Month: November 2024
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Four principles for passing judgment
Let’s face it: we all judge other people. Sometimes that’s because we’re in a role that requires it, such as being a Justice of the Peace or sitting on an interview panel. But we also judge in our personal lives: do I trust this person? People judge when deciding on a spouse (good provider, loving,…
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The four loves of Harvest Festival
We’re not at the time of year where both Britain and America have celebrated their crops – in Britain, we had Harvest Festival in October, while America celebrated Thanksgiving this week. Thanksgiving is a much bigger affair, but Harvest Festival, nonetheless, gets a good airing in schools and churches. I think it’s important because it’s…
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The sign of Jonah
In Matthew 12, the Pharasees are trying to trap Jesus. They want him to give them a sign, after getting worked up by Jesus’s teaching and miracle making. But Jesus still has work to do before becoming a sacrifice on the cross. Cryptically, then, he tells them they will not receive a sign “except the sign…
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‘Set a guard over my mouth, Lord’
Social media has given everyone a microphone through which to broadcast their opinions. We have the technological ability to denounce and rebuke whoever we like. The “punchier the better” might well be the rule if you’re trying to get the most shares and likes, and the positive feeling that generates. But it’s not just online…
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Do Christians have to obey bad rulers?
The start of Romans 13 is an important steer from Paul on how Christians should act towards authority. It says: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is…
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The counter-cultural idea about how Christians should live
In the middle of Romans 12, there’s a wonderful section that sums up a big theme of how Christians should love. The NIV puts verses 9 to 21 under the heading “Love in Action”, while the New King James Version titles it “Behave Like a Christian”. The Christian Standard Bible simply calls it “Christian Ethics”.…
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The case for infant baptism
Christenings didn’t happen in the church where I grew up. That’s because, for my first decade, despite going a school with a Church of England ethos, on Sundays I went to an Open Brethren church. It was the sort that wouldn’t actually call itself Brethren but would simply say it was “evangelical”. It had a…
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Why early critics of Christianity did not dispute the miracles
When reports of Jesus and his followers performing miracles started circulating in first century AD, you’d expect critics to assert forcefully that they were made up.