After a day of horror and another of numbing shock, each of Jesus’ disciples was suffering in their own way. Mary lingered at the tomb, lost in grief, Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus were bewildered, and Thomas withdrew into hard cynicism. There’s no right or wrong here. We’re all different, and our reactions to tragedy are largely shaped by childhood experiences. I love that Mary kept her eyes on Jesus, and that at a word, she... Read more
Sin is such an emotionally laden term, associated with heaviness and accusation – the angry finger of a vengeful God, wagging in our unworthy faces. Any Biblical term, if twisted out of shape, can become harmful and misleading, which is exactly what I believe has happened with sin/sinner/sinful. In this post, I hope to drain all negative associations from the word ‘sin’ and start from scratch by asking a simple question – what makes an action/choice sinful? I propose... Read more
In recent weeks, the Rich Man and Lazarus has become something of a ‘capture the flag’ Bible passage, with some insisting Jesus presented it as a real exchange, thereby proving he believed in eternal conscious torment (Hell). Others, who don’t believe in eternal conscious torment, prefer to see it as a parable, containing only symbolism and metaphor. Personally, I’m fine either way. Even if understood as a real event rather than a parable, the story doesn’t support a belief... Read more
In the previous three instalments of this series, we established several key foundations: Job was not a Hebrew and didn’t have any knowledge of the Lord as revealed through Abraham. He was a man with his own view of God, whose behaviour and ultimately, whose words, demonstrate the nature of those beliefs. Job lived in fear of disaster, of punishment for sin. He never knew or trusted the goodness of God. His spirituality was based on two key pillars... Read more
A person who’s been burned by legalism is likely to associate any talk of discipline or growth with past pain. For many, it has become a trigger point. Those who live for years under a burden of obligation, and who then discover they have been doing so needlessly, tend to embrace the message of grace with open arms. I get it – I was legalistic for years in my youth, believing that sin (which I had no sensible understanding of... Read more
The common Evangelical interpretation of Job states that Job was a righteous man who refused to blame God for his loss and was commended by the Lord for his piety. In the introductory post in this series, I argued that this is the absolute opposite of what the text shows us, and that the wool has been pulled over our eyes, with devastating consequences. In the second instalment, we began to look at the text, establishing several key points: ... Read more
When I look back at some of the dumb stuff I’ve said and done in my adult life, it’s tempting to wince. I’m not just talking about selfish choices, but attitudes I held for years, jokes I thought were harmless but which were, in fact, hurtful, moments where I let people I love down, and far, far more. The list is endless, but I don’t mean this in a self-critical way. To put it simply, we are all fools, and... Read more
The common Evangelical interpretation of Job is that God is responsible for our sufferings, consciously allowing Satan to persecute us. That same common interpretation, taught in churches all over the world, states that Job was a righteous man who refused to blame God for his loss, and was commended by the Lord for his piety. In the introductory post on the book of Job, I argued that this is the absolute opposite of what the text shows us, and... Read more
The purpose of this article is to expose the devastating harm in the common, Evangelical interpretation of Job, and to free those ensnared by it. It can be a daunting thing to reassess foundational beliefs established in childhood, for fear that the whole structure might come crashing down, and yet that is exactly what is required to have a mature and authentic adult faith. Some of the beliefs that were loaded on my shoulders in the church of my... Read more
In the church of my youth, I was told that Jesus was crucified in my place – that I should have hung there instead, and then still gone to Hell afterwards. It’s taken many years to examine and finally reject the doctrine of ‘penal substitution’, but the result of doing so is that the cross of Christ (and what happened there) has become even more central to my faith. I cling to it more tightly, am even more grateful for... Read more
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