B.M. Palmer, Theology of Prayer, ch. 10
All the objections to the necessity of prayer are based on a misunderstanding of its nature and purpose. If prayer were intended to inform God of what he did not already know, or to stir up his reluctant generosity, or to persuade him to change his plans by appeals to his reason, then it would be an affront to God’s nature and a denial of his divine attributes. …
Communication with God is immensely important, but also difficult. It is real for the Christian, who experiences God in forgiveness and mercy, in love, joy and peace, and in prayer. However, it fluctuates, hence the need for nurture through meditation and similar means.
Christian meditation
1. Elevates, because of God’s immensity.
This is true in the material realm, as in contemplation of the vastness of the heavens.
But it is even more true in the spiritual realm. …
J. Gresham Machen, in his classic 1923 book, Christianity and Liberalism (ch 11), notes a commonly-held objection to doctrine: creeds (it is often said) are merely the changing expressions of a unitary Christian experience, and insofar as they express that experience they are equally good.
But, replies Machen, this objection will not stand. After all, liberalism itself has its doctrines, as tenaciously held as those embraced by orthodox believers. Such, for example, are the liberal doctrines of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. …
The word ‘faith’ is used in a bewildering variety of ways at the present day:-
James 1:26 says, ‘If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.’
According to Prov 18:21, ‘The tongue has the power of life and death.’ It was said in time of war that ‘careless talk costs lives’.
In a courtroom situation, the spoken verdict of the judge can spell the difference between conviction or acquittal, punishment or freedom, sometimes even death or life.…
‘Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’ (Genesis 1:26-27)
Scripture asserts (in Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:2; Gen 9:6 and elsewhere) that God has made man in his own image.
What does this mean, and what has become of God’s image in man? The doctrine can be unpacked in the following stages.…
The best short summary and discussion that I have seen of Richard Dawkins’ view that science has ‘eliminated’ God is that of Alister McGrath in an article published the journal Science and Christian Belief.
Although published in 2005, and not interacting directly with Dawkins’ The God Delusion, the article nevertheless takes account of the opinions of Dawkins as they have developed from 1977 (The Selfish Gene) onwards.
McGrath expresses admiration for Dawkins’ scientific writing, but notes that when he touches on the subject of God, evidence-based reasoning seems to have been left behind, to be replaced by over-simplification and, not infrequently, misrepresentation.…
Self-confessed atheists are likely to be infuriated by the suggestion that there is really no such thing as atheism. But the idea that everyone, at heart, believes in God is a soundly biblical one.
To be sure, we should offer unbelievers sound reasons for the existence of God. But we should resist the idea that their professed unbelief is as deep-seated as they might have us suppose.
As has often been pointed out, the Bible never tries the prove the existence of God. …
When The Rev John Yates and Os Guinness (well-known Christian apologist and cultural commentator) decided back in 2007 that the time had finally come for them to sever ties with the Episcopal Church, they explained their reasons for doing so in an article in the The Washington Post.Their article provides a brief, but exceptionally clear, analysis of issues as they see them. It might provide help to others who are trying to articulate their concerns and who are attempting to discern how much longer they can remain associated with their existing denominations.…
Although I’m sympathetic to the idea of theistic evolution, and, in any case, do not regard such theories of origins as of fundamental importance, I think it’s worth taking account of the theological objections that have been levelled against Darwinian theory.
Some of these objections were set out by Alistair Donald in this article published in Evangelicals Now in April 2010.
To summarise:-
1. Adam formed by a distinct creative act
Although the precise genre of Genesis 1:1-2:3 is notoriously difficult to pin down, the same is not the case for Gen 2:4 onwards, which is written in standard Hebrew narrative style. …
