Church
Should you have your baby baptised at church? We personally have many friends, both believers and not, who have gone through this ritual, but why? It could be because their families have said it should be done or because the parents feel it is the right thing to do. Maybe there is a superstitious belief there will be some everlasting protection over the child from then on or that the child’s salvation is guaranteed because of this. Equally, there may be pressure from church leaders to baptise the child.
The majority of churches throughout the UK practice child baptism and it has become a tradition spanning many years of church… Continue reading
There is no question that the levels of Biblical literacy in Christian circles has dramatically decreased in recent decades. This alarming trend looks set to continue and there are many reasons for this as Kenneth Berding points out in his article – The Crisis of Biblical Illiteracy.
In summary, Berding points to the following reasons for this:
- Distractions
- Misplaced Priorities
- Unwarranted overconfidence
- The pretext of being too busy
Whilst we completely agree with all of these, we would suggest there are some more factors that compound this. Firstly, there has been an aggressive attack (sometimes from within the church) on the authenticity of the Scriptures – this has led… Continue reading
Are you a light to those around you? Jesus Christ made many bold claims – one of which was:
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12, emphasis added)
This is not like a light we have at home for when it gets dark or even like the sun that lights up our day which are both physical lights. Jesus is referring to spiritual light, He is the only source of spiritual truth available to us!
I am come a light into the world, that… Continue reading
A popular question is – can a Christian lose their salvation? Church denominations and Christian movements often create doctrinal statements to summarise their beliefs. There is nothing wrong with this as it’s important to provide an identity with regard to doctrine and theology although it is very important that the content of a statement centres on issues that are crystal clear in Scripture. It is very unwise, unnecessary and misleading to declare doctrinal positions on issues that are a little ambiguous in Scripture. We would suggest that the traditional ‘once saved, always saved’ (OSAS) doctrine falls into this category. In order words, we would question whether it is true to… Continue reading
During this Christmas period St James’s Church, Piccadilly have erected an 8-metre tall concrete wall as part of the project “Bethlehem Unwrapped” where they aim to highlight the modern-day situation for inhabitants of the ancient town of Bethlehem.
Whilst we are equally concerned with the difficult circumstances facing the Palestinians in Bethlehem, this particular stunt is nothing but a politically motivated attempt to make Israel out as the villain in this complex situation. We suspect that this bias is strongly influenced by the “replacement theology” and “supersessionism” that is rampant in the Church of England. No doubt, as a result of the wall, this church will become a hub of… Continue reading
In a recent interview, Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned that the Church of England could be “one generation away from extinction” – Church of England will be extinct in one generation warns ex-Archbishop.
As an institution, the Church of England has made many decisions that display it is determined to follow the ever-changing moral trends of society rather than provide the unchanging moral bedrock rooted in Scripture. Instead of a concern to please the living God, the Church leadership appear to be more concerned with pleasing society in a desperate attempt to appear popular and relevant. Unfortunately, the long-term outlook seems very bleak as the… Continue reading
Terms like, “Go to hell!” or “Hope you rot in hell!” have become common remarks used in confrontational situations. These derogatory comments are usually used to give a sense of personal gratification in an angry exchange. We suspect that if anyone understood the full extent of what ‘hell’ was actually like, it would not be something we should wish on our worst enemies, let alone as a flippant spiteful comment!
History teaches and current news reports confirm that the world we live in has a story of war, conflict and numerous forms of injustice. There are endless examples of the appalling ways that people treat others for one reason or… Continue reading