The Reason for the ‘Go…’: Reflections on Matt 28:16-20
Several people said they found the sermon notes from last week Is Cross Carrying Passe helpful. So I thought I’d post this weeks notes as well. This is the message I preached at Carey Baptist Church, Perth, today. As always, feel free to use them any way you find helpful. If you pass them on, it is always nice if you credit the source as brianharrisauthor.com In this series we have been asking the question, ‘Why Jesus?’ – but now we finish on a slightly different note. ‘If it is Jesus – so what? What difference should that make in my life, and how should it impact what I do.’ The last...
Read MoreResurrection, Pannenberg and Aaron Chidgzey
Aaron Chidgzey, a Vose Seminary graduate, is currently a PhD student at Murdoch University where he is engaged in research that compares the views on the resurrection of German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg and NT Wright. Pannenberg died in Sept 2014, having been one of the theological giants of the 20th century. He is well known for his conviction that faith is reasonable – indeed, that it is more reasonable to believe than not to believe. He places special emphasis on the resurrection. I asked Aaron about his research, and thought you would enjoy his insights. Aaron, tell us a...
Read MoreMiracles, maths and mystery…
I can still remember the sneer from one of the panelists at an evangelistic atheist site. Desperate to convert others to her newly found atheism she declared: ‘Christians are really, really bad at maths. When doctors say your cancer is incurable, what they mean is that there is only a 1 in a 1000 chance that it won’t prove terminal. When it doesn’t, religious nutters happily proclaim, “a miracle”. No it’s not. It is the 1 in a 1000 cases which comes around, on average, once every thousand cases. Low odds come off in the ratio they are meant to. It’s...
Read MoreEaster Cancelled. They’ve found the body…
Graffiti was an art form during my university days. It adorned three of the walls of every toilet cubicle. One wall was devoted to political comment, another to the smutty, the third to the witty and clever. By and large contributors conformed to this unwritten guideline, and a few days before a now long past Easter the headline ‘Easter has been cancelled. They’ve found the body!’ appeared on the third wall. It has stuck with me through the years. In its own way, it is deeply insightful. Produce the body of Jesus, and whilst the impact of Christianity would not disappear...
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