What follows is based on part of ch. 2 of:
Spencer, Nick; Waite, Hannah. Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity. SPCK, 2024.
A couple of recent discoveries:
Allan Hills 84001 – a meteorite originating from Mars, discovered in Antarctica in 1984 and in 1986 found to contain ‘possible relic biogenic activity’. (Most experts would now doubt this analysis).
51 Pegasi b – an exoplanet discovered in 1995 orbiting around a sun-like star.…
What follows is based on:
Jonathan Lamb, Essentially One: Striving for the Unity God Loves, Chapter 6 – ‘Living With Difference’
There will always be differences between Christians.
These may be:
[This post is a work in progress!]
According to Acts 21:17-26, when Paul and his associates arrived in Jerusalem they were told that some Jewish Christians were troubled by a rumour that Paul had been teaching that, upon conversion to the Christian faith, they must abandon their adherence to the law of Moses, stop circumcising their children, and give up various other Jewish customs.
Paul accepts a proposal that he demonstrate his denial of these things by publicy associating himself with a Nazirite vow that was currently being undertaken by four members of the Jerusalem church.…
What follows is largely a precis of an article by Michael Quicke:
Is our thinking (and preaching) sufficiently Trinitarian?
‘The incredible shrinking God’
Authentic preaching and authentic worship are intimately connected. And both must speak meaningfully of God: that is to say, God in three persons.
Sadly, much contemporary preaching and worship does not do this. It speaks of God as less than three persons. So, when the average church-goer hears the word ‘God’, he or she does not think of the Trinity. …
Does the Bible anticipate modern science?
One of the go-to verses for ultraconservative readers of the Bible is Job 26:7 –
‘He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.’
This, of course, is a clear and beautiful assertion of God’s sovereignty over his creation.
But does it anticipate modern science by picturing the Earth as a globe floating in space?
According to the Apologetics Study Bible,
…‘Some scholars suggest that Job wrote better than he knew, for his observation approached the knowledge that the earth is suspended in space supported only by gravitational forces.’
The ‘beloved disciple’ is an unnamed individual mentioned only in the Fourth Gospel. He first appears at the Last Supper, where he reclines on Jesus’ bosom. He asks about Jesus’ betrayer, is entrusted with the care of Jesus’ mother, discovers the empty tomb of Jesus, and identifies the risen Jesus in Galilee. He appears to have been a close companion not only of Jesus but of Peter. References to the ‘other disciple’ may also refer to the beloved disciple. …
It all began with the publication, on the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) web site, of an article by ‘non-binary’ author and FFRF fellow Kat Grant titled, ‘What is a Woman?’
After rejecting biology-based definitions, such as ‘a woman is someone with a vagina’, or ‘a woman is someone who has (or lacks) certain chromosomes’, Grant concludes that ‘a woman whoever she says she is’.
This article prompted a response, on the same web site, from distinguished biological scientist Jerry Coyne. …
In Christian Theology (3rd ed. Baker Academic, 2013), Millard J. Erickson (2013) outlines a number of approaches to biblical inerrancy.
I summarise:
1. Absolute inerrancy. The Bible is completely true in all of its utterances, whether historical, scientific or theological.
2. Full inerrancy. The Bible is completely true. However, scientific and historical data are conveyed phenomenally, as they appear to the human eye. They include approximations, couched in popular, rather than scientific language.
3. Limited inerrancy regards the Bible unfailingly true in its teaching on all matters that pertain to salvation and the spiritual life. …
Text – 1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19
Which of the following is the odd one out? Faith, doctrine, Scripture, gospel, salvation, money. None of them!
Money is a spiritual issue
Martin Luther observed that “there are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, of the mind and of the purse.”
Consider the story of Zacchaeus, Luke 19. As a chief tax collector, Zacchaeus would have been very wealthy. When he encounters Jesus, his response is, “Look, Lord!…
[Notes of a sermon preached at St Andrew’s, Eaton (Norwich) on 16th March 2025.]
Text: Joel 2:18-32; Acts 2:1-4, 12-21
Can the Church be born again?
The first question is: Does the church need to be born again?
We can all point to shining examples of Christian faith and of flourishing congregations.
But:-
