Posted in Jesus, apologetics on 18 April 2008 | 3 Comments »
The Christian faith is dependent on an historical event; it is dependent on the fact of the empty tomb. As Paul himself wrote, ‘If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile’ (1 Cor 15:17). So there is very little doubt that, at least historically, Christians have been people who have staked [...]
Posted in Jesus, apologetics on 29 March 2008 | 2 Comments »
We live in a world in which the name ‘Jesus’ is not entirely unfamiliar. The Western world was born out of the ruins of the Roman empire and this world, from the time of Constantine onward, was a fusion of imperial power and the Christian religion. With this as the historical backdrop of [...]
Posted in Jesus, apologetics on 29 March 2008 | 1 Comment »
It would not be much of an overstatement to say that the historical claims about Jesus of Nazareth get very close to the heart of the Christian faith. While Christianity may be many other things, it is above all, a commitment to a personal God that we believe was revealed in an actual flesh [...]
Posted in Jesus, family on 9 December 2007 | 5 Comments »
The following was a little talk I gave at Friday night’s annual Bethany Christmas banquet. A couple of people have mentioned that they would like to see it posted so here it is:
Christmas is for all of us, but Christmas is especially for kids. So tonight I want to tell [...]
Posted in Jesus on 19 December 2006 | 9 Comments »
In the midst of the end of semester madness, Shelley and I had the opportunity to go hear Steve Bell perform at West Portal Church last Friday night. The music was characteristically excellent but the evening was also a beautiful reminder of the some of the profound truths of the Christmas season. [...]
Posted in Jesus on 10 April 2006 | No Comments »
Some were wondering, based on ‘The Challenge of Pluralism,’ about the implications of my views for Christian political engagement. The idea of Christianity being a ‘comprehensive world view’ could certainly lead into a theocratic political theory but that is not my intent. My goal was simply to challenge Christians to consider whether or [...]
Posted in Jesus, theology on 6 April 2006 | 13 Comments »
I just came across an interesting article that deals with some of the questions that came up recently in the discussion on the possibility of a ‘personal relationship’ with God. The author, John Suk (a theologian at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila), makes an interesting connection between the language of ‘personal relationship with God’ [...]
Posted in Jesus, theology on 21 March 2006 | 7 Comments »
Kudos to Paul for a thought-provoking sermon on Sunday. His text was Mark 8:27-30, the famous incident where Jesus confronts his disciples regarding his identity. ‘Who do the people say I am,’ Jesus begins, followed by the unavoidable question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ The basic idea is that Peter’s [...]
