Bridge of Reason

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about (Mt.1:18) How it irks some people to hear the Christmas Story. How some like to debunk the whole business, setting out all the pagan motifs and festivals that have been usurped – “stolen” – by Christians to give us the familiar Christmas emblems. Oh, perfidy thy name is Christian! I recall a conversation I had with a Jehovah’s Witness who explained conspiratorially that the famous children’s “Ladybird Books” had produced a little volume explaining the origins of many of our familiar Christmas customs. He explained, sotto voce , that “they” didn’t like it and so the volume was mysteriously removed from the shelves of WH Smith. Next day I went to a book store and bought a copy off the shelf and have it on my desk as I write this. It is called “Christmas Customs”. I am not sure who “they” are but… Most of the cosy and heart-warming motifs we relish today were given us by Charles Dickens , including snow. How often have children in th...

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – The Literalist’s Christmas (Luke 2; Matthew 1&2) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about (Mt.1:18) How it irks some people to hear the Christmas Story. This week I saw a YouTube video by a self-proclaimed atheist purporting to debunk the whole business and setting out all the pagan motifs and festivals that have been usurped – “stolen” – by Christians to give us the familiar Christmas emblems. Oh, perfidy thy name is Christian! I recall a conversation I had with a Jehovah’s Witness who explained conspiratorially that the famous children’s “Ladybird Books” had produced a little volume explaining the origins of many of our familiar Christmas customs. He explained, sotto voce , that “they” didn’t like it and so the volume was mysteriously r...

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – This Table is for Sinners (1 Co.1) Following a remarkable morning in church, fellowshipping around the Lord’s Table, I find myself coming back time and again today to the simple but shocking words of the man who officiated there: “This table is for sinners!” These words are simple enough but at the same time incomprehensible to many who find themselves shocked at the suggestion that “sinners are welcome here.” In today’s verses we first learn two things: 1. There is power in the Cross (1 Co.1:17) and the power of the Cross can be lost if the gospel is reduced to man’s wisdom. When men and women try to pin down the gospel and conform it to their humanly devised systems and cleverly constructed arguments they are frustrated as the power of the Cross elud...

Here is a very interesting look at the Mormon rejection of the most familiar and iconic symbol of the Christian faith. It is interesting that a former Mormon bishop understands that the Mormon aversion to the Cross symbol is based on the church’s desire to maintain its distinctive nature. You wouldn’t believe that today when they are striving to be a denomination among many others. Maybe they will embrace the cross once again; although that might prove difficult since they believe that Jesus atoned in Gethsemane. Reed's research explains Mormons' "ambiguous, confused relationship to the cross," says Rees, a former LDS bishop. "At one time there was an informal acceptance of it as an overt symbol, but in the 20th century its use has been discouraged by church leaders. Wanting to maintain its distinctive identity among Christian churches, the church essentially rejected outward manifestations of the cross, one of the most compelling symbols in all of Christend...