Secular morality is replacing Christian morality in public life, and not for the better. It is often said that the Christian church is 'hung up' on sex. The reality is that human beings are hung up on sex, whether they are Christian or not. The historical attitude has run its course Fifty years ago, it …
Category: Bible Exegesis
Before or from the foundation of the world?
There are many misquotations of Scripture that need to be corrected. I will gather over time a list of them here and put them into biblical order for easy consultation, but beginning with the one in the title of this blogpost. I will also supply mnemonics or the rationale which will help people to remember …
Continue reading Before or from the foundation of the world?
When did the Gospel first reach Europe?
It is common to hear preachers say that the Gospel first came to Europe when Paul responded to the Macedonian call, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us’ Act 16:9. This is wrong, and it is one of many examples of the readiness to copy ideas without checking out if they are true. The Gospel …
Saul of Tarsus’ miscarriage
Some years ago I wrote a blogpost 'Was the rich young ruler actually Saul of Tarsus?' It is one of my most-viewed blogposts to date and some people have commented on it, but without reading the Bible commentary that could be downloaded from the blogpost. So it might be helpful to simply state in summary …
Christian scribes
I am a scribe but not a Pharisee – that is, I am a Christian scribe. In Jesus' day, the scribes and Pharisees were opposed to His teaching. Jesus accused them of hypocrisy: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you close the kingdom of heaven against mankind: for you neither go in yourselves, …
Correcting the miscalling of Demas
It is time to rehabilitate Demas, the companion of the apostle Paul, from the slander than judges him a turncoat or even worse, an apostate. The King James Version translates 2Tim 4:10: 'For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia' and other …
Revisiting the 1967 Abortion Act
The 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act made the BBC revisit the debate about abortion in The Moral Maze. Confusion, obfuscation and biblical illiteracy are still the order of the day. The debate proceeded along the usual lines to little effect, so it is worth recording here a list of the topics which are …
Those who have no hope
There are many people living hopeless lives, and some go to the extreme of committing suicide. Dante's poem imagines the supposed inscription at the entrance to hell: "Abandon every hope, you who enter in." It is amazing that those on earth with no hope would hasten their way towards that place with no hope. However, …
Academic exegesis
Academic exegesis is that form of interpretation which copies academics or authority figures rather than doing proper exegesis. The Lord Jesus Christ cut through this in His teaching, so that people were astonished at His teaching. Academic exegesis is seen in the translation of various biblical passages. Current Bible versions are the product of teams …
Do you honour Jesus Christ as Lord?
What sort of honour do you give to Jesus Christ, and to what extent? Many people know that He claims to be the Son of God, but this washes over many of them as if it is just another item of news. Rather, it is so significant that it cannot be ignored and deserves to …
Donald's Thoughts 