Weekly Bible Reflection

‘Expect the unexpected, for it (truth) is hard to discover and hard to attain’, is a good translation of Heraclitus’ (the Greek philosopher) enigmatic words. Over the centuries so many scientific and other areas have advanced through unexpected discoveries – moving...

With the social distancing and other measures that governments the world over are putting in place with the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus, is there anything that God’s people can be doing? At an important transition in his Letter to the Colossians Paul the...

Introduction. With concerns over the rapid spread of the coronavirus, the panic-buying of toilet paper that seems to have started in Australia, has now gone global. Apparently this panic buying signifies a human desire to be in control. The reality of course, is that...

Introduction. There are times when we feel we are not spiritual enough. God seems distant. Our faith feels cold. We go to church, but we don’t read the Bible or pray from one week to the next. What’s to be done? Some of us set ourselves a rigorous program – perhaps...

Introduction. Today is known in the church calendar as Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent. Traditionally it is an important time of preparation for the events that we remember and celebrate at Easter – ‘The Last Supper’, Jesus’ crucifixion (Good Friday) and his...

In an article, ‘Female confidence gurus – inside the feminist fad taking New York by storm’ (Spectator Life, February 17, 2020), Olivia Grant includes her comments on Regena Thomashauer’s recent book, ‘Pussy: A Reclamation,’ a New York Times best seller.  Olivia Grant...

Ten days ago Sydney was shocked to learn that four children had been struck down by a car driven by a 29 year-old allegedly three times over the legal limit. Three of the children were siblings from a family of six. The fourth was their cousin. They had been out...

In his book, The Right Questions (2002), the late Phillip Johnson – who before his retirement had been Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley for over thirty years – wrote: ‘There is an unacknowledged creation story that is at the root of all...

“What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!” These words form Hamlet’s reflections in Shakespeare’s play of the same name. He...

The numbers continue to come in: the traditional denominations are shrinking. Yet many new, independent, gospel-centered churches are growing. That said, many in the wider community, especially on the east coast from DC to Maine and on the west coast from LA through...

How often, when we pray, do we mainly focus on what we want? Yes, when catastrophic events occur, such as the current bushfires in drought-stricken Australia, we pray for God’s mercy that he might send drenching rain. That said, don’t we expect God to answer our...

With the many and varied changes around us – secular materialism, the disdain for Christianity, the changed attitudes to sexuality, the political divisions in the West, the issues of climate, and the rise of China – we might wonder about the future. Indeed, The...

The world around us seems to be growing more selfish and corrupt. The values that spring from a general acknowledgment that we are the special creation of a personal God are gathering dust on the shelf of history. Parents are concerned about the influences of social...

Despite the significant developments of science and technology, we are made aware daily of the inability of men and woman to live at peace with one another. At every level of society, there is narcissism and greed, hatred and corruption haunting the human experience....

‘It is commonplace for contemporary scientists and philosophers to give lip service to the principle that science decides only the how questions and leaves the why questions to religion’ (italics mine), writes Phillip Johnson (The Right Questions, p.68). However, he...

In his insightful and challenging book, The Right Questions (2002), Phillip Johnson (who died last month) wrote that at the heart of the cultural changes today is the sharp divergence between two very different world views: the Christian view that states (as in John...

Throughout this week, ‘Happy Thanksgiving’ will echo across the landfrom New York to San Francisco. The principle of ‘Thanksgiving’ has its origins in a non-sectarian expression of ‘thanks’ to a loving, merciful and generous God. While Presidential Thanksgiving...

Michael Connelly in The Gods of Guilt, writes these words into one of his characters: Everybody has a jury, the voices they carry inside… Those I have loved and those I have hurt. Those who bless me and those who haunt me. As every playwright knows, no one is perfect....