Category Archives: Commentary
Why do all the charities have to be run by Christians?
“Why are all the charities run by Christians?” Of course I’m fully aware that it is untrue to say that “all of the charities are run by Christians”! In fact, I was initially at a loss as to how to respond to the question when it was put to me. My friend lives on a […]
Read MoreOne Church, Across all Time
If there is “One Church”, and there always has been only one, then surely it’s the same Church…? I stumbled across a wonderful expression of the “One Church” phenomenon in a theological textbook. I gladly receive it and add it to the wonderfully compelling image of “One Church”: we are part of the same church […]
Church Leadership: Could Jesus be right?
What is leadership in the kingdom of God? The question of leadership in church life is a hot one. The Roman Catholic view, which consists of a single hierarchy of authority governing all aspects of church life, culminating in a single figure in the Pope, is profoundly different from the cell-church/home-church model consisting of as […]
Smacking: Can we “spare the rod”?
Is smacking children the “Christian” thing to do? All around the world, governments are defining child abuse in ways that include various physical discipline methods: in some jurisdictions it relates to leaving bruises, in others it relates to the use of implements other than the open hand, and so forth. In many, there is a total […]
Read More“Struggling with Sin” is not “normal”. Don’t settle for it.
Why would a preacher say that it’s ‘normal’ to be struggling with sin, when the Bible says that it isn’t? Several times recently I have heard a similar message from different preachers, essentially: we should anticipate an ongoing struggle with sin, or various kinds of disillusionment in our faith, or times of feeling that God […]
Read MoreGentleness and respect. Sharing your faith.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect – 1 Peter 3:15 Some time ago I had a long (spanning 18 months) conversation by Facebook email, with an Atheist who sought me out after […]
How to: Converse with an Atheist about faith
How do we talk about faith with Atheists? I don’t claim to have the final word on the topic, but it’s about time for an initial word! For several hundred years, Christianity has too often approached the Atheist with pointed finger, and accusations and threats. All in “love”, of course! Because we don’t want the poor […]
Is the practice of “Journaling” Biblical?
Define the Gospel In Christianity Today, on 14th June, 1999 (>Article<), nine Evangelical leaders were invited to “define the gospel” within about 300 words. The responses are very interesting, highlighting the various emphases of their various traditions.
Read MoreWhat is Transubstantiation? When a Zebra is not a Zebra; it’s an Ottoman, but it’s still a Zebra.
What is Transubstantiation? The Roman Catholic theology of Transubstantiation describes the Bread and Wine ceremony (Eucharist) as “the actual partaking of Christ in person, hence literally”. Many Protestants consider it to be a metaphor or a mnemonic instead. Who is right? Firstly, let’s just acknowledge that people have died over this question. In the Reformation, at various […]
How many churches are there?
Why are there so many denominations in the Christian faith? What’s the difference? Does it matter? I was wonderfully confronted by the living God in a little Anglican church, and came to faith. Since that time I have been quite involved in a Salvation Army church, a Churches of Christ church, a Pentecostal church, and a church that […]
Finding the Widow’s Coin
Hiding the Treasure The best way to hide spiritual gems: surround them with an intellectual feast. In his article, “Walter Wink on Jesus“, Wink provides clear, precise teaching on issues that are commonly misunderstood. He does such a fantastic job in his teaching that the interested reader is at risk of missingthe most profound assertion […]
Chat Room
The End of an Era: Chat Room is to close The Chat Room at 241 Brisbane St, a drop-in centre serving three meals a week, closes down at the end of May 2012. I wrote this poem as an experiment. It contains my reflection on the Chat Room at what that community has shown me. […]
Read MoreThe Salvation Army and the Sacraments
Is the Salvation Army a Church? Originally, no. The Salvation Army originally denied that it was a church (“we are not professing to be a church” – Catherine Booth, War Cry, 2 January 1883). It came in for criticism because for a long time it did not enter into the debates between Christian denominations concerning the “Sacraments” […]
Roman Catholic Decree on Ecumenism: “Unitatis Redintegratio”
The Roman Catholic Church… a Decree on Ecumenism… Really? In the 1960’s, the Roman Catholic church made a big effort in an attempt to begin to reverse the 400-year rift between herself and the Protestant churches, even acknowledging that there was fault on both sides. She made a range of statements demonstrating that she understood […]
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Has the Eucharist been redefined?
Does the Roman Catholic Church still hold to Transubstantiation as a doctrine? I attended Midnight Mass at the beautiful St Mary’s Church in Ipswich on Christmas Eve 2011. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will do it again this year. A couple of things caught my attention, and in my interest as a student of the […]
- June 18, 2012
- / Category Commentary, Eucharist, Sacraments, Transubstantiation
- / Posted By Kevin Bennett
- / 2 Comments.
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