Category Archives: God

Providence

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Providence may be defined as

that continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator preserves all his creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end. (Berkhof)

The doctrines of creation and providence are inseparably connected: the same God who made all things continues to sustain them moment by moment.

God’s providence is all-encompassing, Psa 115:3; Mt 10:30; Eph 1:11.  Natural events, such as the wind and the rain, are part of his ordering, even though these can sometimes lead to disaster, Lk 13:1-5.…

Psa 107:2 – Be thankful for great mercies – sermon notes

Walking With Giants Posted on by

As part of my current drive to be less dependent on written notes, this was a largely unscripted sermon which used the following Powerpoint presentation as a basis:-

There were just a few sections that I did script out more fully, though even these I adapted at the time of delivery:-

SLIDE 7

There are other ways of being

Lost – there is the lostness that comes from simply not knowing the God who made us and to we must give an account

Enslaved – there is the moral slavery that comes when we find ourselves trapped in repeated patterns of unhealthy thoughts, feelings, attitudes, behaviours and we can find no means of escape

Damaged – there is the damage that comes from a guilty conscience that eats away at us and stunts our spiritual and emotional growth

Storm-tossed – There is the anxiety of feeling that everything has got on top of us and we can see no rhyme nor reason in it

The human condition.…

Calvin on divine providence

Walking With Giants Posted on by

John Calvin deals with this doctrine fairly early on in the Institutes – in Book 1, Chapters 16-18.

In Chapter 16, he begins by asserting that ‘we see the presence of divine power as much in the continuing state of the universe as in its inception.’  In other words, God’s power is as apparent in his works of providence as it is in his work of creation.  The One who made the world sustains and governs it.…

The mystery of providence

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Recent study of Psalm 107 has led me to think about the doctrine of providence.

By ‘divine providence’ we mean God’s superintendence over all things; his ordering of everything that comes to pass.  Providence is an extension of creation: it is God sustaining that which he has made.

There is an instinct whereby even irreligious people ask, ‘Why?’  People seem to have a deeply-held belief that everything that happens not only has a cause, but also a reason.…

Is ‘Allah’ just another name for the Christian God?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God, only by a different name?

Clearly, when Muslims and Christians (and Jews, Hindus and others) speak of God, they are all referring to the uncreated Creator of the universe.  Moroever, Islam embraces monotheism, and draws its teaching from many of the biblical characters (including Noah, Jacob, and Jesus).

But the fact that the God of Islam has something in common with the Christian God does not mean that they are identical.…

Some thoughts on Young Earth Creationism

Walking With Giants Posted on by

According to Young Earth Creationists (YEC) the cosmos came into being not more than about 10,000 years ago.  I must admit that I have tended to regard this view as unnecessary from a biblical point of view, and implausible from a scientific point of view.

But let me just note, without irony or mockery, what kinds of arguments could be used to support it.

1.  YEC regards its theory as theologically coherent. 

YEC is committed to a high view of Scripture. …

Has neuroscience killed God?

Walking With Giants Posted on by

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

Walking With Giants Posted on by

‘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.…

Micah 1-2 – What is God of the Old Testament really like? – sermon notes

Walking With Giants Posted on by

Micah – historical and geographical background

Let me read you the following quotation. “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

That’s from Richard Dawkins, shortly after he swallowed a dictionary.

But is God of the Old Testament really like that?…

The moral argument for God’s existence

Walking With Giants Posted on by

The moral argument, stated at its simplest, asserts that moral facts, or imperatives, exist, and that the best way of explaining these is in terms of a supernatural moral Being (i.e. God).

In asserting that moral facts exist, the Christian apologist is on common ground with the majority of philosophers, including those who are not theists.

Fewer, however would accept that the existence of moral facts necessarily entails the existence of God.

Some would try to explain the moral impulse in terms of social pressure and cultural conditioning. …