I have had many people ask me about the differences between different churches. What is the difference between a Baptist Church and an Anglican Church? A Uniting Church, or a Community Church? Are they all the same? Are they different? How do you tell? Does it matter? The answer is not always a nice and … [Read more…]
This is quite a common question, and in some church cultures the answer is ‘of course’. There is a strong culture in some churches and Christian circles which insists that tithing is what all Christians should do. ‘Tithe’ means ‘a tenth’ or, in more modern terms ‘10%’. Its what God instructed the ancient Israelites to … [Read more…]
A was taken flying today. I even got to do the ‘steering’ for quite a bit. For someone with a largely sedentary job, which involves a lot of writing, speaking and thinking, I sometimes get to do slightly different things. Placing lambs in the cradle for marking, riding in tractors, and today, flying. And I’m … [Read more…]
This was a good question that came up this week. If you look at a lot of art throughout the ages, and in popular media today, you see angels depicted as handsome and strong men (and sometimes women) with wings and white robes, and an occasional halo. Demons are, however, depicted as terrifying monsters, misshapen, … [Read more…]
This is a question that does pop up from time to time. At the moment it is not a hot topic issue, but a background one (at least for this month). Christianity, Islam and Judaism are often referred to as the ‘Abrahamic’ faiths, and you’ll find in many articles on the Middle East describe all … [Read more…]
Travelling as much as I do on the Albany Highway, I get to spend a lot of time at road works. Every year there are a couple of sections that have an extra over-taking lane added. These provide much needed improvements and safety, and they are greatly appreciated. But the time I spend slowing down … [Read more…]
This question popped up the other day. It could have been one of any similar questions: why did God create mosquitoes/sharks/poisonous snakes/spiders? We see something we don’t like, something that might cause pain or death, something that we can’t see any good use or purpose in, and we can’t imagine why God made it. There … [Read more…]
Weddings and funerals are things that all ministers come to know fairly well. We are called on and privileged to serve people in these events. It is true that that is changing a lot – the percentage of weddings and funerals officiated by ministers of religion is declining. Civil wedding celebrants are increasingly doing funeral … [Read more…]
Last week I went to see Risen at the cinema (its a 200km round trip to get to a cinema, so it pays to be a little discerning). I had seen trailers for the movie, but hadn’t actually read any reviews of it, nor did I know anyone who had seen it. Given the terrible … [Read more…]
Q+A: Why do we have formal church membership? Formal church membership has become much less popular in the last decade or two. I am aware of two churches where the lack of members has become quite a serious issue when it comes to conducting business in the church. There were plenty of people attending the … [Read more…]