There are some centuries of Scottish history that are overlooked in favour of other ones. This morning I was at a meeting of about 30 senior men who were asked to name the main events in Scottish history. The list of options went all the way from the battle of Bannockburn (1314) to the Highland …
Category: Church history
Those who think that religion and politics do not mix
There are those who think that religion and politics don't mix. The truth is that their religion and their politics don't mix. However, Christianity and politics mix quite easily together, and it is Christianity which gave us western democracy as we understand it and delivered us from the irreligious dogmatism of the 16th-century by recovering …
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What is the Establishment Principle?
The Establishment Principle is that biblical principle which states that God is sovereign over secular and ecclesiastical affairs, and that He has established a relationship between these two sovereign spheres in which the state and the Christian church are to acknowledge each other as divinely-appointed institutions, to mutually support and encourage each other, but not …
The ark of the covenant and the third temple
There is a movement afoot among orthodox Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and to this end they have been looking for a red heifer without blemish to dedicate the temple. Although there have been discredited claims in recent decades, yet there are rumours that a suitable red heifer has been found and that …
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How long does the biblical Millennium last?
The biblical Millennium is mentioned in every verse of Rev 20:2-7. 'He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent who is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive the nations …
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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 manifestations of the readiness to copy ideas without checking out if they are true. The Gospel …
Seven days that changed the heavens
408 years ago today, Galileo's discovery changed our understanding of the solar system forever. His astronomical observations irrefutably confirmed the hypothesis formulated by Copernicus 100 years earlier that the Earth was not the centre of the solar system. This was an Earth-shattering discovery. Between 7th and 13th January 1610, Galileo discovered and observed the four …
Scotland needs a Reformer
The main message from the 500th anniversary of the European Reformation is that Scotland needs a Reformer. We have plenty of theologians and preachers, but no reformer. Scotland's Reformer was John Knox but we have fallen upon such backsliding times that we need a new one, but at present Scotland has no reformer. A reformer …
Two liberating anniversaries today
Liberty is the theme for Reformation Day 2017. There are two liberating anniversaries today - 500 and 100 years ago respectively - and the message from each of them is being forgotten. 500 years ago today Martin Luther sparked the European Protestant Reformation and 100 years ago today the Balfour Declaration was finalised by the …
Signs of the Times
We are living in interesting and significant times, with a number of notable anniversaries co-inciding. 31st October 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. Martin Luther unwittingly commenced the Protestant Reformation when he posted his 95 Theses for discussion on the door of the Castle …
