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The tabernacle – God’s dwelling place

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Christians sometimes regard the accounts of the tabernacle, temple and priestly service as tedious and irrelevant.  This is a mistake.  They point to a vital reality – the presence of God with his people.

The tabernacle itself is of seminal importance.  It is the first in an important series (tabernacle, temple, incarnation, church, new Jerusalem).  The account of its construction is much more detailed than that of the temple (see 1 Kings 5-8), and the tabernacle found a permanent home in the latter structure. …

Incarnation and the tabernacle

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James K. Bruckner writes:

‘The tabernacle provided, for the first time since Eden, a place for the visible presence of God in the midst of the people.’

He adds: ‘the Gospel of John provides a window that helps Christians interpret the significance of the tabernacle in relation to the incarnation.’

Consider John 1:14-15a – ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory.’

  1. ‘The Word became flesh’ ‘matches the detailed descriptions of the tent of meeting as a location of God’s presence (Exod.
…

Creation and the tabernacle

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As Rabbinic interpreters have long recognised, there are many echoes of the creation narrative (Genesis 1-2) in the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-40).

  1. ‘The Spirit of God, present at creation (Gen. 1:2) filled Bezalel and the craftsmen who created the tabernacle with creative gifts (Exod. 31:1–11).’
  2. ‘Israel made the tabernacle, even as God made the world, as a dwelling place for God (Exod. 25:8–9; Ps. 104:1–4).’
  3. ‘God instructed them to erect the tabernacle on New Year’s Day to underscore this new beginning (Exod.
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The cost of family breakdown

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The emotional costs of family breakdown are immense.

But the financial costs of family breakdown, are, in their own way, no less shocking.

The estimated cost is £51 billion.

The biggest contributor (about 45%) to this figure is the support that the state provides to lone parent families by way of tax credits, housing benefits and lone parent benefits.

Second comes the cost of care of children and adults.  It is estimated that ’98 per cent of the cost of looking after children in care, two thirds of the cost of social services for looking after children at home, and 5-10 per cent of the cost of care services for the elderly, [may be attributed] to family breakdown.’…

Gay marriage and the ‘trajectory’ of Scripture

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The ‘trajectory’ argument, briefly, is that there are certain practices (such as slavery) that are permitted in Scripture, but Scripture itself sows the seeds of their eventual abolition.  Conversely, there are certain practices (such as same-sex relations) that are forbidden in Scripture, but Scripture itself sows the seeds of their acceptance.

The Bishop of Bangor in the Church in Wales, Andy John, has invoked such a trajectory argument in his support of marriage for homosexual couples.…

Spiritual authority of women in the Bible

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In Across the Spectrum: Issues in Evangelical Theology, Greg Boyd and Paul Eddy list a number of instances where (notwithstanding the prohibition of texts such as 1 Timothy 2:11-14) we find women exercising spiritual authority over (or alongside) men:

1. …God incorporated the songs and statements of a number of women into his inspired authoritative Scripture (e.g., Exod. 15:21; Judges 5; Luke 1:46–55)…
2. Women were given the same command to “rule” over creation as were men.…

Who lay down his sweet head?

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‘Fury as primary school tells pupils to say “Baby Boy Jesus” instead of “Lord Jesus” while singing Away In A Manger so that pupils of all faiths can join in.’ (Daily Mail)

‘School slammed by Christians after changing “Lord Jesus” lyric in Away in a Manger.’ (Daily Star)

‘Parents Outraged as London School Downgrades Jesus from “Lord” in “Away in a Manger”‘ (CBN News)

These were some of the headlines a few weeks ago, when it was learned that children at Whitehall Primary School in Chingford, Essex, had been told by their head teacher to not to sing ‘little Lord Jesus’, but rather, ‘baby boy Jesus’.…

Civil partnerships

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The Civil Partnership Act 2004 provided for the legal recognition of homosexual relationships in the UK.  The Act came into force in December 2005.  Over the next seven years a total of 60,454 were formed.

In 2018 (the most recent year for which statistics are available at the time of writing) 956 civil partnerships were formed in England and Wales.  In the same year, there were 927 civil partnership dissolutions. (Source)

The Act extended all the legal rights and privileges of marriage to homosexual couples. …