It was the end of my first year at University. Having risen early to study, I turned on the radio and heard the news. I remember wondering whether to wake my parents and tell them, but it was such shocking news I decided that they had to know. So I went in and told them of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The fear of God: Talking with Jerry Bridges
Jerry Bridges is the author of The Pursuit of Holiness, The Practice of Godliness, True Fellowship, Trusting God, Transforming Grace and The Joy of Fearing God. He has a close association with the ministry of The Navigators and lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.
The servant’s paradox: Part II
Life
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.
The state of modern evangelicalism: An interview with Michael Horton
Michael Horton is the President of the American group, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals.
Can you tell us something about yourself and how you came to be involved with the contemporary call to reformation in the Church?
The servant’s paradox: Part I
Life
A paradox is where two things seem to be opposite, but you know they are both true. It’s a tension, a contradiction, an antimony (according to my thesaurus), a mystery. It’s the fact that too many cooks spoil the broth, but at the same time, many hands make light work. It’s the truth that he who hesitates is lost, but only a fool wouldn’t look before he leaps.
Godly grief
Life
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Cor 7:10)
Two kings
Opening and closing the door on grief
Life
An interview with John Stott
John Stott is spending July in Australia, lecturing and preaching in a number of cities. We posed these questions to him while he was still in London, preparing for the visit. Thanks to Wendy Toulmin and Langham Partnership Australia (Inc) for organizing this interview.
When does life begin? The archbishop’s fiat
Life
We have recently witnessed the interesting spectacle of someone trying to justify a moral position purely on the basis of science, without reference to ethics or religion. Finding ‘viability’ to be a dubious basis for defining human life, Kristina Kerscher Keneally attempts a moral critique of embryonic stem-cell research, but without standing on traditional moral platforms:
When are we human? The dilemma of embryonic stem cell research
Life
Christian voices have been prominent in recent months over the issue of whether to allow scientific research to take place on stem cells. Megan Best, a doctor trained in bioethics, explains what is at stake.
Self-esteem and God’s esteem
Life
Why is a woman’s self-esteem often so low? How does knowing God help with this issue?
On her bestselling CD, Kasey Chambers sings: “Am I not pretty enough? Is my heart too broken? Do I cry too much? Am I too outspoken?” From the song’s popularity, she seems to have struck a chord with most women (probably a few men, too). We spend our whole lives thinking, “Am I acceptable? Why do people look right through me?”
Make the elephant visible
I recently read with interest an article in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend Magazine, entitled ‘Through Islamic Eyes’ (1 Dec 2001). It was a very enlightening article, but not in the way intended by the author. In fact, it shed little light on the nature of Islam but spoke volumes about life in today’s Australia.
The cross and Islam: An evangelistic starting point
In the slightly terrified new world after September 11, many of us have found that the time is ripe for Islamic evangelism—but not so much with Muslims as with our secular neighbours. The new prominence (and infamy) of Islam has brought the topic of religion and truth once again into everyday conversation with our friends and neighbours. Once again people are asking the big questions: Are all religions really the same? What do Muslims really believe? Are Islamic beliefs really consistent with our vision of a tolerant multicultural society? Is religion the real cause of war and conflict? And so on.
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’.