by Andrew Corbett | Aug 5, 2019 | Culture
In some respects, the Church has always been under threat as it has faced attacks from three perpetual sources – the world, the flesh, and the devil – or, to put it another way, from: external forces, internal forces, and spiritual forces.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
-Ephesians 6:12
From the outset of the Church’s inception, it has been under threat. Initially, the Church was threaten by the Jewish Sanhedrin. They viewed Christianity as a sect of Judaism and strictly forbad the Jewish apostles of the Christ from preaching the Christian message.
by Andrew Corbett | Jul 9, 2019 | Theology
It might seem like God is against sex. After all, the Christian response to sex is better known for what it prohibits, than what it encourages. The Bible is peppered with prohibitive statements about sex in both the Old and New Testaments. The exclusive union of a man and a woman in a marriage covenant was always intended by God to be the primary relationship that would produce human sexual flourishing. But this reveals God’s benevolent heart for mankind that He would create man and woman with a capacity unknown to any other creature – the ability to enjoy sexual satisfaction which is not merely driven by a base desire to reproduce — but to experience and experience physical love. It is not just that God wants what is good for people; it is that He wants mankind to enjoy what He has designed as best.
by Andrew Corbett | Jun 25, 2019 | Apologetics
Christianity stands or falls on the truthfulness of the Resurrection of Christ. Without an historically valid physical resurrection of Christ there is no basis in truth to Christianity. Far from being a doctrine of those ‘fundamentalists’, belief in the literal, physical, resurrection of Christ to immortality is actually what distinguishes a person from an animal.
by Andrew Corbett | May 1, 2019 | Philosophy
If the New York Times is right, there is a lot of public support given to paperback authors who attack Christianity at the moment. In recent times they have ranked several books in their Best Sellers List which have made almost shrill allegations against Christianity. One of these “NY Times Listed Best Selling Books” was brought to me by a member of our local community who is investigating his spiritual options. He asked me if I would give him a “Christian response” to it. This particular book, THE NEW REVELATIONS – A Conversation with God, presents itself as a reasoned and rational approach to understanding God and our relationship to Him and then to each other. It claims to be a direct “revelation” from “God”. From all reports this book has made a significant impact on the way millions of people regard God and how we should live. For those familiar with the Bible it shouldn’t take long to recognise that the message of this book could not be either a revelation from God or even about God. But for those not familiar with the Bible, but familiar with the principles of logic, they too should be able to detect that this book has no credibility to what it claims.
by Andrew Corbett | Apr 28, 2019 | Ethics
I was recently asked for my opinion on an article appearing on a website promoting the compatibility of homosexuality wih Christianity. The article is apparently an extract from a book by (Rev.) Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley called, “The Children Are Free”.It’s very sad that some are seeking to twist Scripture to force it to say something that not only did not intend to say, but is actually making the exact opposite point. The Apostle Paul refers to this in Romans 1 where he says that some in wilful sin “became futile in their thinking” and in Galatians 1:7 that some of these people have deliberately “distorted” the Gospel. The linked article is a gross example of this. Before giving a direct response, two important points need to be made. The first is about the nature of God and how we reflect that nature. The second is how we read Scripture and how we convey that Scripture.
