If you live in North America or Europe, chances are that your life is difficult right now.
Bitter cold and deep snow mean that life is grinding to a halt in many places. The same storms then cross the Atlantic and dump vast quantities of water on the already drenched UK and Europe. The gales whip the sea into a frenzy, and everyone hunkers down and tries to keep warm and dry. I am keeping a daily watch on flood warnings – my aged Dad lives right next to the River Severn in Worcester (UK) and may have to move out at any time.... continue reading
The man who predicted the date that God was coming to earth has left earth to meet with God. Harold Camping, who died last Sunday, hit the headlines back in 2011 for confidently predicting – and spending millions of dollars advertising – the return of the Lord Jesus on 21st May 2011. One ad read: “Judgment Day: May 21 2011. The Bible Guarantees It. Cry mightily unto God.” When Christ didn’t appear, he revised the date to the following October. And then gave up.
It is, of course, easy to mock – and many did. Harold Camping was wrong. Jesus himself said: “No-one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24 v 36). The day of Christ’s return is a certainty, but its date is a mystery.
But, in the week of his death, here are three things to say in defence of Harold Camping, and perhaps three things we can learn from him:... continue reading
The most interesting aspect of the whole segregated-seating debate is the issue that lies behind it.
Let me say first up, I’m not for segregated seating. Neither are most people in the country, according to the media. You’re probably not, either.
But even when we agree with each other, it’s worth asking: Why? On what grounds don’t I agree with this?
Here’s the Christian’s reasoning. God has created male and female equal, and different. God has told us when and how men and women will (or should) live differently; for instance, women have the ability to get pregnant (Genesis 3 v 15-16—I don’t think this is particularly controversial!); men are called to lead their families if they’re husbands (Ephesians 5 v 23-25—this is a little more controversial…) But, apart from where God has said otherwise, there is no difference—so it seems strange and unnecessary to seat men and women separately.... continue reading
The public services are over. The singing and dancing are dying down. The news crews are moving on to the next big thing.
After acres of newsprint and television interviews, now starts the long, slow, developing assessment of the life and legacy of Madiba (his Xhosa clan name), Tata (father), or as the rest of the world knows him, Nelson Mandela.
Obituaries and biographies are funny things. It's often been noted that the first to be produced are by enthusiastic supporters who write their lives as bordering on sainthood. The rough edges of their personalities are smoothed over. Their mistakes are ignored and downplayed. Those who have dirt to spill, keep silent in the general atmosphere of adulation that follows the death of a "great one". And then - perhaps 10-20 years later - comes the reaction, when critical and iconoclastic articles and biographies appear, and the difficulties that their policies have created mature and come to light.... continue reading
The billboard caught my eye as I was waiting at the lights. The new Batman game for PS3, Arkham Origins, loomed large to my left.
I don’t usually pay much attention to ads like that, I don’t tend to play computer games – partly because I have some ethical qualms, largely because I am unspeakably inept at them - but the blurb for this one got my mind whirring.
The plot is simple. An evil villain escapes a high security prison, along with some equally vile accomplices, and together they place an enormous bounty on Batman’s head. Carnage ensues as Batman tries to round them up before they kill him and the population rips themselves apart. The concept isn’t literary rocket-science but what intrigues is the strap-line: your enemies will define you. Set at the start of Batman’s career, the thesis is that his struggle against these particular embodiments of evil defines who he later becomes.... continue reading
If you use Twitter, listen to the radio, or read the papers, you’ll know that Monday’s big news was the diver Tom Daley: not his sporting prowess, but his relationship status. He’s announced that, while (and I’m deliberately using the words he chose) he still fancies girls, he’s been in a relationship with another guy for around six months.
Tom is, he says, very happy—being with this guy makes him “feel safe”.
Reaction to Tom choosing to publicise his relationship has, generally, been very positive. And, of course, the reaction most Bible-believing Christians will want to jump to is the exact opposite—a negative one. That’s understandable because, while the Bible is clear that God loves all people, sent his Son to die so that anyone can be saved, delights in giving people eternal life if they turn to him and takes no delight in judging those who choose not to, the Bible also makes very clear that active homosexuality is something that goes against God’s design for us, is an act of rebellion against him as ruler, and so (if forgiveness isn’t asked for) leaves someone outside his kingdom, for eternity, though not beyond forgiveness (eg: 1 Corinthians 6 v 9-11).
But here are two points that are worth Christians pondering, and then two things I’d love to think Tom Daley - and others - might be brought to ponder.... continue reading
A few guys at the Good Book office have joined in with the UK campaign to support and advertise men's health issues by growing moustaches. Pictured are (l to r) Creative Director Tim Thornborough, Senior Editor Carl Laferton, and Alex Webb-Peploe who is working with us on an illustrated project, The Third Day, which is launching at Easter 2014. Although we have had enormous fun, growing, shaping, comparing and pruning our facial furniture, there is a universal dislike of them from the women-folk. Movember is over - and we'll be clean shaven when the calendar clicks over into December this coming Sunday.
Europe has been buzzing with fresh questions about euthanasia in recent weeks.
A few days ago, a couple in their 80s committed suicide in a French hotel, leaving a note expressing disgust that their government deprived them of the right to a more "dignified" death. They didn't want to risk life without each other, so chose to die together.... continue reading
