I was shocked to chance upon a major US financial news network happily using a market indicator called the ‘Greed and Fear’ index – with the commentator cheerfully explaining why the needle was shifting from greed to fear, and had just crossed over into ‘extreme fear’. Greed and Fear are dominant actors on our world […]
We tend to associate Advent with Christmas. The word literally means ‘coming’ – so we think, ‘of course, Christmas is coming!’ The Advent calendar gives the countdown, with chocolates behind each window to sweeten the way. But Advent is a Latin word translated from the biblical word parousia – which pointed to something (or someone)
Advent – He is Coming! Read More »
In AD 325 a meeting took place in the small town of Nicaea, in the Eastern Roman Empire, the Asian side of modern-day Turkey. This was no ordinary meeting. It was the first council of the whole Christian church, bringing together bishops from across the Roman empire – even as far as India. But it
The Nicene Creed at 1700 Read More »
Written by Marilyn Baldwin As Christians in our modern world, are there certain things we deem to be unutterable? On GTS courses, people have said that they struggle with many of the OT portrayals of God. They cannot believe that He can be a God who loves his people when He wreaks barbaric physical vengeance in
We Believe in One God Read More »
Rev Dr Stephen Goundrey-Smith What does good biomedical innovation – the process of developing and marketing medical technologies – look like in our society? A brief look at the history of research-based pharmaceuticals and bioscience over the last fifty years suggests that, for good innovation, medical technologies must be safe, cost-effective to use – and,
Good Biomedical Innovation – a Theological Vision Read More »
By Dr Ian Donald “He will be alright won’t he, doctor?” is the sort of cry I would hear from a daughter when her ageing father was admitted to hospital, desperate for confident reassurance. Somehow, our assumption of health, or our faith that the health service will always be able to put things right, helps
Ageing and the Lure of Certainty Read More »
By Abby Button Wilderness. Tracing the concept back to biblical roots, we begin at the Garden of Eden where humans walked in relationship with both God and nature. Later we see the idea of ‘wilderness’ as a place uninhabited by humans, where people went to experience God’s presence, to learn and prepare for spiritual tasks.
When Paul urges Christians to, ‘Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’ (Eph 5:19) we might wonder what he’s getting at. Are these all the same, or is there a distinction? We know the early church composed hymns – and surely people made up beautiful songs – why continue with ancient Psalms?
Psalms II – Every Emotion for Every Occasion Read More »
Psalms easily tops the rankings of ‘favourite books of the Bible’. But why? Many turn to the Psalms for comfort, encouragement, to fuel-up on joy and wonder, re-connect with God, get a spiritual refresher, or even to find solace in misery, despair, uncertainty. It’s all there – an emotionally rich smorgasbord of food for the
Psalms – Make a Joyful Noise Read More »
You’ve all heard the old adage, ‘the only two certainties in life are death and taxes’ (Ben Franklin, 1789). Taxes, we agree. But death? Not so sure. As Christians, we think differently about death. Of course, we agree that we’re all destined to die, but that’s merely physical death. Surely, a major premise of our
The Continuity of Creaturely Death in the New Creation Read More »
