The Good Book, part four

Back in 2012, the Church of England voted down legislation to approve women bishops. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, expressed his frustration, saying that the Church needed to “get with the programme”. They did, of course, “get with the programme” a couple of years later, and so have many other churches. A few churches here and there still haven’t got on board. Why is that? Well, they recognise that the job of a local church is not to get with the programme set by politicians or society. There is another programme that Christians are called to follow, and it is laid out in Scripture. Because of this, they, and the Bible, have been charged with misogyny, i.e., “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women”. This is a serious charge. Is the Bible guilty? Hardly. Let’s look at the facts.

The Good Book, part three

Culture has shifted, and shifted fast. In 2015 in the USA, same-sex marriage was declared a constitutional right and legalised in all 50 states. The President, Barack Obama, was an enthusiastic supporter of this, but when he was running for his first term in 2008, he said he believed marriage was between a man and a woman and was not in favour of same-sex marriage. To say such a thing now is to declare yourself a dinosaur, a bigot and a hater.

The Good Book, part two

In the first Good Book post we looked at the subject of slavery, and saw that the Bible does not affirm or encourage the slave trade – it is decidedly against it. Another subject that causes people to think the Bible is an immoral book is the slaughter of the Canaanites in the time of Joshua. It is portrayed as an act of genocide – a tribal deity commanding ethnic cleansing. The image is disturbing, but it is distorted.

The Good Book?

It used to be that the Bible was known as the “Good Book”, and those who believed it were viewed by society as moral people. Society has changed, and there is an increasing number of people who say that the Bible is an evil book and those who believe it are immoral.

Why didn't He say something?

Sometimes silence says a lot, and other times people read too much into it.

I have met challenges on four areas to do with Jesus' supposed failure to speak. Three of them are moral issues, which we will look at now, and one is theological, which we will look at in a later blog post.

The Trinity - it matters more than you think

Some people dismiss it as an invention of the church, while others ignore it as a point of doctrine that theologians in ivory towers talk about because they have nothing useful to do.

But the truth of the Trinity is more important and relevant than you could imagine.

The Way

Before Christianity was called Christianity, it was called “The Way” (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The reason for this is they were believers in the one who said, “I am the way” (John 14:6). Maybe you are feeling lost in life. Let’s think how Jesus is the way.

Is God hiding?

“If God exists, why is He so secretive about it? Why not make it more obvious?”

The hiddenness of God is an argument that many atheists find compelling, but when we think about the evidence I think we will find that it certainly isn’t God is who is hiding.

What the protests profess

Many cities across the United States and around the world have been filled with people protesting following the tragic death of George Floyd. The shocking video of his last moments has sent a jolt through the human consciousness, bringing out our innate awareness of a couple of huge realities.

Being human

I was asked to contribute to the UtG (Understanding the Gospel) podcast recently on the subject of what it means to be human. It can be found on any podcast provider, or click here. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, pass it on and spread the word.

Hard Times, Hard Truths

Hard times reveal hard truths. The panic-buying exemplifies the selfishness that ultimately drives us. We can be very generous and altruistic when we are sure there is enough to go round, but the moment we think we might have to do without, it shows that we are nowhere near as generous as we thought – the consuming thought is, “It has to be mine!”

What God has joined...

When the Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce, He took them back to “the beginning”, showing them that God’s plan was one man with one woman becoming one flesh for life. He concluded His statement with, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6).

The devastation that no-fault divorce has brought on society cannot be estimated. The heart-breaking consequences of a marriage break-down, particularly on children, cannot be exaggerated.

But as you go back to Genesis you find that God has not only joined husbands and wives. There are other things He puts together that are not to be separated.

Who do you think you are?

We live in an individualistic society. In many parts of the world today, and in every part historically, a person was identified by their family, tribe and nation. There was a great sense that the individual’s identity was bound up in the group. The theory of our culture is that you can make your own identity, and it doesn’t matter about your family, tribe or nation. That’s the theory anyway.

Respect

I told you in a previous post about an atheist friend (Robert) I had a chat with. I want to focus on another aspect of our conversation. 

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence? OK then.

We often hear from atheists that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. They think the Christian is obliged to provide this extraordinary evidence to support his "extraordinary" claims, but the gun they are holding is pointing at themselves.

Death wish

In Ireland we have seen the referendum result greeted with carnival-like glee. Just remember they are celebrating the legal right they now have to kill the most innocent and defenceless of the human race.

A person's a person, no matter how small.

There is a referendum this Friday in the Republic of Ireland on the issue of abortion. We could all learn an important lesson from Dr Suess.

Who are the real anti-women bigots?

This from the "Belfast Bigot" (like all other articles on his blog) is really worth reading.

Dawkins fan?

I spoke to a man recently who told me he was an atheist and a follower of Richard Dawkins.

And of Asher he said...

In Moses' final blessing on Israel he said to the tribe of Asher, "As your days, so shall your strength be" (Deut. 33:25). He promised that they would get strength for each day, and I think the McArthur family (owners of Ashers, the bakers) have proved this through the whole legal rigmarole of the last couple of years.