Why do I think that talking about Charles de Gaulle will help us understand the purpose of Christian apologetics? Follow me as I try to explain. The First World War was mostly fought on French soil, meaning that the people of France bore the greatest share of the war’s death, destruction and despair. After that … Continue reading Charles de Gaulle and Christian apologetics
faith
What does the Bible mean by “left thy first love”?
"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." (Revelation 2:4).I have been part of many discussions over this verse. As far as I recall, we have always taken it to mean "I am disappointed in you because you've lost that loving feeling." Then we discussed how we can tell if … Continue reading What does the Bible mean by “left thy first love”?
Ebola
That fearsome disease, The deaths do not cease. Who can help when such fear Clutches all who are near?Disease is a curse, Fear just makes it worse. We flee those who would help. Trust things that cannot help.Thousands are dying, Thousands are trying To arrest the bleeding, And stop it from spreading.Has a cure been … Continue reading Ebola
The self-important self
The dictionary pictured above lists 80 hyphenated words beginning with self; the Canadian Oxford Dictionary lists 200. What a bunch of self-centred, self-satisfied, self-important bores we have become!We think that good self-esteem is essential for happiness. We study self-help books to help us attain self-fulfillment, self-actualization and self-realization. There is a little problem though — … Continue reading The self-important self
Paradigms – effective and defective
Paradigm (pronounced pair-a-dime) means model, pattern, example. The word was first popluarized by Thomas S Kuhn to describe a framework for scientific research. He wrote: "Men whose research is based on shared paradigms are committed to the same rules and standards for scientific practice." ¹ Paradigm then escaped from this narrowly scientific application to become … Continue reading Paradigms – effective and defective
The great and terrible God
In order to reduce Christianity to moralistic, therapeutic deism, we must reduce God to a warm fuzzy, namby-pamby therapist whose only desire is to help us find relief from the emotional and existential complexes that befuddle our lives. That is not the way that the Bible describes Him. Nehemiah twice speaks of God as being … Continue reading The great and terrible God
How to invent a church
Let’s say that I am a young man on fire for the Lord, thrilled by what God has done for me and eager to share this good news with others. But I can’t find a church that sees things exactly the way I do. What shall I do? Well, if my name is Daniel Warner, … Continue reading How to invent a church
A sense of wonder
There are sober and serious Christians who object to C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books and Tolkien’s Hobbit books on the ground that they are not real life stories. To which I would ask “Is this visible world all there is to real life?” Children are aware that there are unseen forces influencing the events around them. … Continue reading A sense of wonder
The strait way or the straightaway
Which road are you on? The straightaway is a wide, smooth road with gentle curves and gradual slopes. Multitudes are travelling down this road, pedal to the metal, hellbent on getting to . . . well — hell. Where else would you expect to get to on this road? Jesus tells us that a lot of … Continue reading The strait way or the straightaway
Christianity: it’s not all about me
Nine years ago we were living in a little village north of Saskatoon. One day early in the year the phone rang and when I answered a voice with a pronounced southern accent said, "My name is Jay Bullock and I hear you are having Vacation Bible School up there this summer and I wonder … Continue reading Christianity: it’s not all about me
Flatlander Faith 