THE GRIEF OF WAR
If anyone has exposed the human condition more incisively and pungently than Blaise Pascal, I have yet to read him or her. At present we live with the drums of […]
Review of Edgar Stubbersfield, Ruth: A Somewhat Different Commentary, Eugene: Resource Publications, 2021.
Apparently Edgar Stubbersfield is an expert in timber structures, which seems an unusual qualification to write an Old Testament commentary. Then again, Ben Chifley was an engine driver, and became […]
GOD’S QUIET AND MYSTERIOUS WORK
God moves in a mysterious way,/ His wonders to perform. So begins one of the finest hymns in the English language. It was penned by one of the most depressed men […]
SEX SELECTION, FEMINISM AND ABORTION
Sin has a way of undoing itself. Jacques Mallet du Pan was a Huguenot who saw the folly of the French Revolution, and in 1793 made the acute and oft-repeated […]
NAVIGATING MURKY WATERS
Commenting on celebrities and social events has its hazardous side. We are warned that even a fool can be considered wise if he keeps silent (Prov.17:28). The death of Archbishop […]
THE FABLE OF THE RELIGIOUS COMMISSIONER
Some of the frogs in the marsh came to think that they needed someone to lead them. It is true that they already had a parliament of owls, but, although […]
Review of David Furse-Roberts, God and Menzies, Redland Bay: Jeparit Press, 2021.
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies was Prime Minister of Australia from 1939-1941 and again from 1949-1966. He often referred to himself as ‘a simple Presbyterian’, and in 1916 he was president […]
Review of Sharon James, How Christianity Transformed the World, Fearn: Christian Focus, 2021.
It is common in the modern West to portray Marxism as a progressive force, while Christianity is the backward enemy of humanity. Yet in its wildest dreams, the Spanish Inquisition […]
THE RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION BILL: A VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS
There are those who thought that Statler and Waldorf were the funniest part of The Muppet Show. Whether a jaundiced bleat from the bleachers always gets it right is another issue, […]
A PRIVATE FAITH LIVED IN PUBLIC: THE COMING OF THE KING
The Magnificat has Mary declare that God has shown mercy to those who fear Him, but has scattered the proud. Indeed, ‘He has brought down the mighty from their thrones […]
A LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE – A CHRISTIAN RATIONALE
In her own delightful and resilient way, the quadriplegic Joni Eareckson Tada commented, without a hint of self-pity: ‘Perhaps I cannot stand on the shoulders of great saints, but I […]
Review of Allan Harman, Amos: The Shepherd Prophet, Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2021.
In preparing sermons and studies on the Old Testament, I make a point of reading a few scholars who give me confidence that the English text I am working with […]
PRAYER: WHAT CAN WE PRAY FOR?
The shattering news of little Emily’s inoperable brain tumour has dominated my thinking as nothing else could. One issue that arises is obviously ‘What can we pray for?’ Jesus’ disciples […]
Review of John Newton’s Diary, 1765, edited by Marylynn Rouse for the John Newton Project, 2021.
Marylynn Rouse has put together a most valuable document in the diary of John Newton for 1765, which was his first full year in the parish of Olney. The year […]
Ten Reasons Why Euthanasia is a Bad Idea
In a significant step of moral unity, evangelical church leaders and Muslim academics recently issued a joint statement as to why doctor-assisted suicide should not be legalised in NSW. What […]
LIVING HAPPILY IN A HOUSE OF CARDS
It is surely a truism, and not a disputed point of philosophy, that all human beings desire happiness. Even those who promote misery do so to glean some sort of […]