Tag: God
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40 Questions about why I support Gay Marriage
As a socially-liberal Christian, there are now many reactions around the world in reaction to the USA’s acceptance of single-sex marriage. It’s odd that similar results in other countries have not produces such reactions. I have, of course, been in debate over this issue for many years, and many friends have sent me a link…
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A Theology of Delight
One of the fascinating discussions that I’ve had recently (today in fact) is with Mark Clavier, Dean of Residential Training at St. Micheals College, Llandaff. As is often the case when you wander the halls of a theological college, you find yourself entering into discussions that have tremendous theological value. This one I found to…
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Pacifism, Forgivness, and the Masacare at Houla.
I am technically a pacifist. Technically. I believe that resorting to violence means that you have lost. I see no reason to own a gun. I see no reason to carry a knife, even when I felt threatened. The most I have ever felt the need to learn to protect myself was Choi Kwang Do…
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Desert Fathers accepting of homosexuality?
Lust 29. ‘A brother, being tempted by a demon, went to a hermit and said ‘Those two monks over there who live together live sinfully’. But the hermit knew that a demon was deceiving him. So he called the brothers to him. In the evening he put out a mat for them, and covered them…
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A Cursory glance at the influence of Babylonian Mythos on Christianity
I have been reading a book on Babylonian and Assyrian Myths and Ledgends, and they have sparked some interesting theological links. I thought that it would be best to make some small posts as I went through the book, so that I didn’t forget the ideas. When Abraham left the city of Ur and struct…
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Origen’s origens of Angels.
I have been reading J. N. D Kelly’s Early Christian Doctrines (Fith Edition), and have come accross a rather interesting piece that comes from the writing of Origen, as he explains the mystical beginnings of the world. Before the ages they were all pure intelligences, whether demons or souls or angels. One of them, the…
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Final Year Essays
I have said for a long while that I would upload my final year essays. Many of them might be of use to some people. They are Christian in basis, but the topics are varied. There are essays that cover scriptural studies of the Antichrist, through to ethical studies of the place of the Bible…
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Bishop Spong : Removing the image of the Divine Rescuer
In his book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die, Bishop John Shelby Spong outlines many of the problems which he sees in modern-day Christianity. Though I agree with the statement, I’m not sure that I agree with his conclusions. Bishop Spong seems to want to remove the Theistic aspect from Christianity, which while I can…
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Wishing for Answers
Sometimes I wish I had the answers. Sometimes I wish there was a way that I could articulate in a way that was fully rational why I believe there is a God. I look around the internet, and it seems to be polarised between Kantian-descended rationalists, who have finally done away with Kant’s need for…
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Paul Tillich and Intellectual Criticism
I enjoy spending time debating; though you could have worked that out from the numerous posts on the subject on this blog. During one of these debates in an attempt to defend the Religious point of view, I made the standard appeal to experience. It was pointed out to me that the experience is often…
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Robots and Gods : Thinking about Robots thinking about the existance of God.
While thinking about the nature of belief, it occurred to me that most people see the movement of God in their life through a high level of coincidence-type actions. When people see that their life fortuitously comes together, or improves despite some calamity, it is easy to see how this could be the action of…
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God and Suffering.
I’ve been reading, as is my want, Alistair McGrath’s Introduction to Christian Theology. While reading up on History, I’ve found a small idea from Origen that peaked my interest. Origen sets up the idea of a dialog between two ideas of God, that which could have been, and that which is now. It is this…
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Thoughts on Creation
For a long time now, the Biblical idea of a seven-day creation has troubled me. The new book on Theology that was recomended for my B. Th. (Theology: Theology: A Very Short Introduction). It had this to say about the lessons that should be drawn about the meaning of the Christian God: First, there is…