Bridge of Reason

  Whenever I speak to groups about Cults, I always begin by asking this question: What kind of person would join a cult? What would your response be? Some of the usual replies are, ‘a vulnerable person’; ‘someone searching for answers’; someone searching for meaning; a loner; a person of low intelligence; or a person with low self-esteem.  After hearing the answers, I will repeat back to the group what has been said. So, a person joining a cult will be a vulnerable loner looking for meaning; someone who is a little bit thick and a ‘billy no-mates’. I then tell them that I once joined a cult! Following my confession comes a nervous laughter, after which I proceed to give a two-fold answer to my question. Question: What kind of person joins a cult? Answer: No one and Anyone. WHAT SHALL I DO TODAY? Bucket lists are quite popular these days. People write a list of things they want to do before they ‘kick the bucket’. Strangely, I have never seen a list which had ‘join a cult before I die’

As we continue on Tuesdays to look at the claims of Catholicism, we consider the fact the Catholic Church, according to Scripture, makes too much of Mary. We should, I believe, all make more of Mary. Mary is the mother of our Saviour, called by the angel, ‘favoured one,’ and told she had, ‘found favour with God.’ Her relative Elizabeth called her, ‘blessed among women.’ Her humility and obedience are a model for us all. Who can fail to be impressed by this young woman’s reply to the angel, ‘Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.’ (Lk.1:26-45) Would that we, when considering the purposes of God, should be so abandoned to praise as was Mary in the Magnificat (Lk.1:46-55 ) We should make more of Mary, but the Catholic Church makes too much of Mary. They Testify of Me Mary is mentioned by name twelve times in the New Testament, most of them in the birth narrative. Looking at those occasions when she is mentioned it is hard to understand how Cath

Recently, I released a book on the Mordecai and Esther epic entitled, The Girl and the Guardian . Though it’s genre is that of a gritty action/ adventure novel, as a Christian writer I wanted to make sure the theme was clear and theologically driven. At first, this might seem difficult as Esther is the only book—in addition to the Song of Songs—that doesn’t mention God. He is never directly referred to or addressed. But this doesn’t mean that Esther is not fit for theological reflection. Though he is not directly referred to, God is everywhere involved. One of the ways God is found is in the whole concept of beauty. The word “beauty” or “beautiful” is used several times in the first couple of chapters of Esther alone. Central to her exaltation to the court is Esther’s physical beauty. Yet she must wield her beauty humbly to rescue her people and avoid the fate Queen Vashti, her predecessor, received. Beauty has not been a much-emphasised subject by Christian apologists in recent gene

  G.K. Chesterton was once asked if we should take the Bible literally, this was his response: ‘The Bible says that Herod is a fox – that does not mean he has a bushy tail and pointy ears. It also says that Jesus is the door – that does not mean that he is wooden, flat and swinging on hinges.’ It is not possible within the scope of this article to cover the subject of hermeneutics in any great depth, but I will suggest a good book below in case you want to study this subject further. Hermeneutics is the art of biblical interpretation. As seen from my previous articles, this is matter of great importance. Many handle the Word of God in a slapdash and frivolous fashion and, in doing so, cause great damage to the body of Christ. This is sad because there are tools available to us that would greatly help our understanding of Scripture. Let us briefly consider some of them. What musical genre are national anthems? Country. The Bible is a book like no other. There are sixty-six books collate

Image by  Jeroným Pelikovský  from  Pixabay   I was asked very recently about witnessing to Roman Catholics, especially how we might speak intelligently about the myriad of issues that arise in such a conversation. You will, no doubt, be familiar enough with some of them: the veneration of Mary; the authority of the pope; prayers to the saints; the nature of the elements in communion; praying for the dead and purgatory and so many more. First of all, in any discussion on faith, we must find the shortest route to the cross, for it is at the cross salvation is found. In that journey, then, we must clear away any and all obstacles that may seriously impede our progress. In other words, we must deal with those issues first that have direct bearing on our understanding of salvation. So we come to the question of purgatory. Purgatory The Roman Catholic teaching is very familiar. It is that the sacrifice of Christ makes it possible for me to make amends, here and in purgatory, for my venia

  "A young couple from another church came to one of our assistant pastors for counselling about marital problems they started having soon after their wedding. After just a few minutes of interviewing the two, he could see they were miles apart in tastes, ideas, and opinions. “What made the two of you get married?” he asked. “A sermon our pastor preached on Joshua conquering Jericho.” (to which the pastor replied) “ What did that have to do with getting married?” “Well,” explained the husband, “Joshua and his army claimed Jericho, marched around it seven times, and the walls fell down. Our pastor told us that if we trusted God, claimed a certain young girl and marched around her seven times, the walls of her heart would collapse, and she would be willing to marry. So, I did it, and we got married.” Our assistant pastor stared in disbelief. Was this man putting him on? No, indeed. In fact, several couples in that particular church had gotten married on the same basis after he