Last week I did something really dumb. I opened my mouth and said something which, while it was never intended to be malicious or hurtful, ended up wounding a friend. I apologised in a number of ways and am pleased to report that the relationship is restored. Like it or not, however, I had to [...]
View PostToday is Reformation Day, the anniversary of that momentous occassion when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of Wittenburg Church. There will, today, be reams of posts written across the Reformed blogosphere (and elsewhere, no doubt) on this subject. We'll keep banging on about how important this stuff is and others will [...]
View PostYou may have (but probably, and thankfully, haven't) seen the recent tizz in the States over another of the shock-flock pastors (see, I just coined a phrase) Perry Noble. Perry, it seems, thought it would be helpful to play ACDC's “Highway to Hell” [wiki] on Easter Sunday in order to confront those stuffy traditionalists who [...]
View PostI've been thinking a little recently about what it means to respond to grace, claim forgiveness and then to speak to others of that grace. There's a tendency amongst some to claim that God's forgiveness in Christ means that they simply don't have to talk about the past any more. In one sense that's true, [...]
View PostNathan as a quite excellent piece on the recent fiasco over this billboard in Queensland. Generally speaking, I’m a fan of freedom of speech, which means I am naturally opposed to censorship. Not viewing guidelines. But the prevention of ideas being able to be freely transmitted. Some ideas are criminal, and transmitting them is [...]
View PostWho wants to be an actor? (picture above from State Library of NSW archives on flickr. h/t Dave Miers). I had a fascinating conversation this weekend about what it means to live the Christian life. My conversation partner came from a religious background that put the emphasis on what we need to do to please [...]
View PostJust a short observation. In Act 2, Scene 2 of Hamlet the players arrive and we have a brief performance. Afterwards, Hamlet asks Polonius to look after his guests… Hamlet's request is plain enough… 'Tis well: I'll have thee speak out the rest soon. Good my lord, will you see the players well bestow'd? Do you hear, let [...]
View PostAnswer: When it's simply legalism. The Daily Mail (not that we want to hold them up as the bastion of consistently objective, unsensational reporting) has a stunning article today on a truth that many in UK evangelicalism have known for a while, Stephen Green [wiki] of “Christian Voice” is a bit of a nasty man. [...]
View Post