Current Presbyterianism needs a Reformation as surely as Roman catholicism needed it in the 16th century, and still needs it in the 21st century. Roman catholicism never learned from the Protestant Reformation, but instead it battened down the hatches and carried on worse than before. This is a natural reaction, and not many people learn …
Category: Church history
The danger of not studying the Book of Revelation
Jesus pronounced a blessing on those who read the Book of Revelation Rev 1:3, but many people do not read the Bible at all. Of those who do, many find the Book of Revelation too difficult to read and give up, far less to study it. So why should they read and study it, and …
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Reformation from blind faith
The 16th-century European Reformation was a reformation from the blind faith expected by Roman Catholicism. Blind faith is believing something because someone else has said it, rather than examining the evidence for oneself. It is encouraged by dogmaticians, who regularly use "proof by assertion" to "establish" their point. Instead of believing what the Roman Catholic …
There is no post-Christian era
A good New Year to my readers. We sometime hear people saying that we live in a post-Christian era. There is no such thing – Jesus Christ continues to reign over the Earth from His throne in heaven Ps 110:1. He continues to advance His kingdom and He taught His Church to pray: "Thy kingdom …
The failure of Gentile Christianity
The failure of Gentile Christianity is predicted in Scripture at Rom 11:15. Its revival will come with the conversion of national Israel. Meanwhile, why has Gentile Christianity failed to convert the world? It has been successful in what the Lord called it to. It has evangelized the world Mat 28:18-20, making disciples of all ethnic …
Dr John Kennedy (1819-1884)
Scottish Highland Christianity has been unique in preserving the biblical and spiritual attainments of the 16th-century Scottish Reformation to the present day. Foremost in the ranks of 19th-century Highland Christianity was Dr John Kennedy (1819-1884), the renowned minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Dingwall for 40 years. Dingwall (Tingwall) was considered the Viking …
Disestablishment and the Church of England
This video at the New Culture Forum's spring conference 2022 shows some of the current problems in the Church of England. Some of us have known a much longer list for a much longer time. However, one proposed 'solution' was to disestablish the Church of England, which was compared to privatising a national institution. The …
A Summary of the Old Testament in the Christian Bible
Today is the 50th anniversary of my completing the reading of the Christian Bible for the first time as a 16-year-old. I have re-read it daily ever since. Wondering how best to commemorate this day, I decided about a month ago to complete my brief online summary of the Bible, which began with my Summary …
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The truth and “the whole truth”
Last week, the former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond drew attention to "the whole truth" in the oath normally administered in sworn testimony. The Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints (Committee of Inquiry) had invited him to speak to the Inquiry as he had been the victim of a miscarriage of …
Selective Scottish history
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 …
Donald's Thoughts 