Articles

Psalm 58 is a difficult psalm for many, concluding as it does with images of the righteous rejoicing at the sight of God exacting vengeance on the wicked and the righteous bathing their feet in the blood of the wicked. To appreciate the force of these images it is important to note the contrast between […]

This is a summary of Chapter 8 of After Virtue.
Generalisations in Social Science

This article represents a culling of insights relevant to the issue of understanding evangelistic outreach in the book of Acts.
Evangelism in Acts

In this passage the Sadducees, who venerated the Pentateuch, try to use it, along with other ploys, to ridicule the whole notion of resurrection. Jesus demonstrates that the doctrine of resurrection is clearly implicit in the Pentateuch.
 Mark 12:18-27. Exegetical Reflections

Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Indeed, it might be argued that it is THE most multicultural city in the world. Notably, however, the vast majority of church communities in Sydney are homogeneous. In our own denomination we have such NESB (non-English speaking background) churches as Arabic-speaking, Cook Island Maori, Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, Samoan, Ghanaian and […]

This is a summary of the seventh chapter of “After Virtue.”

In our denomination, the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales, we have two people available, through M & M (Ministry and Mission), to help our churches get ESL Ministry off the ground or to develop it further:

ESL Coordinator: Judy Rowlands
CCM (Cross-Cultural Ministry Coordinator): myself

Here are some of the prior things that need to happen before […]

In the ESL seminar presented by our ESL Coordinator, Judy Rowlands at yesterday’s Flourish conference, Judy explained the stress often experienced by new migrants. May will present brave, smiling faces and yet be nursing great hurts and pain within. Relating this to ESL Judy noted:
ESL students often feel vulnerable, stressed, anxious, sad, numb and lonely. They often find […]

This is my summary of Chapter 6 of After Virtue, in which MacIntyre argues that to a disturbing extent our morality is “a theatre of illusions.”
Consequences of the Failure of the Enlightenment Project

Here is an attempt to capture some of the important milestones in the development of human thought concerning what today we call “culture.” I would like to identify other thinkers in history who have sought to understand different ways of life and therefore hope to be able to add to these notes.
Pre-History of Culture

This is Powerpoint presentation which provides for leaders an overview of the processes involved in effecting change.
I have used and modified material gleaned from William J. Morin, Living at the Leading Edge of Change: A Leader’s Guide to Transition Management (New York: Drake Beam Morin, 1995).
Leading the Process of Change

Traditional dating for the Buddha is highly suspect, as indeed is much of the traditional depiction of his life.
The Elusive Historical Buddha

A foreigner workinig in a Two-Thirds World country purchased a large desk lamp from a Chinese merchant who promised it would be delivered the next afternoon. That didn’t happen. The foreigner enquired why not. The merchant told him the delivery man was sick and the delivery might be in a few days.  The foreigner offered […]

A Western missionary came to live in a Two-Thirds World country. Unlike most houses in his neighbourhood, his did not have walls. Dogs were not valued in this society but the missionary, a lover of dogs, had one and furthermore allowed it to run loose.
When the local postmaster told him he was asking people for help because a neighbourhood […]

In the Philippines Don organised a party for his Western colleagues in a local restaurant. Before the event Don and the restaurant manager had orally agreed on the total package price for the meal. It would have communicated distrust to have insisted on a written agreement.
The food provided was excellent, but when the bill came […]

1. What does Isaiah say about idolatry?

(1) It is absurd to compare an idol with God (40:18ff).

How can a manufactured article, made from inferior materials because of the inadequate resources of the person who commissions its manufacture, compete with God (40:19-20)?
An idol is static, in contrast to the dynamism of God as the Creator-King who rules over […]

There was a pinkeye epidemic among the Motilones, a tribal group of Indians in a remote Colombian jungle area. The traditional healer (”witch doctor”) had been unable to bring healing through her incantations, potions and prayers. Missionary Bruce Olson offered her Terramycin as a possible cure. She rejected it, saying, “You are white. Your ways […]

In a Two-Thirds World country, a “mother and her son had been visiting friends, and find that it is too late to get transportation back to their province. So within hearing of her friends, she comments to her son, “Son, we are very poor. We cannot go back to the province today. Maybe we have […]

As part of my studies in apocalyptic literature I have summarised this second century AD document. As will be evident, this expresses “Christian” perspectives which violate biblical thought, e.g. salvation through merit-earning good works.
3 Apocalypse of Baruch

“In one of my overseas stints, I was president of a Bible school. Working late on a Friday, I noticed the grass had not been cut. The church used our buildings on Sunday, and I was feeling a bit ashamed to have them come to a ragged-looking place. Everyone else had gone home, so I […]

This chart is a simple diagrammatic summary of the broad differences between these traditions, indicating their separate origins and development.
Analytic versus Continental Philosophy

This is a summary of the longer recension, which Nickelsburg considers to be more original. Various speculations as to the date of composition range from first century BC to fifth or sixth centuries AD. Although the work has been transmitted by Christian scribes - see, for example, the Trinitarian ending - many scholars, like Nickelsburg, argue […]

This sermon or address takes a brief look at the doctrine of the Trinity. The major point being made is that a non-Trinitarian God is incapable of saving humanity from the predicament in which we find ourselves. There are some views of God that are based on a limited or distorted understanding of partial biblical revelation that […]

Here are just six slides based on the ABS Census 2006 indicating Sydney’s multicultural nature:

Religious Affiliation
Top 20 Statistical Local Areas for LOTE (Languages other than English)
Chart showing top 20 Statistical Local Areas for LOTE (Languages other than English)
Map giving a broad picture of LOTE concentrations throughout Sydney (e.g. 60% means at least 60% of people in that […]

This is a paraphrase of this sutra, one of the three classic Pure Land sutras. I have not at this point made any critique of this sutra.
Sutra on the Contemplation of the Buddha Amitayus

The renowned English anthropologist, Radcliff-Brown once went to China on a fact-finding mission, accompanied by a young Chinese assistant. It was before World War II. When they came across a farmer’s family performing rites in honour of ancestors with food and wine, the master anthropologist teased his assistant and asked him: ‘When you Chinese people […]

A young Papua New Guinea student was about to visit Australia on a cultural exchange program. Two Australians teaching in PNG invited the student to their home for dinner, so that they might tutor her in Australian table manners. They didn’t so much teach her Australian cultural conventions and “rules”, but how to use such […]

Before …………… was invaded and conquered by …………….., not a single ……………….. had ever done anything to leave his name in the pages of history. Roads were built by ……………….., towns developed, agricultural methods advanced, and the arts were promoted. In ……………. (time) the ………………. withdrew from …………………. Within fifty years the towns of …………………… […]

Ada Lum, an IFES worker, was apparently the first person to promote the Swedish Method, naming it in honour of the Swedish student group where she first saw it used. Peter Blowes has explained what the Swedish method involves. Have a look at the template, explanation, example, process and rationale I’ve provided, summarising some of […]

A FREE download of exegetical notes on this psalm. Having experienced God’s love and faithfulness in a life-threatening situation David prays that God’s greatness might be made known to all.
Psalm 57. Historical Motivation for the Global Glorification of God

In an article in The Pulse Paul Cooper, explaining why Jesus had to die, gives an excellent illustration of the immense damage our sin does:
In British Columbia there are many great forest trees. One such variety is the mighty Ponderosa pine so named because of its ponderous size, sometimes growing to a height of fifty […]

This is my summary of Chapter 5 of After Virtue.
Alasdair MacIntyre on Why the Enlightenment Project of Justifying Morality Had to Fail

Justin Barrett, senior researcher at the Centre for Anthropology and Mind, Oxford University, has conducted research over the last decade which, it is claimed, shows that children are born with a predisposition to see the natural world as designed and purposeful with an intelligent being behind that purpose.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
The preponderance […]

This is my summary of Chapter 4 of MacIntyre’s book After Virtue.
Alasdair MacIntyre on the Predecessor Culture

In the face of life-threatening situations David learns to combat his fear by trusting in God. This involves trusting in God’s Word.
Psalm 56. Fear-Forsaking Faith

Peter Abbs identifies Jean-Jacques Rousseau as “the first significant philosopher of deep personal autobiography” (”The Full Revelation of the Self” in Philosophy Now [July/August 2008] 17). Rousseau contrasted himself with other Enlightenment philosophers:
I have met many men who were more learned in their philosophising, but their philosophy remained, as it were, external to them. Wanting […]

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

Exegetical notes.

This psalm, possibly written in the context of Absalom’s revolt, reflects the chaos into which Jerusalem has plunged and the depths of anguish experienced by David upon being betrayed by someone who had been very close to him.

The practical atheism of Doeg, as depicted in Psalm 52, is now generalised. It is especially expressed in the persecution of God’s people. Such evildoers will experience humiliating divine judgment.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

This is a series of Bible studies designed for those for whom English is a second language, yet have a reasonable grasp of English.

Exegetical notes.

These are my outlines for the Powerpoint presentations I have made while lecturing on 1 & 2 Samuel (selected texts), plus the theology of the Former Prophets (Joshua-2 Kings).

Exegetical notes.