Archives: thought
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.
Preaching Christ as Lord
Thought
We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord. (2 Cor 4:5)
This is the way the Apostle Paul describes his preaching amongst the Corinthians. Earlier on in the chapter, he tell us that he has turned his back on any other preaching except the plain statement of the truth. He assumes that there is a truth to be told. It can be known and it can be verified.
The living and the dead
Thought
Contacting the dead—entertaining game, dangerous deception or forbidden magic? With his Bible open and his TV tuned to John Edward, Peter Bolt explores the abiding human interest in hearing from those who have ‘crossed over’. His conclusions may surprise you …
The John Edward phenomenon is gaining momentum. His television show Crossing Over is a regular on cable and has caught the interest of the networks. As an indicator of his rising popularity, apparently Time will soon feature this modern day medium who receives messages from the dead on behalf of the living who happen to turn up in his audience. (more…)
The gods of the body
Thought
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.
Aliens and strangers: The scope of the Kingdom and the logic of the gospel
Thought
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…)
How close are we to the Bible?
Thought, Sola Panel
The arrival of the new English Standard Version of the Bible (ESV) has brought to the surface many underlying issues about our English language Bibles, and what we should expect from them. A mass of questions arise.
Christian unity and denominations
Thought
This is the third and final essay in a series by John Woodhouse on the nature of Christian unity. The first two articles are also available in our online archives: ‘When to unite and when to divide’ and ‘The unity of the church’.
‘He descended into hell’
Thought
One thing that has puzzled me ever since I went to church as a teenager was the line I used to say in the Apostle’s Creed: “He descended into hell”. When I said this, my mind was filled with all sorts of fantastic images of Jesus plummeting through the earth on Easter Saturday to a place where the devil lived and where the fire burned continually. I didn’t really know what it meant, but I was happy to say it, because, after all, it was in the creed that the apostles had written, right?
FAQs on the ESV
Thought, Sola Panel
As word spreads about the new ESV, my email inbox is increasingly clogged with interested people wanting to know more. Here’s a sample of some of the most common questions, with some brief answers.
The unity of the church
Thought
The second in a series of essays on the subject of unity. John Woodhouse examines what it means for the church to seek unity here on earth. (Read part one and part three online.)
When to unite and when to divide
Thought
Have you noticed the way in which ‘divisiveness’ has become a completely negative word? If an idea, a statement, a strategy, a proposal is judged to be ‘divisive’ then it is unwelcome. For example in my part of the world, in the Anglican denomination, there is a proposal to authorise lay persons to administer the Lord’s Supper in church, just as lay persons may be authorized to preach God’s Word. This is opposed by some who have no fundamental objection to it, except that it would be ‘divisive’. Therefore it ought not to be pursued.
Is this the English Bible we’ve been waiting for?
Thought, Sola Panel
The English Standard Version (ESV) is about to hit Australia. Among the multitude of English translations, is this just one more attempt by publishers to cash in? Or might this one be different?
The ESV and NIV compared
Thought, Sola Panel
To give some specific examples of the differences between the ESV and NIV, let’s take a careful look at John 17.
Our hunger for freedom: Where to find true liberty
Thought
Peter Jensen is the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. This is the second of two articles on human nature. Read the first article in the Briefing archives.