[This article is an extract from an upcoming Matthias Media book on the resurrection. We’re excerpting it here as it’s an excellent stand-alone article on a reasonably under-appreciated aspect of the New Testament accounts of the resurrection: Rory investigates why the resurrection of Jesus was unexpected, even to a Jewish audience, why it nevertheless fits the narrative well, and why it leaves us with a significant choice to make.] (more…)
Archives: rory-shiner
Review: One Forever
Resource Talk, Review
Sam Freney: Your new book One Forever: The transforming power of being in Christ is about ‘union with Christ’. This is a topic that theologians get excited 
about, but why should the rest of us care? (more…)
The hope of the resurrection
Thought
For Christians, the Bible’s teaching on Jesus’ resurrection is often a bit like a mystery box. It’s central to our faith, but in our minds its value often depends on its mystery. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul urges us to move beyond the surface, open the box and delight in its truths. (more…)
Union with Christ
Thought
Paul describes Christians as being ‘in Christ’, but what does that mean? Rory Shiner explores where we are, who we are, and why it matters where we are with now that we’re in Christ. (more…)
The Twilight of Atheism
Review
The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World
Alister McGrath
Rider Books, London, 2004, 306pp.
A primer on trinitarian debates
Thought
The doctrine of the Trinity is, as someone once said, ‘the glory of the Christian religion’. It is the doctrine that defines orthodoxy, the doctrine that guarantees our knowledge of God, and the doctrine that secures our salvation. In the first four centuries, Christians worked very hard to articulate and defend this key belief, and we are all beneficiaries of their work.
Why I hate pornography
Life
I hate pornography!
I hate it for all the sorts of reasons that you might have guessed. I hate the exploitation of women and the cheapening of sexuality. I hate the cheap label it places on love. I hate it because I love women—I have a mum and a sister; I have dear female friends and sisters in Christ; and if I can one day convince someone to marry an old sinner like me (25, single, good-looking, likes walking and romantic dinners), I will have a wife.