Author Archives: The Briefing

Thinking theologically about glory and gospel ministry

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An address given at the AIM ‘Thinking Theologically’ conference held at Moore Theological College in June 2002.

Thinking theologically

I take it that the reason you have paid good money to be at this conference is not because theology happens to be a hobby of yours, like birdwatching or classical music or stamp collecting. Instead, it is because you are involved in some way in the work of the gospel, in the pastoring of God’s people and in the evangelizing of Sydney and the world.

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Philosophy helped my evangelism

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I found myself a few weeks back visiting Tim (not his real name), doing Just for Starters. Tim was becoming a friend, now that we’d spent seven or so sessions together, looking at the Bible. First, we went through Simply Christianity—five studies from Luke’s Gospel. Now we were following up with the Just For Starters studies—seven basic Bible studies on key areas in the Christian life. Tim still wasn’t convinced that the Bible was true, but he’d accepted that Christ had died for sins and risen from the dead. We were having lively times of discussion.

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The gods of the body

Thought

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Concerning the body, CS Lewis suggests that Christians have tended to oscillate uneasily between contemptuous denigration and extravagant deification, whereas what is required is glad and obedient acceptance. In his book The Four Loves, he says that broadly speaking there are three different views of the body. There are “the Neo-pagans—the nudists and the sufferers from the Dark Gods, to whom the body is glorious”. Then there are those ascetic Pagans who called it the “tomb of the soul”, along with some Christians to whom the body is “a sack of dung”. And, thirdly, we have the view of Francis of Assisi, expressed by calling his body “Brother Ass”—useful and sturdy, but obstinate and in need of the stick.

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Aliens and strangers: The scope of the Kingdom and the logic of the gospel

Thought

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This article was published in Issue #292 (January 2003).

No one approaches an emotionally and politically charged issue like refugees out of disinterested neutrality. The very labels we attach, whether asylum seekers or illegal immigrants, puts us for or against refugees from the moment we open our mouths. In such a climate, it is only fair that I disclose the standpoint from which I approach the subject, by way of reminder that for many of us certain topics in Christian ethics, as well as being academically challenging, are highly personal. (more…)