by Andrew Corbett | May 8, 2018 | Apologetics
Is the God of the Bible worth knowing? Christians claim that He is a loving, kind, and gracious God. But others who have read the Bible see a different description for God. They see the God of the Bible as mean, violent, abusive, cruel, and unfair. The God of the Bible is vicious God who is simply not worth knowing, they cry. There probably is a God- but the Bible is not the revelation of that God, they claim. At stake is-
(1) The entire credibility of Christianity,
(2) The validity of the Bible as the Inerrant/Inspired/Unique Revelation from God, and
(3) (Potentially) God’s reputation.
This is therefore not just an issue for apologists like myself to answer, but a critical issue for every Christian to be able to reasonably respond to. This involves establishing whether there is evidence apart from the Bible which supports the claims of the Bible about God and then synthesizing this data to form a character sketch of the true God.
by Andrew Corbett | Apr 21, 2018 | Apologetics
Some people find faith in God to be impossible. These people have reasons for their impossible faith. Their objections may be intellectual, moral, or emotional. There are three well-known figures who each exemplify each of these objections to faith in God. Charles Darwin, Thomas Hardy and Bob Hawke each respectively held these particular objections to Christianity.
by Andrew Corbett | Apr 19, 2018 | Theology
The Bible is the most influential book of all time. It’s contents have changed the course of history. It’s story has formed the pattern for all the great literary classics. It also makes the astounding claim that it is the uniquely authoritative revelation from God and therefore has the authority to command our moral behaviour. But if the Bible is not reliable, then its claims are indefensible and Christianity is without foundation! Yet despite this glaring vulnerability, the Bible has withstood rigorous scrutiny and repeated attempts to refute it. Here’s why it is indeed reliable.
by Andrew Corbett | Apr 11, 2018 | Theology
I honestly used to think that Christianity was all about having the assurance of going to Heaven. But as I learned more about the Gospel and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth I became curious about the relative scarcity of references to Heaven in the Bible. Yet, while my understanding of the place of Heaven in my Gospel proclamation has been refined, some God-Channel evangelists have headed in the other direction and made Heaven central to their Gospel. Some of these evangelists now even claim to have the spiritual power to make repeated visits there!
Presumably God, the Supreme Being, has a supremely beautiful home, in a supremely magnificent neighbourhood. Amazingly, God invites mankind to move into His neighbourhood- for eternity! But what is Heaven like? Is it possible, as some are now claiming, that we can visit Heaven? While I am going to lead readers to conclude that Heaven is not the Gospel’s focus, if it is the only reason someone is motivated to convert to Christ, then we should rejoice!
by Andrew Corbett | Apr 2, 2018 | Pastoral
Suicide hurts. It is motivated by pain, but causes much greater pain. For those affected by suicide the guilt and anguish it produces is almost unbearable. But since suicide is in the Bible, how can we know that it is wrong? How should we regard the sinfulness of suicide? Is it unforgiveable? How can we help avoid suicide? What should those affected by it know after its happened?
The funeral celebrant rang me to warn me. He was used to dealing with sensitive situations but this one had a few extra layers of complexity. He decided to get me involved. He outlined the story to me and then told me the purpose of his call. When a loved one dies there is often a measure of guilt for those left behind. But when the death is caused by suicide that guilt is compounded. Suicide hurts. The funeral celebrant told me that a young man with a diagnosed mental illness, who had professed Christianity, had taken his own life and his devout mother (who we will call “Betty”) was devastated. The celebrant told me that Betty would ring because her guilt was beyond his expertise due to her Biblical understanding of suicide.
