I am reading Derek Flood’s Healing the Gospel and have been riveted by his discussion of sin. He suggests that for too long Christians have held a forensic understanding of sin when what we need is a medical model. The forensic model sees us as sinners deserving of punishment and focuses on...
A Makeover for my blog
Today I gave my blog a makeover. The new look is minimalist, with an emphasis on the writing and an easy to read format. Let me know what you think. A step forward? Backward?
My Poker Face
A friend who gave a presentation at church on Sunday commented afterward that, as he was talking, he had been unable to read my reaction. At first I was surprised, for I was thoroughly engaged with what he had been saying. Then it dawned on me…Parkinsons. One of the effects of Parkinsons is...
Go On Swanny, Raise Taxes
So, the days of hand-over-fist increases in government revenue are drawing to a close, just as the nation contemplates big social spending projects such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the Gonski education review. Inevitably there will be calls to delay the spending and cut programs...
Miranda Kerr and Bangladeshi Worker Deaths
Good Friday, Bombs in Boston, and Anzac Day.
Are They Few Who Will Be Saved? On the Nature of Judgement
In a recent post I asked the question “Is the doctrine of hell defensible?” and highlighted conditional immortality and universalism as two alternatives to the notion that those who die without faith in Christ will be subject to an eternity of torment. So here’s my stab at...
What’s Wrong with the World?
The Times once invited famous authors to answer the question “What’s wrong with the world?” GK Chesterton gave the shortest reply [quote]Dear sir, What’s wrong with the world? I am[/quote] We like to think that the world’s problems are of someone else’s...
Is the Doctrine of Hell Blasphemous?
When I was at theological college I was subjected to the necessary but torturous experience of learning New Testament Greek. The text we used was written by a scholar named John Wenham. A conservative Evangelical, Wenham wrote a highly influential defence of the Bible’s inspiration, among...
A Bunch of Greedy Bastards
I like to think of Australians as a generous people, the sort of people who help out those in need. When bushfires hit we seem eager to give to those who have lost their homes. Every summer the Sydney cricket test turns pink on Jane McGrath day as money is raised for cancer nurses. When schoolkids...