What does it mean for Jesus to be Redeemer? What does it mean that He is Saviour of the world? You see many people have a gospel that depicts the Son of God swooping down to snatch a lucky few from damnation. Souls are saved and saved out of the world into another realm. The […]
The trial of Jesus has everything backwards. The Judge of the world is in the dock. The Truth is cross-examined. The Righteous One is pronounced guilty. As we saw last time, the people act as judge and jury, while at times Pilate seems more like a public defender. Now in this verse, the Governor […]
In 1963, Stanley Milgram’s experiment asked anonymous participants to deliver increasingly severe electric shocks to subjects in the next room. Unbeknownst to the participants, the shocks were not real. But had they been, they may have been fatal. The great majority of participants delivered the shocks, even though there were screams of great pain from […]
The myth of violence powerfully shapes our view of the world. We imagine that force must be met with greater force if anything will be achieved. And of course we tell ourselves that the greater force is justified if it’s done in the name of some greater good. Most Hollywood blockbusters follows this storyline. Take, […]
What would motivate Judas to betray the Son of God? Theories abound. Many reconstruct a supposed political radicalism. Perhaps he was disenchanted by Christ’s non-violence. Judas, we imagine, had been hoping for an uprising and was so disappointed by Christ’s way of peace that he sold Him out. That’s a fascinating supposition. But it’s both […]
If ever there was a man who could call himself the elect of the elect, it was Judas. He was not only Jewish, he was, in all probability, from the tribe of Judah. Certainly his name means “Judah” – which refers not simply to the southern kingdom of Israel but also to the royal tribe […]
My teenage years were haunted by Gethsemane. For a serious-minded 14 year old, this was the ultimate display of godly devotion. Here was Christ leading the way in the school of prayer – showing us how to “give it all up for God.” In desperation He prostrates Himself before the Father, He pours out His […]
It was the original poisoned chalice. Just minutes after pouring wine into a cup of blessing, Jesus prays to His Abba, Father regarding a very different cup: “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him […]
It’s one of the first sounds a baby will make. ‘Ma ma ma ma’. Or ‘Ba ba ba ba’. Which is why, in so many languages, the proud parents take their babbling children to be speaking their names. ‘Mama’ or ‘Amma’ is a very common word for ‘mother’. And ‘Papa’ or ‘Baba’ is similarly common […]
Why do atheists love the King James Bible?
By Glen on October 29th, 2011
That’s one of the topics for discussion at the Battle of Ideas 2011. Tomorrow afternoon, 5:30pm at the Royal College of Art. Elizabeth Hunter the director of Theos, a public theology think-tank will be the Christian voice on a panel including Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association. Find out more here. including a […]