Category Archives: Apologetics

Can we still believe in demons today?

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From Genesis to Revelation – and especially during the earthly life of Jesus – the Bible witnesses to the reality of evil supernatural beings who oppose God and seek the harm of his good creation.

In addition to this plain witness of Scripture, a number of other factors should be considered.

Clinton E. Arnold writes:

  1. Science is inherently incapable of answering this question. Some critics grant science authority to make judgments on issues it is incapable of judging.
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50 reasons to be ashamed of Jesus(?)

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The more I read the Gospels, the more I’m struck by the vivid and provocative teaching style of Jesus.  He never merely imparts information: he makes people think.

This certainly gives the lie to ‘gentle Jesus, meek and mild’ (as commonly understood) and to the picture of our Lord as the ‘pale Galilean’.

But it also catches out the unwary, or the careless, reader.  Or, indeed, the reader who is simply looking for trouble.  (Just as there were listeners like that in Jesus’ day, so there are readers like that today).…

Miracles and the purposes of God

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The next section of Tim Chester’s book, Do Miracles Happen Today? that I would like to summarise is that part of chapter 5 which deals with ‘miracles and the purposes of faith.’

Chester believes (with John Stott) that miracles are certainly possible, but not as common as they were in, say that time of Jesus and the apostles, because one of the main purposes for miracles – attesting to God’s unfolding revelation – no longer applies.…

The pattern of miracles today

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A third section of Tim Chester’s Do Miracles Happen Today? that I would like to consider is the part of chapter 4 where he outlines the circumstances in which miracles are more likely to happen today.

1. On the frontline of mission.  John Stott writes: ‘Especially on the frontiers of mission, where a power-encounter may be needed to demonstrate the lordship of Christ, miracles have been and are being reported.’

As Chester says: ‘There are a number of things that make people more inclined to pay attention to the Christian message: the lives of Christians (Titus 2 v 9-10); our response to persecution (1 Peter 2 v 11-12); the community life of the church (John 13 v 35; 1 Peter 3 v 8-15); the worship of the gathered congregation (1 Corinthians 14 v 23-25).…

Why are there fewer miracles today?

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The second part of Tim Chester’s little book Do Miracles Happen Today? that I would like to summarise and reflect on comes in chapter 3.

While insisting that God can and does do miracles today, Chester says that, in fact, they are fewer and lesser in scope than those that happened at the time of the Gospels and Acts.

Some Christians put this down simply to a lack of faith on our part.  If our expectations were greater, then so would the provision of miracles.…

What is a miracle?

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Introducing a short series based on sections of Tim Chester’s book, Do Miracles Happen Today? And other questions about signs, wonders and mighty works.  The Good Book Company.

In chapter two, Chester discusses the definition of ‘miracle’.

An unusual feat?  The success of Leicester City football team in winning the Premier League in 2016 was an extraordinary achievement (they had odds of 5,000 to 1 against them at the start of the season).  But it was not a miracle.…

Where is God in a messed-up world?

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The following forms the substance of a talk given in October, 2020 as part of a webinar from Holy Trinity Church, Norwich.

I am giving it some prominence now (February, 2023) because of its relevance to the challenging situation documented in the series of bulletins entitled “I’ll Walk Beside You”.

The video of the talk may be found here.

Intro

We were being shown round the charming spa town of Great Malvern, in Worcestershire.  Our friendly guide pointed out the statue of Sir Edward Elgar, the famous composer. …

Where is God in a messed-up world?

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Some excerpts from this book of the same name, by Roger Carswell (2nd edition, 2020)

How can God be all-loving and all-powerful?

The Greek philosopher, Epicurus, outlined the dilemma facing the thinking mind: God either wishes to take away evils and is unable; or He is able and is unwilling; or He is neither willing nor able; or He is both willing and able. If He is willing but unable, He is feeble, which is not in accordance with the character of God.…

‘Immediately’

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In Jesus, Interrupted (HarperCollins), Bart Ehrman has this to say about the length of Jesus’ public ministry, as indicated in the canonical Gospels:

‘Our earliest Gospel, Mark, does not give an explicit indication of the length of Jesus’ public ministry, but does give some suggestive comments. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, in chapter 2, his disciples are going through the wheat fields and eating the grain, to the consternation of the Pharisees, who believe they are violating the Sabbath.

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Did the Gospels become increasingly anti-Semitic?

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Bart Ehrman (Jesus, Interrupted, p44) argues that the gospels become progressively anti-Jewish and pro-Roman from Mark through to John.  This, of course, assumes, with mainstream scholarship, that Mark was the first, and John the last, of the Gospels to be written.

Ehrman writes,

‘It is significant that in John’s Gospel, on three occasions Pilate expressly declares that Jesus is innocent, does not deserve to be punished, and ought to be released (Jn 18:38; 19:6; and by implication in Jn 19:12).

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