Luke 7:2-3 A centurion there had a slave who was highly regarded, but who was sick and at the point of death. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave.
(See also: Matthew 8:5 When [Jesus] entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him asking for help: 8:6 “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible anguish.” 8:7 Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”)…
Mark 6:45f ‘Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd. After saying good-bye to them, he went to the mountain to pray.’
Lk 9:10 appears to place the miracle at or near Bethsaida. Matthew, whose account many judge to be based on that of Mark, omits the references to Bethsaida. Was he, perhaps, correcting what he saw to be a minor problem in Mark’s account? …
When seeking to apply the teaching of the Bible to current issues around gender, it is tempting to start with specific passages such as Deuteronomy 22:5 (‘A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing’) and 1 Corinthians 6:9 (which speaks of various kinds of sexual immorality).
Also recruited into the discussion is Jesus’ teaching about different types of eunuchs (those that were born intersex, those who have been castrated, and those who choose a life of celibacy for the sake of the kingdom; but note that this is in the context of Jesus’ affirmation that we are made ‘male and female’.). …
According to this set of ‘Key Stats’ from Stonewall, ‘almost half (48 per cent) of trans people in Britain have attempted suicide at least once.’
This is an alarming statistic; and our hearts must surely be moved with compassion towards any person who feels driven to attempt to take their own life. Moreover, we should search our consciences to see whether our own attitudes and actions may have contributed to that person’s misery.
But is there an element of alarmism, both in the figure itself and in the way it is often used?…
In the eyes of many, the idea that churches can take a ‘welcoming but not affirming’ attitude towards LGBT people is absurd. It inevitably leads to treating people as second class Christians, tolerated but not fully integrated into the life of the church.
The perceived absurdity is compounded by the myth that only two possibilities exist: either that of full and unconditional acceptance and affirmation, or that of rejection. Any kind of middle ground is rarely explored.…
In this video, Baptist pastor Mark Wingfield speaks about his experience of spending several months studying issues around transgender people. He then wrote an article: ‘Seven things I’m learning about transgender persons.’ The article had, at the time the video was recorded, been read by over a million people. Over 450 people had responded in writing or by phone to it. A number of these were transgender persons, and their friends and families. Mark Wingfield was then moved to meet some of these transgender people face-to-face, and valued friendships were forged. …
How is it that a small number of organisations have achieved so much influence, in such a short period of time, over public policy regarding trans issues? How is it that we have been expected to affirm non-binary gender identities, support transition, provide gender-neutral toilets, and use language (pronouns, especially) in new kinds of ways, when we feel that we were not asked for our opinions about these things?
How is it, in other words, that the trans agenda seems to have overtaken us?…
Dr Sharon James works for The Christian Institute, and is author Gender Ideology: What Do Christians Need to Know (Christian Focus Publications)
What follows is based on this post.
A growing number of adolescents – mainly girls – are experiencing ‘rapid-onset gender dysphoria’ (ROGD). Such youngsters often belong to a group of friends, most or all of them identify as transgender at around the same time.
…A peer group (either real or virtual) fosters the mutual belief that anxiety and unhappiness may be caused by being ‘transgender’, and that ‘gender transition’ will provide the solution.
Life in lockdown has, for Christians, raised questions about what it means to meet God when our places of worship (aka ‘churches’) are closed.
Old Testament
Genesis 28:10-19 records Jacob’s experience of seeing in a dream angels on a stairway that led up to heaven, and of hearing God’s promise to give his descendants the land. Jacob concludes: “Surely the LORD is in this place, but I did not realize it!”
Specific localities are important in Moses’ encounter with God in the burning bush, and in the giving of the law at Mount Sinai. …
Election was never intended to prevent men making a diligent use of all means of grace. On the contrary, the neglect of means is a most suspicious symptom, and should make us very doubtful about the state of a man’s soul. Those whom the Holy Ghost draws He always draws to the written Word of God and to prayer. When there is the real grace of God in a heart, there will always be love to the means of grace.…
