A human being is not a body with a soul, but a soul with a body. Long after our body is dead, our soul continues to exist. Some people like to think that human beings are simply complicated pieces of matter. They hope that death is the end of them because they do not want …
What is the nature of faith?
Faith is a personal judgment. You cannot believe something that you do not think is true. You have judged it to be true, so you believe it. If you judge it to be false you are not able to believe it. Therefore you are personally responsible for your own beliefs because they are your personal …
What is Truth?
Pontius Pilate famously asked the Lord Jesus Christ: "What is truth?" Jn 18:38. Jesus had just told Pilate that He came into the world to bear witness to the truth Jn 18:37 but Pilate dismissed the topic in this cursory manner with this infamous question, but he did not wait for the answer, although he …
Reserving judgment
Public discussion is polarising society into the familiar "us and them" mantra. "Are you one of us?" Current discussions too often resolve into binary choices, and many people expect you to subscribe to one or other – left or right, for or against Donald Trump, for or against the Russo-Ukrainian war or the coronavirus vaccine, …
Catalysts, advocates and intercessors
The world needs peace-makers. Jesus placed them among His Beatitudes: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Matthew 5:9 There are too many peace-breakers. This blogpost is about international affairs and conflict resolution, and God knows that we need it. There will be no lasting peace between man and …
Governments and criminal behaviour
Media commentators frequently confess that they do not know why Governments act as they do in particular circumstances. For example, the US President Joe Biden has authorised cluster bombs for the war in Ukraine, which kill civilians and children and are condemned by 123 countries including the UK. So why did he do so? In …
Is true Christianity confrontational?
Jesus Christ was a radical teacher Who astonished even His own disciples Mat 19:25. Yet crowds of people heard Him gladly Mk 12:37. He appealed over the heads of Jewish officialdom to teach the people publicly. He contradicted Jewish officialdom and called them hypocrits Mat 23. Yet there are those who want Christians to be …
The utility of Christian fellowship
Christian fellowship is not an option – it is a necessity for Christian development and usefulness. Having noted the nature of Christian fellowship, and the content of Christian fellowship, I now turn to the utility or usefulness of Christian fellowship. This usefulness is not simply personal, but collective, even to the extent of national and …
Bullies and cowards
Bullies and cowards have something in common – they cannot win an argument. Poor debate is very common but poor arguments are just as common. So what do people do when they have a poor argument? They browbeat their opponent, they ridicule them, they miscall them, they prejudice the impressionable against them, they cancel them, …
The content of Christian fellowship
Having noted the nature of Christian fellowship, I now turn to the content of Christian fellowship. Christian fellowship is Christocentric, meaning that it centres on the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the centre of everything Col 1:17. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last Rev 22:13. Different people focus …
Donald's Thoughts 