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‘Total depravity’ – an historical note

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In Evangelical Truth (p87) John Stott highlights a report, commissioned in 1945 by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher and written by a group of Anglican Catholics with the aim of examining the causes of the current deadlock in Catholic-Protestant dialogue.

The report is entitled Catholicity: A Study in the Conflict of Christian Traditions in the West, and is available in full here.  The authors accused evangelicals of emphasising the doctrine of grace in such a way as to sacrifice the doctrine of the image of God:-

What was sacrificed…was the Biblical doctrine that man was made ‘in the Image of God’, and that this ‘Image’, though defaced by sin, substantially remains in fallen man, and is effectually restored by Baptism into Christ.
…

The old tolerance and the new

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It would be difficult to find a more universally celebrated virtue in modern Western culture than the virtue of tolerance.

The trouble is (writes D.A. Carson) that a new (but not necessarily improved) definition of tolerance has crept up on us and is now accepted virtually without question.

According to the old definition, tolerance meant something like ‘recognition and respect for the views of others without necessarily sympathising or agreeing with them.’

According to the new definition, tolerance means something like ‘acceptance as equally true and valid the views of others.’…

Let’s change the way we pray

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Intercessions in church and in small groups tend to follow a pretty predictable path: jobs, exams, upcoming events, mission partners and, of course, health needs.

Nothing wrong with praying for such things – nothing at all.  But the prayers of the Bible are rarely about such things.  They are much more frequently about one’s own, and other people’s relationship with God.

Suppose, says David Powlinson, someone asks you how they might pray for you.  And imagine the impact of the following response:-

“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and have been inattentive and irritable to those nearest and dearest to me.

…

Quotes on doubt

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For too many Christians, vagueness is the vogue; all they have is the courage of their confusions. (Anon)

Doubters invert the metaphor and insist that they need faith as big as a mountain in order to move a mustard seed. (Webb B. Garrison)

Give me the benefit of your convictions, if you have any.  Keep your doubts to yourself; I have enough of my own. (Goethe)

Christ distinguished between doubt and unbelief.  Doubt says, “I can’t believe.”…

Don’t keep it (too) simple, stupid

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I came across the following:-

We, as Christians, tend to complicate our faith.  We use words like ‘sanctification’ when we mean ‘growing’ or ‘substitutionary atonement’ instead of ‘Christ died for us’.

(Rob Wilkins, ‘The profound simplicity of love’, in Willow Creek magazine, January/February 1991)

Can you spot the problem here?  ‘Growing’ does not mean the same as ‘sanctification’.  ‘Growing’ can be predicated of many different things (trees, toe-nails, debts, and so on), whereas as ‘sanctification’ refers specifically to growth in holiness (but is that another ‘complicated’ word that Wilkins thinks we should eschew?).  …

Evangelical social concern

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When it comes to involvement in our world, two options are available: escape and involvement.  Many evangelicals seem to have opted for the first option.  They have withdrawn from the world, pulled up the drawbridge, and, apart from occasional evangelistic excursions, been blind and deaf to those in need.  After all, the Bible teaches us to separate from the world (doesn’t it?), and to wait for the new age that will be ushered in by the return of Jesus Christ. …

Listen!

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“Everyone,” says James, “should be quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1:19).  In context, James’ words refer both to listening to others, and listening to God in his word.

Most of us would have to agree that, while we realise that God has given us two ears but just the one mouth, the time and effort we expend in using them are not in the same proportion.

So, what qualities should we be looking to develop and improve?…

Cohabitation

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Cohabitation in the 20th century

This is the title of a report by Dr John Hayward and Dr Guy Brandon of the Jubilee Centre.  It provides an analysis of recent statistics derived from the British Household Panel Survey.

There are about 2.3 million cohabiting couples in England and Wales today, and that figure is expected to rise to 3.7 million by 2031.  With age at first marriage now delayed to a mean of 32 for men and 30 for women, cohabitation is for some a prelude to marriage and for others an alternative.…

Isa 13:1 – 14:2 – Babylon – sermon notes

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[Note: I was trying to be less tied to my notes, hence their relative brevity]

The recent horse-meat scandal has prompted food critic Giles Coren to ask:-

“What on earth did you think they put in [value burgers]? Prime cuts of delicious free-range, organic, rare breed, heritage beef, grass-fed, Eton-educated, humanely slaughtered, dry-aged and hand-ground by fairies…?”

This led me to think about the thoughts that get fed to our minds.

Certainly, from glancing at today’s news headlines, it wouldn’t occur to you that God had much to do with anything at all.…

John 20:1-18 – Little faith, great God – sermon notes

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There is no evidence that she had ever been a prostitute. The idea that she was married to Jesus and carrying his baby at the time of his death is fantasy, pure and simple. What we do know of Mary Magdalene is that she was a Galilean woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons. Along with several other women, she accompanied Jesus and his disciples on their travels, and contributed towards their support. She may well have been a woman of some substance and standing, and she is always listed first in groups of named female disciples.…