The Word of God

"Now that is interesting to me because the Holy Spirit inspired the writers to call both the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible, the 'Word of God'. The character of the Bible and the character of Jesus are linked together." - The Proceedings of the Conference on Biblical Inerrancy 1987, Broadman.

How we respond to the Bible's words is how we respond to the Lord Jesus Christ. If and where we knowingly disobey his written words, we knowingly disobey and dishonour him personally, the living Word.

Would you do such-and-such if the Lord Jesus Christ descended from heaven in light you could not even look upon, surrounded by legions of angels, and personally declared to you that you must not do it?

You might like to say "no, of course not". This would be self-deception. You would, and I would, because that is the nature of the sin that still dwells within us. Jesus Christ made his attitude to the Scriptures very clear, with words like "Your word is truth", "The Scriptures cannot be broken", "Do you not err, because you do not know the Scriptures?" and "The words that I have spoken will judge him at the last day" and "Man shall not live on bread alone, but upon every word that falls from the mouth of God".

What is the Word of God telling you to do? Exactly what the written word of God is telling you to do. You can dishonour and disobey neither or both - there is no middle ground, and let's not kid ourselves that there is.

The state as parent

Sometimes I have pointed out on this blog that the only logical basis behind some state actions in modern times is the idea that the state is the real parent, and that biological parents are only temporarily being granted that role by kind permission. They can't be explained any other way. The state officers pushing those laws and interventions seem to believe this.

I am well aware that many Christians think that this is scare-mongering or far-fetched.

It's worth pointing out, then, that the Scottish government has, in fact, taken the next logical step - proposing that this understanding (or we should say, monstrous, totalitarian power grab) be codified in law. This view, far from being far-fetched, will be the law of the land in Scotland if they get their way.

Here's an update on their plans - a legal view expressed that this conflicts with the UN charter of human rights. Let's hope that this legal opinion gains currency: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/top-lawyer-snps-state-guardian-for-children-unlawful/

"Your life is over when you have children"

http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/01/10/your-life-is-over-when-you-have-kids

Should Christians Embrace Evolution? Now available as an ebook in the UK

IVP's book "Should Christians Embrace Evolution?" - which in 2011 was one of World Magazine's two books of the year ( http://www.worldmag.com/2011/06/books_of_the_year) is now available as an ebook.

Here's the Kindle link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Should-Christians-Embrace-Evolution-Scientific-ebook/dp/B009VJC4NC

Or direct from the publisher (multi-format): http://www.thinkivp.com/9781844749003

Here's Tim Challies' review: http://www.challies.com/book-reviews/should-christians-embrace-evolution.

Of course I am biased, but I believe this is still the "go-to" book for a solid and yet readable multi-author scientific and theological response to the question posed in the title.

Free ESV Audio Bible

In case you didn't already know, and in case you have enough bandwidth to download it (it comes in 8 downloads, the smallest of which is 80 megabytes, so may be tricky in the third world), ChristianAudio.com are giving away the ESV Bible in audio format this month: http://christianaudio.com/free/