakfast?

'Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."' (Alice in Wonderland)

Good enough for heaven? Bad enough for hell?

Alan was expressing his frustration with the message of the Gospel.  He told me it just didn't work - he had tried it - he sincerely wanted to be a Christian, he had come to Christ and it hadn't made any difference in his life.  I had to find out why, and I did...

One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

How can someone ever be in a right relationship with God?  How many miles would they have to travel?  How much money would they have to pay?  The messages of religion will give many and varied answers to that question.  The message of the Gospel gives an answer like no other - no miles to travel, no money to pay - just one small step takes a person to God...

Back to school - more Sullivan questions

A couple more interesting questions from our friends at Sullivan Upper...

Copy Cat Christianity or Piggy-back Paganism?

It's one of the orthodox doctrines of our gullible, evidence-averse, anti-Christian society - Christianity copied pagan myths. 

Without a doubt?

John had been doing a Bible correspondence course we run, (if you want to do it then email me and I'll get it to you - mailto:greatnews4all@googlemail.com).  He was burdened by a sense of his guilt, and was impressed by the evidence of the reality of the Gospel message, and he said he believed that Jesus had to be the Son of God, but he couldn't be 100% sure.  To him, this seemed to be sufficient reason for not receiving Christ as his own Lord and Saviour.  Was he right?  Do you need 100% certainty before you become a Christian?  Do you need to know without a doubt that it's true?

More questions from SU SU

Another rapid fire round of Q & A from Sullivan Upper Scripture Union...

Questions, Questions, Questions - Sullivan Upper SU

I didn't really relish going to school back in the days when I had to, but I very much enjoy it now, and I definitely enjoyed it last Friday when I had to opportunity to go to Sullivan Upper, Holywood, and speak to the SU group there.