Once I get started on a train of thought, it can be a bit difficult to derail myself—that is, when it’s not far too easy. My post on ‘Praying to dead people for help’ is the latest train to bury itself on a track at the back of my mind.
Monthly Archives: June 2008
The coming of the Son of Man: when? (Part 1)
A few weeks ago, I was preaching through Matthew’s Gospel and got to the apocalyptic material in chapter 24 and following. In the first week I preached on Matthew 24:1-35. The context is Jesus’ prediction of the temple’s destruction (vv. 1-2). In response, the disciples raise a question of timing concerning three matters (which were, presumably, linked in their minds): “Tell us, when will this [i.e. every temple stone being cast down] happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (NIV). The section mentions a couple of other key events: verse 15’s abomination that causes desolation standing in the holy place and verse 30’s Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power. The big question is what does this chapter refers to? In particular, what event does the coming of the Son of Man refer to? There are three main options:
Euthanasia and murder
A woman is currently standing trial for assisting in the death of her partner Graeme Wylie:
Alzheimer’s sufferer Graeme Wylie would have been unable to get and ingest the drug that killed him without the help of his partner, Shirley Justins, and friend Caren Jenning, Justins told the Supreme Court yesterday.
Sola Sabbath
All this daily writing, posting and commenting is enormous fun, but after all of one month, I’m thinking it would be good to take Sundays off. Let’s just all go to church enjoy some propinquity. Back again tomorrow.
Noosa not newsletter (Part 1)
Dear Sola Panel readers,
Will you do me a favour and take part in this two-part blog posted titled ’Noosa not Newletter’? If you would be so kind as to answer the question below by submitting a comment, I’d be grateful. Here’s the question I want you to answer:
What does ‘social action’ look like?
Having promised three posts on ‘social action’, here at last is the final instalment (Read Part 1 and Part 2.)
Part 3 has been difficult to polish off—not only because we are getting to the rough terrain of practical wisdom, but also because it’s so easy to be self-deceived. Am I wanting to play down what social action means in reality because, for all my lofty talk about love, my heart is in fact cold, and I don’t want to have to put myself out for others? Or am I wanting to play up social action because, for all my lofty talk about proclamation being central, I don’t in fact want it to be central, and would rather do something else instead—something that seems both more immediately useful and more acceptable in the eyes of the world?
Preaching hell for the comfort of angry people
From (almost) the beginning of the Bible to the very end, the Bible is a book about judgement. The idea that judgement might come functions in the obvious way: to scare sinners. But it is also paradoxically comforting for angry people. It is especially comforting to those who are angry over the injustice they see in the world.
Zechariah—really struggling here! (Part 1)
Say it in a whisper, but Zechariah is not the first book that I would turn to when dipping into the Old Testament. Some books are easy to understand, and some books are not. Zechariah is not.
On love and blogging
A wise man once said, “Before you criticize anyone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’ll be a mile away, and you’ll have their shoes.”
The last refuge of irony
They say that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Or is it satire?
Whichever it is, I know it’s not irony. Irony has a much better reputation. It’s the Honda Accord Euro of wit: classy, effective, understated. Things ‘drip’ with irony, like honey from the comb, or blood from a wound. But the strangest and most delicious aspect of irony is that it is usually invisible to the very the person speaking the words. When Caiaphas says that it would be better that one man should die for the people, rather than the whole nation perish, he does not realize the bittersweet truth he is uttering, although we as readers do.
Global warming and secular religion
No, I’m not trying to cause trouble. And let me say quite emphatically at the outset that I’m not trying to start a debate about global warming (at least at the moment). But I can’t help thinking that there is something deeper going on in the global warming brouhaha (I always enjoy using that word)—something more than science—something ideological, emotional or even religious.
The dangers of valuing preaching
Can a commitment to expository preaching cause us to deviate from biblical ministry? William Philip draws our attention to three areas where we are likely to shift.
At a preaching conference I attended, there was a bookstall run by some-one from the local Bible college. As I browsed, it struck me that here was a plethora of books on every aspect of what might be called the art or science of biblical preaching: there were books on effective preaching, power preaching, arresting preaching, anointed preaching, Christ-focused preaching, and every other aspect of preaching you could imagine. Many of them—if not all of them—were sound, orthodox, biblical and evangelical, and most of them were probably very helpful books. Nevertheless, as I looked at them, I could not help but feel some disquiet. (more…)
The stinger of death
Con Campbell contemplates a pointed little part of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
“The sting of death is sin”: that’s what 1 Corinthians 15:56 tells us. Appearing at the end of a wonderful discussion about the resurrection of Christ and the hope of resurrection for those who trust in him, this little phrase can cause Christians much confusion. In what sense is the sting of death sin? (more…)
Putting the ‘media’ into Matthias Media
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
I’ve always loved movies about the movie-making business. (My favourite is The Player starring Tim Robbins.) I particularly like those scenes where the young, green scriptwriter is pitching his movie idea to the fat cat producer: “It’s Pretty Woman meets King Kong; it’s Thelma and Louise meets Blazing Saddles”. And the movie mogul just sits there, puffing on his cigar, and asking, “Yes, but does it have a sex scene?”
Is it possible for western liberal journalists even to think ethically any more?
Up front
As the new Australian Federal Government, freshly painted in Labor colours, busily abolished a whole range of laws and practices deemed discriminatory to homosexuals, the issue of gay marriage was never on the table. High quality ethical argument may be rare amongst western journalists, but two of the worst responses I heard made me shake my head. (more…)