Category Archives: Christian Doctrine

A change of mind … Our word repent basically means re-think as does its French equivalent, repenser (re = again + penser = to think, as in pensive). The New Testament Greek verb metanoeo has a similar meaning (meta = … Continue reading →

Much is spoken in Scripture and in Christian circles of ‘the Father heart of God’ (e.g. Psalm 103:13; Luke 11:11-13). Jesus told of a father’s exuberant ‘welcome home’ for his repentant rebel younger son (Luke 15:11-32). But biblical references to … Continue reading →

Does God need to breathe to stay alive as we who are made in his image must do? Of course not. Yet there are occasions reported in the Bible when God exhaled or inhaled. What God breathes out When you … Continue reading →

The Bible begins by affirming that the earth and all its inhabitants were created by God who conferred in fellowship with God: ‘Let us make …’ And the New Testament adds that the Son of God, who had been involved … Continue reading →

From the Greek New Testament words: city (polis); citizen (polites); citizenship (politeusthe); and ‘behaviour worthy of a citizen’ (politeuma) derive many English terms for social order: politics and policy; even polite and polished; and, of course, police! The city (polis) … Continue reading →

Most of us, if asked what is the opposite of love would say hatred. Yet there is a simple Bible statement that seems to suggest that the opposite pole actually is fear. ‘There is no fear in love, but perfect … Continue reading →

We often hear this expression used in everyday conversations – even on TV quiz shows when a contestant had hesitated and taken a ‘safer’ guess than the best answer. Jesus was the first to be reported as actually saying it … Continue reading →

God promised ‘all the remnant of the house of Israel’ while in exile for their rebellion: ‘Listen to me …[you] who have been borne by me before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age … and … Continue reading →

The students in our ESOL class (English for Speakers of Other Languages) were asked to write a brief sentence on a Post-It note starting with the credo ‘I believe’. The notes were collected and shuffled, and we discussed them one … Continue reading →

Every Christian can and should pronounce benediction over people meaningfully. Jesus constituted his genuine followers as ‘a kingdom of priests’. Part of a priest’s ministry is the privilege of benediction – from Latin, ‘to say well’: bene [well] diction [speech]. … Continue reading →

The question of slavery Slavery was woven so deeply into the social fabric of the Roman Empire that its economy depended heavily on the enforced contribution of some 60 million domestic slaves worldwide, many of whom were treated as mere … Continue reading →