What would it take to convince an atheist?
Atheists like to claim that their views, unlike those of believers, are falsifiable.
So, given this openness to a change of mind, what might convince an atheist that God exists after all?
One blogger lists the following as her number one kind of evidence:
‘If I saw an unambiguous message from God, I would be persuaded of his existence. If I saw writing suddenly appear in the sky, in letters a hundred feet high, saying “I Am God, I Exist, Here Is What I Want You To Do” — and if that writing were seen by every human being, written in whatever language they understand, comprehended in the same way by everyone who saw it — I would be persuaded that God existed.’…
‘The heavens declare’
Psalm 19 is the go-to passage for the witness of the heavens to the glory of God. But, in fact, it is only one of a number of scriptures that explore what the starry skies reveal about the nature, will and purpose of God.
Power
Gen 1:2 famously says that ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ In fact, the first two chapters of Genesis witness of the creative power of God in creating the cosmos and everything in it.…
Resting, waiting, delighting
These three words (writes Jan Johnson) take us to the heart of what contemplative prayer is all about.
Resting in God
‘The shadow of the Almighty is a safe place to rest for a soul that is scattered, parched, guilt-ridden, or uncertain.’
Psa 4:4 – ‘When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.’
Psa 37:7 – ‘Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;.’
Psa 62:5 – ‘ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.’…
Morality without redemption is frightening
Or, to put it otherwise: ‘cancel culture makes liars of us all’.
The current fad for toppling statues of the great and the good when their ‘goodness’ is found to have been mixed with ‘badness’ is chilling in its implications. Yesterday, it was Edward Colston. Tomorrow, it may be John Newton, Winston Churchill, or even Mother Theresa herself. And are you quite sure that there is not something lurking in your Twitter account that will not, one day, be held up to your eternal shame?…
Discussion starters – Judges 6-8
- In Judges 6:13 Gideon asks, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?” Who today might be feeling the same?
- As soon as Gideon receives his commission from the Lord, he finds himself in conflict with his immediate family (6:25). In what ways do you find that your Christian faith brings you into conflict with those close to you? How do you deal with that?
- As with Moses (Exodus 3 &4), Gideon is reluctant to do what the Lord wants him to do (Judges 6:15).
Urban legends of the Old Testament
Having compiled a couple of sets relating to texts in the New Testament, I thought I’d take a look at some commonly-misunderstood texts from the Old Testament. These are discussed more fully in the Bible Study Notes.
Here’s a start:-
Genesis 18 – Abraham’s three visitors. Christian piety, both old and new, has often seen in the story of Abraham’s three visitors a picture of the three persons of the Trinity. This conjecture has been fueled by the celebrated icon of Rublev, which plays a key role in Richard Rohr’s recent (2016) book The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation. …
Heavenly worship
Robert Banks and R. Paul Stevens write:
In the last book of the Bible we are given an empowering vision of worship in the new Jerusalem. All earthly worship should be inspired by the worship that is already going on in heaven and that we will experience more fully when Christ comes again. In this sense our present worship is like “playing heaven,” as when little children invite each other to “play house,” looking forward to the day when they are grown up and have their own home.…
Abortion used to be a feminist issue
David Baker writes:
Once, abortion was a feminist issue. Alice Paul (1885-1977) denounced abortion as an evil forced upon women by men. A number of suffragists called abortion “child murder” in Susan B. Anthony’s publication, The Revolution. There are those who still bravely bear that flame today, with Feminists for Life of America, being one such organisation. Feminists for Life of America first revealed and shared many pro-life quotes from the first wave feminists and on its website you can read ‘pro-woman answers to pro-choice questions’…
Let the last words be given to feminist writer and bioethicist Fiorella Nash. …
Theology of sexuality and gender
Here I summarise this essay by Andrew T. Walker, entitled, ‘Gender and Sexuality’.
Gender refers to the biological differences between males and females and to the different cultural ways in which creational distinctions are expressed. Sexuality refers to God’s design for the procreative relationship between men and women and to the experience of erotic desire within that relationship.
Sexuality and gender in God’s design
Several axiomatic truths related to gender and sexuality are found in the Genesis 1–2 narrative.…
Stand-up preaching
What can the preacher learn from the stand-up comic and other expert communicators?
Not a lot, it might be supposed. The preacher shouldn’t go all-out for laughs: his message is far too serious. He shouldn’t preach time again the same message, honing it until every word is in the right place, and the delivery timed to perfection. He shouldn’t try to create any kind of unnatural persona, but rather be in the pulpit the same person that he is at home, at work, and amongst his friends.…