The painful truth this week is that this is a rather bitsy Payneful Truth; a series of short bites rather than a single vaguely coherent article: about reading Christian books, explaining the gospel powerfully, and defending the truth of the Bible.
I do love and respect the way you think and write.
Your comments on the trustworthiness of the bible are (perhaps) the clearest explanations I have seen.
You have always been able to describe in non-jargon words, complex realities. Trusting the bible is not an issue for me - I have had it as part of my life so long, and have seen the promises of God, as described through the Bible, apply to my life over and over.
As Paul said, if what we believe is false, we are the greatest of fools. That is not my experience.
No doubt many do doubt the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible (not sure why I use a capital letter - I guess it is the name of the book, and it does have real significance to me). However, convincing those who doubt is done by God. Clear explanations are part of God's work, and I think God for you, and you for your explanations.
In response to John Lavender, I agree. I believe there are only two religions in the world. The religion of self protection which denies or downgrades sin and then seeks to justify what we do and say by various means. The other is the religion of Grace whereby we have been made aware of our sin and the cure through Gods love towards us.
I find that self protection is evident in our demandingness, while Grace generates thankfulness and generosity. Sin has been with us always, but we are becoming less aware of it especially in our own behaviour. Grace changes life because we live with hope. As Tim Keller says if the beginning is meaningless, and the end nothing, then the life is meaningless also. Sin is killing us, and we are sin. We need to be more reflective in all that we do, and see the depth to which God has gone to redeem us.
Hi Tony,
I do love and respect the way you think and write.
Your comments on the trustworthiness of the bible are (perhaps) the clearest explanations I have seen.
You have always been able to describe in non-jargon words, complex realities. Trusting the bible is not an issue for me - I have had it as part of my life so long, and have seen the promises of God, as described through the Bible, apply to my life over and over.
As Paul said, if what we believe is false, we are the greatest of fools. That is not my experience.
No doubt many do doubt the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible (not sure why I use a capital letter - I guess it is the name of the book, and it does have real significance to me). However, convincing those who doubt is done by God. Clear explanations are part of God's work, and I think God for you, and you for your explanations.
Hi Tony,
In response to John Lavender, I agree. I believe there are only two religions in the world. The religion of self protection which denies or downgrades sin and then seeks to justify what we do and say by various means. The other is the religion of Grace whereby we have been made aware of our sin and the cure through Gods love towards us.
I find that self protection is evident in our demandingness, while Grace generates thankfulness and generosity. Sin has been with us always, but we are becoming less aware of it especially in our own behaviour. Grace changes life because we live with hope. As Tim Keller says if the beginning is meaningless, and the end nothing, then the life is meaningless also. Sin is killing us, and we are sin. We need to be more reflective in all that we do, and see the depth to which God has gone to redeem us.
Gary Lane