A time to speak: 10 Reasons to speak up…
The last post looked at 10 reasons why silence is golden. But there is a flipside. The writer of Ecclesiastes 3 is right. There is a time for everything under heaven… and that includes both a time for silence and a time to speak up. Here are 10 signs that it is the time to speak… 1) While we should be still and know that God is God, when that truth dawns on us, we should not be slow to sing out His praise. Just as there is a place for quiet contemplative worship, there is also a place for joyous, rowdy, exuberant praise. The Psalmist writes, ‘Sing out my soul the glory of...
Read More10 reasons why silence is golden…
We live in such a noisy world. Getting ourselves heard can be a real problem. With everyone else so busy talking, no one really seems to want to listen to what we would like to say. Should we care? Here are 10 reasons why silence and being silent can be a virtue… 1) The Psalmist advises: Be still and know that I am God. When we speak too much we often start to think that we are God. Silence reminds us that we are not. 2) When we are silent, we often really hear what the other person is saying, and sometimes even begin to understand why they are saying it. 3) When we are silent, we...
Read MoreSo what is an evangelical, and should we care?
This is a lightly edited version of an article I published in Perth’s The Advocate, in 2012. It in turn was a more radically summarized version of a much longer article on the topic which I published in Churchman in Autumn 2008. With around 2 billion people claiming allegiance to Christianity, it is not surprising to discover that it comes in a wide range of flavours. Those in the know point to the Great Schism of 1054 when the church divided into the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Church. The latter divided again after the Protestant Reformation of 1517, which in time birthed...
Read MoreIs there a case for a Christian University?
A few groups are working to form an evangelical Christian university in Australia. Is this wise, or is it a case of misguided zeal? Our last post explored the drift from a soft to a hard secularism. In this post I argue that the formation of a Christian university could help to change the missiological climate in which we are currently located. This is an updated version of an article of mine that was originally published in Perth’s Advocate newspaper in 2012. While we could argue as to what constitute the major missiological blocks to the Christian faith, my suggestion would be that...
Read MoreFrom Deo Volente to Digital Video: The Flight to Secularism
To keep the blog going while Rosemary and I are on holiday, I have drawn on some articles I wrote for Perth’s Advocate newspaper. This one originally appeared in 2012, and I have now updated it slightly. We all sense that the climate in which we practice our faith is changing. This post examines the shift from a soft to a hard secularism. Though at times a little tongue in cheek, the underlying issues are of great significance. Hope you enjoy it… My mother-in-law is a wonderful human being who has almost adjusted to life in the 21st century whilst clearly remaining a product of...
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