Quotable – C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity
Last week I finished teaching a course in Apologetics at Vose Seminary, and we concluded by looking at the apologetic methodology of C.S.Lewis. As I took another look at his classic work, Mere Christianity, I was again struck by its significance and the importance of Lewis as an apologist. Based on his 1943 wartime broadcasts, Mere Christianity has impacted the lives of many thousands of people. Here are some insights from this book… A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above...
Read MoreQuotable: Greg Sheridan and God is Good for You – Take 2
A few weeks ago we had an initial look at a few gems from Greg Sheridan’s excellent new book God is Good for You. Here is a second look… Materialism, the most boring as well as the least accurate way of experiencing the world and recording experience, is the dominant mindset of the Western intelligentsia in our day. – Quoting A.N.Wilson (p35) Militant atheists deny any validity to the testimony of anyone in history who, through mystical prayer or contemplation or the irruption of God into human consciousness, claims any direct personal experience of God. But the testimony of this...
Read MoreWhy Christianity is Probably True… My next book
British Publisher BRF recently confirmed that they will be releasing my latest book Why Christianity is Probably True in October – the 19th October to be exact (and ISBN number 9780857466549). Here is a taster from the book – the opening chapter to be precise. It gives a feel of the territory to be covered. Hope you enjoy it – and I’ll give some updates as the publication date draws closer… Chapter 1: About Probability… Perhaps you have come across the bus campaign run by the New Atheists. The little slogan blazoned across the exterior of many buses runs...
Read MorePost Post-Christendom…
For the last few decades churches in the Western world have noted, usually with a sense of lament, that we live in a post-Christendom world – in other words, in a world where Christianity has lost its privileged status and is no longer assumed to be true, moral or the default religion of society. We can no longer presume that the major stories of the Bible are known by the majority, and biblical allusions are usually met with blank incomprehension (“what do you mean when you say she’s a Good Samaritan?”) As to the church setting the agenda for society, that is long...
Read MoreIs God unfair?
I was speaking at the Slavic Baptist Church this Sunday, and with the help of an excellent Russian interpreter tackled the ever perplexing question of why good people often suffer, and the question which arises from this, “Is God unfair?” I was interacting with some of the views explored by Philip Yancey in his excellent book Disappointment with God, and the response to the message made me think that what was said would be worth sharing with a wider readership. So with a few minor edits, here is what I said… I have been a pastor for over 30 years now, and in that time I...
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