The death and resurrection of Jesus are too often mentioned in a superficial manner. Jesus Christ grappled with man's greatest fear and vanquished our unconquerable enemy. This is not a subject to address with trite phrases and comments, any more than today's annual memorial of the fallen in both World Wars and in subsequent conflicts. …
Category: Personal religion
Brotherly love
The term "brotherly love" came to prominence with the Christian Gospel. Prior to this, the Greeks and Romans practised infanticide, rape and violence as a matter of form. Jesus introduced brotherly love as a new Christian commandment, by which they would know His disciples Jn 13:34-35. It is a premium mark of the godly. It …
A new beginning in Rome
The Boyd family gathered in Rome today. It was a unique gathering, on a unique occasion, in a unique place, to witness an international union between Scotland and Peru, and a new beginning in Rome. My only-begotten, beloved son James was united in marriage before God and His earthly witnesses with Rebeca, the beloved of …
Inadequate Presbyterian debate
I have often complained about the poor quality of debate in public discussion and also among Christians. My forth-coming publication about the Book of Job draws attention to this perennial, long-standing human failure. Intelligent, informed debate is essential for progress and community cohesion. As long as the Presbyterian church is unable to debate properly or …
False Gospels
A false gospel is a gospel that gives a false hope. It does so by preaching a false Christ. There are various ways of preaching a false Christ. Arminians preach a Christ who does not actually save, that puts salvation into the believer's own hands, emphasizing the decision to follow Christ otherwise Christ cannot actually …
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ is the title of a book by John Bunyan, "the Bedford tinker". It is a good title, expressing the essence of the Gospel Call, that all who hear about Jesus Christ are welcome to learn what He has to offer and what He can do for them. Jesus' offer …
The Reformation of Presbyterianism
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 …
The spirit and form of Presbyterianism
If you ask what Presbyterianism is, you may be told that that it is a form of church government in which the church is structured in a hierarchical manner with lower courts subordinate to higher courts until a General Assembly oversees them all. This is inadequate. This describes the form, not the substance nor the …
The religion of politics
There are many forms of religion in the world. The religion of politics is preached by politicians who promise equality, justice and peace on Earth and young people are duped into believing them. This is not a religion about the salvation of one's soul but about the improvement of one's bodily and social conditions. Many …
Six religions in one household
In my youth, before I was 20 years old, I lived with my parents and three siblings. We had all been Church of Scotland attenders through my formative years, where I did not hear the Gospel explained and learned nothing about heaven or hell nor why I was in the world. When I was converted …
