Were the Crusades religiously motivated? John Dickson in his excellent book Bullies and Saints shows they were. But when it came to the First Crusade, was it a Christian Crusade? No, it wasn’t.
Was the First Crusade a Christian Crusade? Nope
Christians, keep boxing.
A shed in Yatala in SE Queensland seems like an unlikely place from which greatness can grow. And yet it has. 3 women Aussie boxers are now world title contenders. The shed in Yatala and the seed in the Kingdom of Heaven have a lot in common.
Photo by Michael Starkie on Unsplash
An Easter Message without Jesus is no hope at all
Queensland Happy Hour Palliative Care
Colin Apelt is an amazing guy. He is 92 years old and serves drinks in a palliative care unit in a Brisbane hospital. But what is really amazing about this story is how it avoids the topic of death.
Photo by Whitney Wright on Unsplash
1883 and Taylor Sheridan's heaven
Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone fame is carving up our screens. I recently devoured the blood soaked Western 1883. Here's my reflections on it. This reflection is 100% spoiler because of the story telling arc of 1883 and the message behind it: freedom.
A prayer for peace
The world seems more dangerous than ever. One thing we can do is pray. This is a short and simple prayer.
Who is God and what does he want?
There are two different ways of thinking about God (primarily). One of them is 100% wrong. That’s the bad news. But the good news is that the other is 100% correct. Understand these two different ways and you have the key to understanding God, the great news of Jesus and the Bible.
Photo by Gage Walker on Unsplash (Edited)
A theology of risk for serving Jesus
If you’re a Christian believer or a mission organisation, how do you evaluate risk? Or put another way, do you have a theology of risk?
With thanks to Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash (edited)
So what if Jeremy Greaves doesn't believe?
Jeremy Greaves doesn’t think Jesus is returning. Sure, he’s entitled to his own beliefs, right? In this case, not really. For he is the new Archbishop of the Anglican Church in Queensland and the Northern Territory.
Photo by David Bumgardner on Unsplash edited.
What is happening to the Anglicans in Australia?
Perhaps you’ve heard of the recent kerfuffle in the Anglican Church. This post explores what Jeremy Greaves thinks. He will be the Archbishop of the Province of Queensland starting in December 2023.
Photo by David Bumgardner on Unsplash. Edited
How should a Christian think about work?
Is work a gift or a curse? How should we think about work? Is there a Christian view of work?
In this short blog I outline a framework for thinking about work to answer these questions and get us started on thinking about faith and work or put another way, a theology of work.
An Open Letter to Marc Fennell on The Kingdom
Dear Marc, though you feel nothing, that doesn’t mean you’re outside of God’s love.
Photo by Christopher Burns on Unsplash Edited
Is Jesus God? A response to Islam Online
Search up ‘Is Jesus God?’ and you’ll discover Islam online. The claim is that not only was Jesus not God, but that he asserted he was not God. Jesus was a rabbi. Devout, learned but just a rabbi who taught and followed the Mosaic Law. The author’s proof all comes from the Bible. Is he right? Far from it.
In this blog post I examine the author’s claims and the Bible passages he references and show that Jesus thought he was in fact God.
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
The problem of karma and the universe repaying me
We like the idea of karma. But that’s just because we don’t really understand it. A universe operating according to karma or the law of reciprocity would be an awful place, even if it was fair. It is why we need to know God’s grace.
Photo by Mareko Tamaleaa on Unsplash (edited)
What's wrong with judging others?
We’ve all heard it said, “It’s wrong to judge others.” Not that this seems to stop the human race from judging. Given that repeated admonitions not to judge don’t seem to be working. Perhaps going deeper into the reality of judging might help us.
Photo by Unsplash Rishabh Butola
Can we trust the New Testament documents?
Was it the church councils of the 4th Century that finally established the authority of the New Testament documents and declare them Scripture? No, there is very good historical evidence that the New Testament documents were considered authoritative by the start of the 2nd century.
Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash
Joy to the World and its meaning
Joy to the World is a song of such, well, joy! But here’s the thing. We’ve been killing its meaning. Joy to the World only has 4 verses. But most versions skip verse 3. Which means they’ve rob the rest of the song of its meaning. And so there’s no point in singing it. None!
Photo by Toni Cuenca on Unsplash
A Short Guide to Reading Revelation Right
The book of Revelation is a wild ride. It’s an artistic blockbuster full of powerful images. For this reason there are a lot of crazy interpretations. But it is possible to read Revelation! Here’s five keys to reading Revelation so that you can understand history from God’s perspective.
Photo by Scarlet Ellis on Unsplash
The hope of the resurrection
In memory of Xavier Jonathan Hohnberg, a loved son, in the hope of the resurrection of the dead by the power of Jesus.
Caring for the sorrowful
Grief and sadness will come by how can we face them and how can we can for those in the midst of grief and loss. This blog post shares how we might care for those grieving and experiencing loss and hardship in its many forms. This reflection sprang from the book of Proverbs and from facing my son’s battle with cancer and his death.
Photo by Claudia Wolff on Unsplash