Book Review: John Newton’s Diary, 1764 (Edited by Marylynn Rouse)
The John Newton Project, 2020 1764 was the year in which John Newton took up his ministry at Olney, and this is his diary. Those who have appreciated the earlier […]
Living in an Age of Anxiety
In 1965 E. R. Dodds wrote an historical work entitled Pagan and Christian in an Age of Anxiety where he dealt with the period between the Roman Emperors, Marcus Aurelius, […]
The Curse of Plague: The Blessing of Faith
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 19 March 2020 Dr Samuel Johnson is supposed to have written to a hopeful would-be author: ‘Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part […]
Paedocommunion: Children at the Lord’s Table?
There are many things in life that remind us that we look through the glass darkly. We wish we understood more than we do. The classic Presbyterian view is that […]
Religious Discrimination or Religious Revival?
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 2 March 2020 In any society the legal system plays an important role in steering people in the way we should treat one another. Increasingly, in […]
Greatly Beloved of God
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 10 December 2019 There is an episode in the book of Daniel where a man – presumably an angel – appeared to the prophet, and addresses […]
The Rites of Initiation: Circumcision and Baptism
God has left His new covenant people with two visible signs of His invisible grace: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Down through the ages, Christians have differed in their understanding […]
A Straw in the Wind
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 28 January 2020 Stuart Briscoe once noted: ‘Qualifications of a pastor: the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a […]
Isaiah and Prophecy
In meeting regularly with a Muslim friend, I am often surprised when perhaps I should not be. The topic under discussion is commonly prophecy, and recently he made the claim […]
Religious Freedoms and the Religious Discrimination Bill in Australia, 2019-2020
It is not uncommon in life to be dragged into unwelcome territory – I once took a kindergarten Scripture class which came to resemble drowning on land, as the children […]
Book Review: Meeting Jesus (R. C. Sproul)
Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2019 With the death of R. C. Sproul in 2017, the Reformed world lost one of its most articulate apologists and evangelists. His gifts come to […]
Living as Debtors
In 1546 Martin Luther was dying. He had been trying to resolve a dispute within a family at nearby Mansfield when he fell seriously ill. On his death bed, he […]
Droughts, Fires and Other Disasters
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 20 November 2019 Some readers may have struggled with the drought for years, and now, especially in NSW and Queensland, may be confronted with the more immediate […]
Book Review: Safe and Sound (David Powlison)
Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2019 David Powlison died of cancer soon after this, his last book, was published. It is a short but worthwhile treatment of spiritual warfare. Powlison […]
Remembering the Reformation
Moderator’s Comments – Posted 29 October 2019 As one who loves to read history, I have never quite shared the desire to keep anniversaries. It often seems that the louder the […]
In Whom Do I Trust?
There are people who like to think that they do not trust anything or anyone. It used to be common for people to say that they only believed what they […]