Month: June 2019

Popular ideas about faith vary widely and can be misleading. Many religious people think faith is a mystical gift from God that enables us to understand and relate to Him. The Oxford English Dictionary defines faith as “strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof”. Others may be more sceptical and add the word “blind”, their view being that faith lacks reason or evidence. So, what is faith? Bible-based Faith The Bible is the key source of knowledge about God. Therefore, faith in God is best considered by consulting the Bible itself. In the rest of this article, this ‘Bible faith’ is what we are talking about. True faith in God really does involve substance and evidence. The Bible is not an indiscriminate collection of writings. Although it was written down over at least 1,500 years by many writers from different countries and

There is very strong evidence for believing in a God who cares about the world He has created. What if, after looking at all this evidence, we are convinced about the truth of the gospel message? What then? From Caterpillars to Butterflies Some years ago, our eldest daughter was given a butterfly kit for her birthday. The transformation that a caterpillar undergoes to become a butterfly is truly remarkable. Caterpillars are beautiful creatures in their own way, but compared to the beauty, elegance and grace of a butterfly, they pale into insignificance! The apostle Paul uses this analogy to describe believers in Jesus: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). The New Testament was originally written in Greek and the word transformed here in

ROBERT FERRAR is someone whose name most of us will not recognise. Yet in the 16th Century he was part of a movement eager to bring the Bible to everyone in their own language. He even died because of this ambition. Looking for Truth While he was studying at Cambridge, Ferrar was one of many students who were excited by the teachings of people like Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer and Hugh Latimer. These men were driving the Reformation, questioning the authority and the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Bible was becoming more widely available and many scholars were publishing commentaries and translations. Before long, thinking people realised how far the Church’s teaching was removed from what they read in the Bible. This further damaged and enraged the Church. A Turbulent Life Ferrar was excommunicated by the Church in the time of Henry VIII but when, in 1547, the Protestant

As human beings, we know that we are mortal, and one day will die. This is why so many people are concerned with the legacy they leave. That legacy may be money or possessions, which can be left for the benefit of surviving family members, to improve their circumstances. Many charities and good causes depend very much on legacies from their supporters. You can see appeals from many organisations, asking us to leave them money if we can. For many, the legacy they care about is more about leaving an imprint on history. When an artist or a musician dies, then their body of work is what they are remembered by. On a more spiritual note, many quotations remind us how important it is to leave the world a better place than we found it – perhaps by small acts of kindness. This is a very decent attitude. Pride There