Bridge of Reason

If you want to know your heart leap for joy at the hope we have in Christ read the first two chapters of Ephesians. Chapter one reminds us of who Christ is, what he has achieved, reminds us that all we have as believers is 'in him.' Then, as though to sober us from our celebrations lest we get cocky about all that we have, Paul reminds us: 'And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked...like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive in Christ...'  (Eph.2:1-5) The first thing to realise is you can be dead and alive at the same time, alive to the things of this world but dead to the things of God. The second is that it is the common lot ( like the rest of mankind ) until Christ comes along. The third is that your new life is a work of God, and the fourth is that this new life costs you your old life. The Bible calls relinquis...

Correctly Handling the Word of Truth Departing from Iniquity Pursuing Righteousness Repenting of Error Last time we looked at The Complete Rule of Faith , summed up in four points: The Knowledge of God in Christ, Escape from Corruption by Grace, Adding Virtue to Faith, Trusting the Word. Peter’s message has an urgency we might easily relate to today as the New Testament warnings of error from within the body seem so apposite. Listing the qualities that keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ, he warns: ‘For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.’ (2 Peter 1:8/9) This blindness, this lack of fruitfulness, may well be the result of a lack of true conversion. It is possible to appear to have all the trappings of a ‘reformed’ life but for that reformation to be merely external, cleaning up one’s act without having a truly changed he...

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 – When You Don’t Need Jesus (Luke 7:36-50) Have you ever heard someone say that “religion is a crutch”? When I hear this I look at the world and answer, “Perhaps, but look whose limping?” The implication of course is that only the weak and infirm in mind and spirit need a religious crutch. This further implies that the speaker suffers no such weakness and can stand on their merit. Perhaps the most tragic figure in the Bible is the Pharisee who takes such an attitude toward Jesus because, you see, the Pharisee is a very righteous person, careful in following the requirements of their religion, and here is the cause of their tragedy – self-righteousness. In this passage Jesus is visiting the home of a Pharisee, and a prostitute has entered unawares and begun...

Here is an interesting development. A blog to petition the Mormon Church to change its policy on homosexuality – by Mormons. Whatever your view on the issue this is a thoughtful blog and a very interesting development. Another example of Mormons beginning to think for themselves and face the issues of the modern world without simply toeing the party line. "We the undersigned, in the spirit of love and peace, earnestly seek to create a climate for reconciliation between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gays and lesbians who have been affected by the policies, practices and politics of the Church. We recognize that issues surrounding sexuality and gender orientation are complex; that understanding of these matters has evolved, especially over the past several decades, and are continuing to evolve as scientists, therapists, theologians and others continue to explore and ponder their meaning and significance; We believe that people of good will may have differing v...

The Lamb of God is the Mormon Church's video presentation of the Easter story. Once again this video has been finding its way into thousands of homes across the country, usually accompanied by a pair of missionaries. It is usually preceded, at Christmas, by a short video entitled The Nativity, depicting the birth of Jesus. The Nativity is simply a visual presentation of the Christmas story with very little dialogue, and that in Aramaic/Hebrew. It is more an animated tableau depicting successive familiar scenes from Luke 2. But then what more could you expect from a film barely 12 minutes long? The tableau format is carried over into the 27 minute long The Lamb of God . Beginning with Jesus' appearance before Pilate it is a presentation of the last few hours of His life, interspersed with retrospective scenes from His last week and a couple of brief scenes from the Christmas video. The dialogue is sparse, a few brief phrases at the last supper "Do this in remembrance of ...