I’ve been thinking about the problem of evil. Not so much the very pressing and existential problem of my own evil, but the classic three-part gotcha argument that every half-baked neo-atheist trots out these days with a smug smile. It usually goes like this:
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Author Archives: Tony Payne
Romans 3:21-26
Bible 101, Sola Panel
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
In his Bible, Martin Luther famously called this passage “the chief point, and the very central place of the Epistle, and of the whole Bible”—and with good reason. The opening words of verse 21 signal the turning point, not only of Paul’s letter but of the human race. (more…)
Making the most of his time
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
Do you ever wonder what you’ll be like at 80?
I sometimes have a vision of myself as a kindly old chap with white hair that people think of as that Nice Old Mr Payne. What a gent! (more…)
One more sip of the coffee
Life, Sola Panel
Sandy Grant is a man of integrity.
Back in the early days of Sola Panel, I wrote a post about the fad of Christians supporting the fair trade coffee movement, in which I basically suggested that while the sentiment of wanting to help poor third-world coffee growers was noble, trying to do it by a centralized price-fixing mechanism would probably do more harm than good.
Disproving God
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
I’ve been thinking about the problem of evil. Not so much the very pressing and existential problem of my own evil, but the classic three-part gotcha argument that every half-baked neo-atheist trots out these days with a smug smile. It usually goes like this:
An all-powerful God could eliminate all evil and suffering.
An all-good, all-loving God would want to eliminate all evil and suffering.
Given that evil and suffering are everywhere in our world, the all-powerful, all-good, all-loving God does not exist.
God’s agenda
Life, Sola Panel
Is God on your to-do list, or is he helping you accomplish those goals? Tony Payne shares the secret to keeping the church/God/Bible ball in the air. (more…)
Consistent with the Bible
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
Consistency has never been one of my strong points. “It is the bugbear of small minds”, I breezily say as I am caught out doing the very thing for which I have berated the kids not five minutes previously (take your pick from: eating high-spill-potential food in the good room, flicking between channels constantly on the TV, or leaving every light on in the house). (more…)
The Bible is like a newspaper
Thought, Sola Panel
The Bible is like a newspaper in many ways:
- Generally speaking, the reading of newspapers is in decline—many people today prefer to get their information from the internet rather than read a newspaper.
The future of books
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
These are troubling times in the book business. As I sit down to write this month’s Resource Talk, the dust is still settling after the financial collapse of the owner of two of Australia’s largest bookselling chains. The management is blaming a mix of factors: the high Australian dollar, the rise of online retailing (whereby customers can buy books cheaper and tax-free from overseas), the heavy discounting tactics of department stores, the global financial crisis, and the rise of the ebook.
Why the Bible is like a newspaper
Life, Sola Panel
The Bible is like a newspaper in many ways:
The editor’s fault
Thought, Sola Panel
One of the many crosses my children have to bear in having me for a father is that I find it hard to stop being an editor.
“Me and Elle are going to the beach today, Dad. Can you give us a lift?”
“Not until you can say: Elle and I are going to the beach today.”
What the guru learned
Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
It’s amazing how easily one becomes a guru these days. Just do the following: a) get together with an old friend and write down a few basic and hardly earth-shattering thoughts about the nature of church life and ministry; b) publish these ideas as a book and wait for it to become a surprise international bestseller; c) travel around the US, running workshops for pastors and astounding people with your insight and wisdom (as you talk further about aforesaid non-earth-shattering ideas). (more…)
Three big questions for your small groups
Resource Talk, Sola Panel
In recent months, Col Marshall and I have been running some workshops based on The Trellis and the Vine, and during the workshops we spent a bit of time talking about small groups—about why we have them (or don’t), the part they normally play in church life, how we train our leaders (or don’t as the case may be), and so on.
Where the road begins
Resource Talk, Review, Sola Panel
I have always thought that I had a pretty good understanding of Roman Catholicism, not just of its history and doctrine, but of how Catholic people ‘tick’. Growing up as a non-Catholic at a Roman Catholic high school, all my mates were Catholic, all my teachers were Catholic, and all my girlfriends were Catholic (of which, to be precise, there was one). I even flirted briefly with becoming Catholic myself.
Watching the detective
Life, Sola Panel
Watching the latest incarnation of Sherlock Holmes on TV the other night, it occurred to me that the Bible is a mystery story.