The text which follows is a very much abridged excerpt from J. C. Ryle's Practical Christianity, which was first published in 1867. John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) was a leader of the evangelical wing of the Church of England, and bishop of Liverpool from 1880 to 1900. The subject perhaps was never more important than it … Continue reading Separate from the world
God
The Bible is our heritage, let’s get to know it
In Genesis 13:17 God said to Abraham: Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. For Christians today, the Holy Bible, the Word of God, is our heritage. Have we walked through the length of it and the breadth of … Continue reading The Bible is our heritage, let’s get to know it
Is God Laughing?
On the strength of 71 years of experience, I have concluded that there is no such thing as normal weather. The figures we are given as “normals for the period” are just averages of many years of abnormal weather. There was the Medieval Warm Period 1,000 years ago when Lief Erickson and his men landed … Continue reading Is God Laughing?
I dreamed there was no God
Another post from When I Was Thirteen by Christina Young, the followup from yesterday's post. June 1, 1897 This is Sunday morning, and also the first day of June. Everyone else is sleeping still, as the sun is just coming up over the trees at the ditch. I got up early like this, because I … Continue reading I dreamed there was no God
Should Christians tithe?
Some Christians firmly believe that the Old Testament 10% rule is still in force for Christians today. They tell inspirational tales of someone who was struggling financially and could hardly find any spare change for the collection plate. Then they began to give 10% off the top of their income and, as if by magic, … Continue reading Should Christians tithe?
Humanism as the established religion
It appears to have began long ago with Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the patron saint of Roman Catholic theologians. He studied Greek, Arabic and Hebrew philosophers and incorporated some of their thinking into Christian theology. His major innovation was the idea that God and truth are not solely revealed by the Bible, but that man by … Continue reading Humanism as the established religion
Big or small, the Bible fits us all
They say that if you take a most powerful magnifying glass, and examine any flower, or even just a blade of grass, that the patterns that we see branch off into hundreds of other patterns, and they branch off into hundreds of others, and so on, and every last thing about it is as perfect … Continue reading Big or small, the Bible fits us all
Belief and unbelief, according to Blaise Pascal
I marvel at the audacity with which some people presume to speak of God. In giving their evidence to unbelievers, usually their first chapter is to prove the existence of God from the works of nature. I would not be surprised about this project if they were addressing their arguments to believers, for those with … Continue reading Belief and unbelief, according to Blaise Pascal
Do Intelligence and Irresponsibility go together?
I was reading several years before I started school, I always did well in school and through reading I began to accumulate a very eclectic storehouse of information. I began to develop confidence that I could figure things out on my own. It happened one day that a counsellor presented me with an aptitude test, … Continue reading Do Intelligence and Irresponsibility go together?
God’s circle
Ma says the greatest mistake in the world is the notion some people get that outside of God’s laws there is freedom. She says that the only real freedom to be found on the earth is within the circle of His laws, and as soon as one steps outside of that circle, he finds himself … Continue reading God’s circle
Flatlander Faith 