In a culture that dismisses faith as unreasonable, can Christians remain confident that the Bible is both reliable and relevant? Is the gospel still good news?
If you can get to Sydney in July this looks great.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
→ Masterplan
Link
Ben Pakula, talking about his upcoming album, with my current favourite sentence on the internet:
Masterplan is a biblical-theology rock opera.
Ben is a musician who teaches deep theological truths from the Bible through the medium of heavy rock music.
[Masterplan] is designed as the kind of thing to listen to on long (or short) car trips, especially for kids who like crazy music, and kids who are ‘too cool’ for kid’s music generally.
→ An open letter to Sam Harris
Link
Dave Macca:
Dear Mr Harris,
I was encouraged by a friend to watch your lecture on Death and the Present Moment at the recent Global Atheist Convention in Melbourne. Your topic is very close to home for me, as I’ve been battling a stage 4 adenocarcinoma of the lung for the past 6 months. I understand it was also especially pertinent for you, and many in your audience, following the death of your good friend, Christopher Hitchens. Your lecture has provoked me to consider a number of issues and to write a few words in response.
The whole thing is a great read, as is the rest of Macca’s site.
(h/t Sandy Grant)
→ Grief—a forgotten apologetic
Link
Many of our friends and family—and us, I suspect—don’t think about death a whole lot. So when someone close gets cancer, or a friend has a miscarriage, we’re caught off-guard.
Nathan W. Bingham reflected on this recently:
There are many reasons why ignoring grief and the pain of life is bad. Not the least of which is that we’d be faking it. And faking it is antithetical to Christianity. Christianity is all about getting real with God. Real about who you are and your sin. Real about who He is and His holiness. Real about the only way to reconcile the two: through Jesus Christ. Too many Christians are being crushed as church has become a show room for success stories instead of a hospital for the hopelessly helpless.
However, today I want to consider another reason ignoring grief is a bad idea: pain and grief is an apologetic for the faith. Not apologetic in a literal sense of being a defense of the faith, but:
- a tool to confirm the truthfulness of Christianity,
- a reality best explained by Christianity,
- and a bridge to give us an ear for sharing Christianity.
→ Raising gospel-centered children
Link
Luma Simms:
If we stop to consider the motivations of our hearts—what is driving us as parents—we can gain important insight into the discipleship of our children. The driver behind gospel-centered discipleship is the glory of Christ. The driver behind child-centered discipleship is the glory of our children, and by extension, our own glory. In order to understand my own motives, I’ve learned to ask myself: Do I want my children to know God, to rest in the person and work of Christ, to have their many, many sins washed in the blood of the Lamb, and to eternally glorify Him? Or rather do I want my children to be “good,” to scrupulously avoid sin and follow biblical injunctions, to avoid bad consequences in this life?
(h/t Jean Williams)
The Two Ways to Live enhanced app
Resource Talk
Back in February, Sam Freney reported on the launch of the new Two Ways to Live app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. He mentioned at the time that he was working on “an enhanced iPad version, including some Q&A videos and testimonies about how the gospel has changed people’s lives”. (more…)
→ Speech
Link
In the Bible, James says that ‘anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect’ (James 3:2). Does he seriously expect that? He reckons that a person who speaks that well could ‘keep their whole body in check’. He seems to picture someone with absolute self-control.
But who’s like that? Our speech bubbles up from so many different emotions and circumstances. How could you seriously expect ‘perfect’ speech from anyone?
Short-but-fascinating post on the complexity of wise speech, and if you can make it (to Sydney) it sounds like a great night of discussion.
→ Why do seemingly like-minded churches look different?
Link
Like I did, you might have missed this insightful post from Kevin de Young a couple of weeks ago about why churches that seemingly believe the same things, or tick the same doctrinal boxes, can look so different. Would you add or subtract anything from his list?
As good as it gets
Life
“This is as good as it gets” the man assured me. I was initially shocked, but then deeply saddened by his statement. It was an astonishing statement—but there was no doubting the sincerity with which he was speaking. (more…)
→ Why do our churches seem so different
Link
Kevin de Young:
Have you ever been talking to a pastor or someone from another church and it seems like you should be kindred spirits. The person you meet is obviously a warm-hearted, sincere Christian. They don’t have a problem with any of the doctrines you mention as precious to you and your church. They don’t affirm liberal positions on major theological questions. They nod vigorously when you talk about the Bible and prayer and church planting and the gospel. And yet, you can’t help but wonder if you are really on the same page. You try to check your heart and make sure it’s not pride or judgmentalism getting the best of you. That’s always possible. But no, the more you reflect on the conversation and think about your two churches (or two pastors or two ministries) you conclude there really is a difference.
And what is that difference?
Read the 10 things he highlights here.
Links
You may have noticed some slightly different posts over the last couple of days. We’re adding a fairly regular link section here, highlighting something of interest elsewhere.1 The title of the post will have an arrow (→) in it, and clicking on it will take you directly to the external link, whether it’s an article, audio link, video, or something else. If you’re looking at the site, the posts are styled slightly differently too. (more…)
→ Alain de Botton interviewed
Link
As I’ve said before, I’m simultaneously fascinated and unconvinced by Alain de Botton’s Religion for Atheists. Brian Rosner recently interviewed de Botton for the Centre for Public Christianity:
In [the interview], Rosner canvasses a range of topics, asking de Botton about his own journey to atheism, and how he accounts for our human longing to believe in something greater than ourselves, and whether the fruits of religion can survive if they are, so to speak, cut off from the tree.
de Botton, in turn, responds that while he is moved by aspects of the Christian story, he doesn’t believe that we need to be ‘true believers’ to enjoy its benefits, and he remains firmly convinced that we can train our hearts and minds to our individual and social benefit without an appeal to the divine.
What is distinctive about the ministries of women?
Pastoral Ministry
As I said in The Briefing #398, these are some of my reflections on what God has taught me about the ministries of women. Following on from the importance of women in ministry considering themselves to be Bible teachers and of cultivating joy in evangelism, in this article I want to talk about the central place of training, the necessity of teamwork, and the mixed emotions of sending. All of these elements are necessary not only for any woman in ministry to be committed to, but also for any man wanting to encourage women in ministry. (more…)
A disturbing review
Life, Sola Panel
It was in the Number 1 Bestseller bin at my local Christian bookstore when I strolled in for a browse last week. And it was hard to miss at other places around the store, with its bold, red, attention-grabbing cover: “Real Marriage: The Truth about Sex, Friendship, and Life Together” by Mark and Grace Driscoll. (more…)
When your children are sick
Life, Sola Panel
flickr: kourtlynlott
I woke up this morning with a headache. There’s nothing remarkable about that; but as I stood at the bench and gulped down a couple of pain killers, I was reminded of how unpleasant a headache can be, and how easy it is for me to get rid of it.
It’s not so easy for my son. (more…)