Biblefresh

The biblefresh web site is now live, you can visit it - http://www.biblefresh.com/

There are lots of good ideas to help us read the bible, to help us encourage others to read the bible. Why not visit this site, or better, why not read the bible - it could change your world!

No 1 for Easter Sunday

Tomorrow is the day! The day to start downloading the Delirious? song History Makers.

There is a web site http://www.invadetheairwaves.org.uk/ with information on this campaign to have a Christian song at No 1 for Easter Sunday. The band have agreed that all the proceeds from the sales of this song are to be donated through Compassion Art to 16 charitable projects around the world.

You can download the song from:
iTunes
amazon
7digital
play
hmc
tescoentertainment

There are two versions, one live and one studio, you can download one of each and both will count towards the one chart position. So go on, especially if you've never downloaded a song before - download this one! And if you want a sneek preview here is a uTube clip ...

What is Be Thinking

I've had a better chance to look at the Be Thinking web site, and put a link into my places to visit side bar. I've copied the following from the about us tab on their site:

bethinking.org aims to bring together the best possible resources for thinking about and communicating the Christian faith. Its goal is to help to prepare all Christians to provide an answer to those who deny the truth of Christianity. Whether that’s answering the attacks of Richard Dawkins, discussing our faith with a Muslim colleague or chatting about the latest episode of Dr Who with a neighbour, bethinking.org aims to provide you with talks and articles that stimulate you to think about your faith and its relation to the world and culture around us, and then to show how Christianity is not only true, but provides the answers to life’s biggest questions.


The technical term for all this is ‘apologetics’. Whether you are a student, at home or at work, we want bethinking.org to help you to talk about your Christian faith in a way that is relevant, attractive, true and culturally aware.

I like the description of apologetics as 'attractive'. Yes, we must strive for relevance, truth and cultural awareness, but attractiveness is so important. We can often speak the truth in relevant and aware ways which are far from attractive. Here is a skill many of us need to learn.

I'm grateful to the UCCF for this site and rejoice that there is so much good and useful information on it. I'm in danger of not getting any work done today so keen am I to read more on this site! Keep watching, I'll add some comments to some of the articles in days to come.

Be Thinking

I was directed to a new web site (thanks Ramsay) called Be Thinking - http://www.bethinking.org/

For too long I and other evangelicals have been told that we don't think, the only thinkers are the liberal elite!! Well no more. Here is a great resource, from lots of highly respected evangelical thinkers, who reflect deeply upon Scripture yet without ever loosing an attitude of submission. No doubt I'll post some comments on some of the articles when I've have a better look at them.

If it ain't prog ...

I've just been watching some programmes on Prog Rock on BBC4 (this freeview is great). I've been reminded just how fantastic this music is. If it ain't prog ... it don't rock!

Just in case you're not persuaded here is a clip of Yes playing 'And You and I' live at Montreux 2003, enjoy.

HTC Newsletter

There is a recent newsletter from the Highland Theological College on line here.

I hope you find something interesting in reading this newsletter.

'Tis Done!

I've just finished reading the second volume of Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics: God and Creation. Hence 'Tis Done!

Say something nice about Herr Bavinck's book.
Very comprehensive. If you want to know what the position of Reformed Theology is on the doctrine of God and/or Creation this is the one volume that will do it for you.

Now tell us what you really think!
There are just too many pages describing positions in theology and philosophy that Reformed Theology will disagree with. I know that Deism and Pantheism are wrong, I don't need to read about why they are wrong under every heading.

If you want to read a really good book on the doctrine of God, you should try Gerald Bray's volume of that title in the IVP Contours of Christian Theology series (pub 1993). At 251 pages of text, plus some notes and suggested further reading, this is a far more accessible and useful volume than Bavinck. Bray covers the doctrine of God, which to be fair is only the first three parts (432 pages) of Bavinck. But he does it so much better.

So, 'tis done! That's another book ticked off my reading targets list for 2010, and the first of my major volumes. I'm really looking forward to starting Larry Hurtado's 'Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity'. This theology is all very well but just not as much fun as biblical studies.

I'm going to replace Bavinck on the reading targets list with Gordon Fee's 'God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul' (pub 1994). Just in case Hurtado doesn't turn out to do enough detailed exegesis of the text Fee won't let me down. But I'm not aiming to get to Fee until the summer, unless Hurtado ends up being a better page turner than Dan Brown.