Recently, Sandy Grant wrote to Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft of Perth, trying to discover what view the Archbishop took in response to one of his senior clergymen apparently denying the bodily resurrection of Christ. The response at the time was ambiguous. (Sandy commented on the topic here and here.)
Author Archives: The Briefing
The Lord’s Supper
I’m leading the Lord’s Supper this morning at church.
Broughton Knox on the coming of the Son of Man
For no other reason than because Sandy alluded to it in his post, I brought down from the bookshelf Broughton Knox’s discussion of the coming of Jesus, referred to in Matthew 24, 25 and 26. It comes from a chapter cheekily entitled ‘The Five Comings of Jesus’ which you can read for yourself if you have Broughton’s book. If you haven’t got it, here’s what he says:
Some weird verses about dead people
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.
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.
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:
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.
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…)
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…)
A Luddite revolution?
Up front
It occurred to me recently that we may need a Luddite revolution in our attitude towards ministry.
The Luddites were basically a group of tradesmen in 19th-century England. They saw the threat posed by the spread of industrial technology, and protested against it—even sabotaging local wool and cotton mills. (more…)
Living with the Underworld
I like to think of the city of Melbourne as being a nice place to live—more predictable and safer than its cousin Sydney, full of cul-de-sacs, footy carnivals, Neighbours and cappuccinos. But apparently it too has a dark underbelly—a monstrous flipside peopled by drug dealers, crime gangs and hit men engaged in a bitter, deadly war. It turns out this other Melbourne was there all along—imperceptible to its more decent citizens until it was shockingly revealed. (more…)
The slow death of congregational singing
Interchange
Magic, science and religion
Most magic is essentially the same as religion: it is a human attempt to contact the supernatural and, perhaps, manipulate it. Most magic seeks to achieve ends by getting supernatural beings to bypass the normal workings of nature. Religion also seeks supernatural aid, although the purpose is usually more lofty (to do with the afterlife or basic sustenance, not overt power) and the means involves more veneration. Also, generally, the being involved in religion is on a broader scale than those involved in magic: gods are generally conceived as being bigger, more universal, and more powerful than the demons, ghosts or spirits called upon in magic. But these are differences of degree or emphasis, not of fundamentals. (more…)