Author Archives: admin

Has neuroscience killed God?

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I recently got round to listening to the podcast of a discussion on this topic on Premier Christian Radio’s Unbelievable show.  The Revd Dr Alasdair Coles is a neurologist and a Christian.  His interest in the subject was stimulated by meeting a Christian patient who claimed to have some very powerful religious experiences but which, as it seems, were actually being triggered by epilepsy.  The sceptical perspective was represented by Martyn Frame, a psychological therapist.…

Knowing God, and knowing about him

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‘A little knowledge of God,’ wrote J.I. Packer, ‘is worth more than a great deal of knowledge about him.’

He continues:-

1. One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of him.

I am sure that many of us have never really grasped this. We find in ourselves a deep interest in theology (which is, of course, a most fascinating and intriguing subject—in the seventeenth century it was every gentleman’s hobby). We read books of theological exposition and apologetics.…

Christ’s resurrection – Unbelievable?

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On a recent edition of Premier Christian Radio’s Unbelievable programme, the question under discussion was “Is apologetics a waste of time?”

Answering in the affirmative was atheist James Croft.  Obviously skilled as a debater, he projected himself as a calmly reasonable person who has considered the truth-claims of Christianity and found them wanting.

I think that his underlying unreasonableness came across in two particular ways.

Firstly, he complained that Christian apologists such as W.L Craig keep coming out with the same arguments, even though (he said) these arguments have been comprehensively refuted time after time. …

Why Read Dickens?

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February 2012 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens.

Writing in Evangelicals Now, Ann Benton offers several points of interest in Dickens’ writings.  Here’s a summary:-

1.  His characterisation.  Dickens’ characters are superbly described.  We can see their mannerisms, their clothes, their gait.  We can hear them talking.  He saw the world vividly, and enjoyed observing peoples’ diversity and peculiarities.  He had a deep psychological understanding of the reasons why people think and behave as they do. …

Don’t change the law on assisted suicide

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Writing in The Times (5th January), Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Sloss (former President of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice) argued cogently against any change in the law.

I summarise:-

1.  The law works well as it is.  Each year, fewer than 20 cases of assisted suicide are considered by the Director of Public Prosecutions.  In Oregon, by way of contrast, the number of assisted suicides has quadrupled since it was legalised in 1997.  ‘Legalisation means normalisation’. …

Law and gospel

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The relationship between God’s law and his offer of salvation through Christ is a tricky one.

In the Middle Ages, law and gospel were often unsufficiently distinguished.  Many were taught to regard law-keeping as essential to be right with God.

Protestants taught that the law was given to Adam as a way of life.  After the fall, however, humankind was unable to keep the law perfectly and so a way of salvation was provided whereby the Sinless One kept the law in our place, bore the penalty for our transgression, and that forgiveness and new life are received by faith in Christ.…

Moses the preacher

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Moses was the first great preacher of the word of God of whom we have any detailed knowledge.

Moses speaks the words of God

Moses’ call is recorded in Ex 4:10-16.  When Moses protests his inability to speak for God, the reply he receives is that God will teach what to say and how to say it.  He is to be God’s mouthpiece.  He is to act as intermediary between God and the people.  He spoke on God’s behalf to the people, and the people accepted his words as the Lord’s, Ex 24:3. …

Shall we know one another in heaven?

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For many Christians the prospect of being re-united with loved ones in the life to come is one of the greatest comforts in the face of bereavement.

Of course, this prospect ought not to overshadow that fellowship with our Lord which ought to be pre-eminent.  After all, the Psalmist could pray, “Whom have I in heaven but thee?’ (Psa 73:25), and Paul’s great desire was to depart and ‘being with Christ’, Phil 1:23; 1 Thess 4:17. …

Peggy Mason, 1917 – 2011

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My mother, Peggy Mason, died peacefully on 11th December after a short illness.  She had led an extraordinarily active life, and although in recent years short-term memory loss took its toll, her loving personality remained intact until the end.

Yesterday, Friday 23rd December, a service of thanksgiving was held at Chapelfield Road Methodist Church, Norwich.  One of my sisters, Catherine, spoke of our mum’s life generally, and I had the privilege of saying a few words about mum’s Christian faith.…

The case for conditional immortality

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A number of evangelical scholars, including John Stott, Phillip Edgecumbe Hughes, and Stephen Travis, have favoured a doctrine of ‘conditional immortality’ over that of ‘eternal punishment’.

According to Travis, the doctrine of eternal punishment depends on a belief in the immortaility of the soul, as well as the ‘apparently explicit’ teaching of texts such as Mt 25:34,41,46; Mk 9:42f; 2 Thess 1:9; and Rev 14:11; 19:3; 20:10.

The case for conditional immortality, on the other hand, can be summarised as follows:-

1. …