Ryle, father and son

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Many of my readers will have heard of ‘Bishop Ryle’.  They will know something of the English clergyman who served churches in East Anglia for many years, before being appointed the first Bishop of Liverpool.  J.C. Ryle was considered something of a ‘conservative’ even in his own day (he lived from 1816-1900).  He defended expounded and defended evangelical churchmanship – the vigorous Protestantism of the Reformers and the Puritans – in the face of Anglo-catholicism and ‘modernism’.…

Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

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New Testament scholar Richard Bauckham appeared recently on Premier Radio’s ‘Unbelievable’ show.  He discussed his book Jesus and the Eyewitnesses with fellow New Testament scholar James Crossley.

Here are a few notes on some of the arguments presented by Bauckham:-

His book sets out new arguments in favour of the ‘traditional’ view of the authorship and historicity of the four Gospels, and, in particular, that they present reliable eyewitness testimony of the life and ministry of Jesus.…

The ‘Evangelical Universalist’

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I’ve been listening to some episodes of the Unbelievable podcast from Premier Christian Radio.

I really like the show.  It’s all about getting a discussion going – often between a Christian and a non-Christian – on a particular aspect of belief.  The host, Justin Brierley, is a calm and even-handed moderator, and the guests usually behave themselves with courtesy and thoughtfulness.

I appreciated the discussion of ‘The Evangelical Universalist’ between Robin Parry and Laurence M. Blanchard. …

Meditation

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In a number of religious traditions, both Christian and non-Christian, the practice of ‘meditation’ is understood to be a non-verbal way of praying.  This can often reflect a certain suspicion of propositional truth and verbal expression.

The relevant article in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia provides helpful clarification:-

‘In the biblical world meditation was not a silent practice. [The underpinning Hebrew word] means “growl,” “utter” or “moan” as well as “meditate” or “muse.” No doubt meditation involved a muttering sound from reading half aloud or conversing with oneself.

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The Gospel according to Tom Wright

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One of the more controversial aspects of the teaching of Bishop Tom Wright is his understanding of the Christian gospel, and of the task of proclaiming that gospel.

He notes that much ‘evangelism’ has consisted of

‘taking the traditional framework of heaven-and-hell expectation and persuading people that it’s time they considered the ‘heaven’ option and grabbed it which they had the chance.  What’s stopping them getting there is sin; the solution is provided in Jesus Christ; all they have to do is to accept it!’

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Why is the universe so old?

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Until about 50 years ago, conventional scientific wisdom was that the universe had no beginning.  But now there is a broad consensus that the cosmos began with the ‘big bang’ around 13.8 billion years ago.

But even if the universe is not infinitely old, this still raises the question of why it is so old, if it was intended by God as a home for human beings, who themselves have been around for only a tiny fraction of those 13.8 billion years.…

Why is the universe so big?

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A sceptic might argue: if God created the universe as a special place for humanity, then surely he made it vastly bigger than it needed to be.  What a colossal waste of space and energy.

There are something like 200 billion galaxies in the universe each containing, on average, about 200 billion stars.  But if the universe were much less massive than this then the early cosmos would never have been capable of producing by nuclear fusion elements heavier than helium (elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and so on that are necessary for physical life). …

Michael Harper, 1931-2010

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Michael Harper, a key figure in the charismatic renewal in the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, died on January 6th.

He was a curate at All Souls Langham Place (London), serving alongside John Stott.  He left in 1964 to form the Fountain Trust, which was dedicated to spreading the charismatic message of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, accompanied by speaking in tongues.  I believe that he was quite closely associated in those early days of the charismatic movement with the late David Watson, and that the two of them made an impression on the noted preacher and evangelical leader Martyn Lloyd-Jones.…

A Christian basis for befriending

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Here are some notes on a teaching session on this subject.

Aim

To explore together the biblical basis for befriending, and to discuss the place of evangelism in our friendships with those who are not yet believers.

Activity in pairs

Pair up with a person you do not know very well.  Spend a few minutes talking to one another about how you became Christians.

Teaching on friendship in the book of Proverbs

Constancy Some people are fair-weather friends, Prov 14:20; 19:4,6,7, but a good friend ‘sticks closer than a brother’. 
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Jonah – The Reduced Jonah

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It seems to me that the message of Jonah lends itself rather well to dramatisation.  Here’s an attempt to do that, using three voices.

JONAH: Friends, I want to speak to you about wickedness in the world today. I’m sure that you will agree with me that there are lots of extremely wicked and cruel people around. The world is full of cheats, and tyrants, and murderers, and liars. I think that God should punish these wicked people.…