The Bible’s Search for Order
In a recent post, I quoted some of the conclusion Graham A Cole’s book ‘God the Peacemaker’. Graham closes his book with a quote of the late Bill Dumbrell. Bill, like Graham, was one of my lecturers when I was…
Imagination and Conceivability
I came across this fascinating little footnote in Graham Cole’s ‘God the Peacemaker‘ book. He wrote: “In my view, imagination (at least in part) has to do with our ability to form a mental picture. Conceivability, on the other hand,…
Shalom and Sacrifice
In my last post, I briefly referred to Graham Cole’s book ‘God the Peacemaker – How atonement brings shalom‘. This is a marvellous book which is filled with gemstones worth quoting. I plan to share a few over time but…
Pontius Pilate in the Creed
“Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.” As I write, it’s a few days before Palm Sunday. The start of what Christians often term ‘Holy week’. Each year, Pontius Pilate comes to the fore, as we read and…
Descended into hell
Reading around in preparation for Good Friday I returned to this old chestnut debate – the phrase ‘he descended into hell’ which we used to say in the Apostles’ Creed using the book known as AAPB (An Australian Prayer Book).…
Easter 25
Today marks 24 years since I began here at St Stephen’s Bellevue Hill in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. I’m very thankful to our God and Heavenly Father for his mercy and grace in upholding me through that time. It…
The Faithfulness of God
“Genesis 15 packs a remarkable punch for us: God himself is willing to suffer the curse of the covenant.” (Davis, ‘Faith of our Father’, p 65) I came across this marvellous line by Dale Davis when I was preaching on…
Bird Reviews
So after posting my short review on Michael Bird’s ‘Evangelical Theology’ 2nd Edition, I had a quick glance at some reviews. Well, suffice to say that Bird would need to have a hippo’s thick skin if he was going to…
Evangelical Theology
One of the biggest frustrations that I had when I studied Theology back in the late 80s and early 1990s, was finding material for preparing essays on Doctrine and Theology. There were a number of books and systematic theologies around…
The Day of the Lord
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done…