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Dec 09 2021 Leaving
Reading Time: 8 minutesLeaving is never because of just one thing. Not really.
It’s the result of a thousand, inconsequential one things that all converge in a single moment of sudden, irreconcilable difference.
For me, the eventual leaving of the religious community I grew up in began as a tiny question fluttering at the back of my mind.
Back then, I’d never met a question I didn’t want to take apart, examine, rearrange and then carefully reassemble, perfectly ordered, and satisfactorily… -
Dec 08 2021 Jesus, The Hope Of The World
Reading Time: 12 minutes“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Emmanuel” (which means, “God with us”)” | Matthew 1:23, BRB
Scripture tells of a crowded family home in a bustling ancestral town, set at the southern end of the Judean hills. Filled to the brim already, perhaps with relatives from both near and far, there was no room in the guest quarters for the additional arrival of a heavily pregnant… -
Nov 09 2021 By One Man
Reading Time: 8 minutesI like the Apostle Paul.
I like his ability to ‘call a spade a spade’, the unrelenting pursuit of his faith, and his bold assertion to “preach nothing but the cross of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:2). No doubt he ruffled more than a few feathers at times, with his unapologetic directness and refusal to tolerate any other gospel than that of being saved by grace through faith alone.
He doesn’t shy away from telling it how it… -
Aug 23 2021 Majors And Minors | The Danger Of Extremism
Reading Time: 7 minutesThe appearance of Jesus on the Jewish scene was a dramatic collision between grace and spiritual performance. Jesus came preaching repentance and forgiveness for all people; not on the basis of their social status, their ethnicity, or their gender, but on the basis of God’s generosity and undeserved grace (Mark 16:15, Luke 14:23).
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish…
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Aug 09 2021 Three Reasons I Don’t Believe In Hell
Reading Time: 12 minutesBefore beginning, I would like to acknowledge that discussing this particular topic may appear to be controversial and that you, the reader, may not share the views I express. This article is not intended to be offensive or divisive in nature, but rather to open a channel of respectful conversation about a subject that is deeply important to many people.
I have chosen some time ago to abandon a rigid position on issues or topics which… -
Aug 02 2021 In The Shadow Of The Empire
Reading Time: 9 minutesChristianity in the first century was a spiritual explosion, fueled by the reality of the resurrection of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the Jewish community, who lived and worshipped largely by themselves, Christians were active evangelists, eager to share the good news about Jesus with all who would listen. They preached Jesus everywhere, not just as the long-awaited Jewish Messiah, but as Lord, Saviour, and King; over and above Caesar.
Initially planted… -
Jul 21 2021 Searching For Identity
Reading Time: 5 minutes“If I find in myself desires nothing in this world will satisfy. I can only conclude that I was not made for here.” | C S Lewis
Searching For Identity
I want to confess, at the outset, that as I was attempting to put down some of the thoughts I wanted to share relating to identity, my mind ran an internal commentary about myself. Thoughts such as, “what will people think of me?”, “how will I be… -
Jun 07 2021 Radical Social Change: A Letter To Philemon
Reading Time: 4 minutes“Injustice: unfairness, unjust act, Unfair: not equitable or honest, not impartial or according to rules, society: organised and interdependent community, system and organisation of this” – The Australian Oxford Dictionary, Third Edition
The issue of social injustice* has always been one that is close to my heart. It’s something that I like to talk to my kids about often, to try to impress upon them just how fortunate they are in many aspects of their life.… -
Apr 28 2021 Beneath The Skin
Reading Time: 7 minutesWhat’s beneath the skin of our collective Christian identity?
Has Christianity lost touch with its original radical and beating heart? Are we so enamored with the power and prestige of this present world that we have forgotten our own history?
Are we, the church, so entertained by the lights and sounds, by the choreographed music, by the dimly lit stages and almond-milk-lattes-after-service that we’ve forgotten the ancient truths our early Christian brethren lived and died for?
Have we…