Dr Paul Allen

“Psst! Did God   really say ?” The very first words of the serpent slyly whispered to Eve in the Garden of Eden haunted me as I wrestled with the Bible’s prohibition of homoerotic sex. I was teaching a module on Biblical Sexuality at the  London School of Theology  in 2009. I was overwhelmed by the volume of new scholarly arguments challenging me to rethink my conservative position on same-sex relationships. Of course, I believed the Bible was inspired, inerrant, and infallible — but in the light of new exegetical evidence, was I correct in holding to a traditional interpretation of the texts prohibiting homogenital relations? Moreover, several of my students who claimed to be “evangelical” had adopted rather worrisome postmodern and permissive perspectives on sexuality. It wouldn’t be easy to persuade them to accept an orthodox interpretation of the biblical texts. Gagnon’s Bombshell Robert Gagnon’s 2002  opus magnum   The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts a...

I am increasingly persuaded that “hearing back” from God in the life of prayer involves an analogous process. It involves a practised prayer life that matures our perceptions to hear him right. For it’s not as though God was ever truly silent. And it’s not that we are at too great a distance from the one in whom we live and move and have our being to hear his voice. On the contrary, as G. K. Chesterton suggests with characteristic paradoxy, it may be that “the laughter of the heavens is too loud for us to hear.”1 If such things are so, then Silence “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10) . Being still, or practising silence, is my first suggestion in a course for retraining perceptions. My primary focus isn’t so much on literal silence (though it can’t hurt); it’s on quieting our voices and hearts enough to listen. Those who would truly hear any other, and indeed the ultimate Other, must relinquish control over what’s said. They must render themselves vulnerable to hearing someth...

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” has been seen countless times on three continents by Polish grandparents and Japanese schoolchildren. It remains evergreen and universal — just like the Saviour Linus describes in his simple recitation of the Nativity as it appears in Luke’s Gospel.  However, that citing of Scripture did not easily pass the cynicism and cowardly cultural gatekeepers of American network television when Charles Schulz and his production team offered the first of what became many Peanuts specials to CBS executives in December of 1965.  In fact, even before those suits tried to remove mentioning Christ from this Christmas show, Schulz’s two partners in the venture, Lee Mendelson and Bill Melendez, advised him to take the Gospel passage out of Linus’ mouth.  As one of those executives said, “The Bible thing scares us.” The Peanuts creator’s response spoke volumes: “If we don’t do it, who will?”  The fact that any mention of Jesus over the public airwaves was co...

Introduction The Holy Spirit is universally recognized by Christians as the third person of the Trinity—eternal, divine, and sharing God's attributes. His role spans creation, salvation, and sanctification. While Christians agree on the Spirit's work in inspiring Scripture, they differ on the extent and nature of his involvement in the world and in personal salvation. Biblical Survey of the Holy Spirit Old Testament The term rûaḥ refers to the Spirit of God, signifying wind, breath, or divine life. The Spirit empowered individuals like Bezalel (for craftsmanship), prophets, judges, and kings (e.g., Saul and David) for specific tasks. The Spirit’s presence was occasional and task-specific, not permanent for most individuals. New Testament The Gospels : The Spirit is central to Jesus' life—from his conception to baptism, ministry, death, and resurrection. He empowers Jesus for miracles and ministry. Acts : The Holy Spirit descends at Pentecost, initiating the church's gl...

Are the Bible’s Stories True? Archaeology’s Evidenc e Michael D. Lemonick December 18, 1995  In another part of the world, it would have been a straightforward public works project. A highway was too narrow to handle the increasing traffic flow, so the authorities brought in heavy equipment to widen it. Partway through the job, however, a road-leveling tractor uncovered the opening to a cave no one knew was there. Work came to an immediate halt, and within hours, a scientific swat team descended on the site to study it. That’s the law in Israel, where civilization goes back at least 5,000 years, and a significant archaeological find could lurk under any given square foot of real estate. Almost every empire since the beginning of Western history has occupied these lands or fought over them, or at least passed through — Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Crusaders — leaving behind buildings, burial places, or artefacts. This is why there were about 300 active d...

THE WALLS OF JERICHO So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the trumpet sound, and the people shouted with a great shout that the wall fell flat. Then the people went into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.  Joshua 6:20 It is one of the most dramatic events chronicled in the Old Testament, but for generations, scholars have debated whether the Israelites’ assault on Jericho was fact or myth. Over the past three decades, the consensus has gone against the biblical version. The late British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon established in the 1950s that while the ancient city was indeed destroyed, it happened around 1550 B.C., some 150 years before Joshua could have shown up. However, archaeologist Bryant Wood, who wrote in the March/April issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, claims that Kenyon was wrong. Based on a re-evaluation of her research, published in detail only recently, Wood says that the c...

  Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.  (Deuteronomy 34:7) During his last years, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote: “The longer I live, the more convinced I become that neither age nor circumstances need deprive us of energy or vitality. Although I have retired from my church, I occupy my working hours with Guideposts Magazine, speaking, and writing books. I go to bed as early as possible and rise early. I try to eat sensibly, exercise regularly, and avoid bad habits of all kinds. I mentally repudiate physical, mental or spiritual decline and disability. I trust in the living God, and I recommend the same to anyone who desires a long and healthy life.” The Bible says, “The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning” (Job 42:12). Your age is not a problem to God so long as your faith is strong. Noah didn’t start building the ark until he was 500, went into it at 621, came out of it at 622, and he...

  As his custom was, he went into the synagogue.  (Luke 4:16) If you want to be like Jesus, study His habits and make them yours! Your talent doesn’t determine your future. The brilliant young actor, River Phoenix, died in a drug-induced convulsion on Hollywood Boulevard, because he couldn’t “kick” his habit. If you want to know what your future holds, keep a diary of your daily habits for a month, and then you can write your own obituary. Do you want to be like Jesus? He rose before any of His disciples to pray. He wouldn’t have thought of facing the day without it! Imagine, He did, but we don’t! David said, “Morning, noon, and evening I will pray … and He shall hear my voice” (Psalms 55:7). That sounds like a habit! Do you pray even five minutes a day? That’s less than one-half percent of your waking hours. During Prohibition, Congress ruled that anything that contained less than one-half percent alcohol was “non-intoxicating.” That means you can’t feel the effects; it doesn...

Issues of conscience and preference require careful consideration to maintain unity and love within the church. Understanding these categories helps Christians respect diverse opinions and avoid unnecessary conflicts, promoting a more unified and loving community. Is it an issue of conscience? Conscience issues arise when someone abstains from something that is neither sinful nor foolish, influenced by biblical wisdom and personal experience. Even among like-minded believers, circumstances colour perspectives. The influence of your personal experience can make it difficult for you to imagine how others could operate differently in good conscience. No wonder the New Testament commands believers to respect and tolerate diverse opinions on issues in this category (Rom 14:13). Christians must submit their consciences to God (Rom 14:5–7) and seek to build one another up in love (Rom 14:19), even as they exercise liberty with discretion (Rom 14:20). Is it an issue of preference?   The ke...

On its own, it’s hard to make sense of Jesus’ eye-lamp metaphor. However, the ambiguity fades when our interpretation of “the eye is the lamp of the body” involves reading Jesus’ words in context. He’s using imagery from the Hebrew Bible to say that one's spiritual health can be assessed in part by observing the way one uses material possessions. First, this single sentence belongs to a large body of teaching found in Matthew 5-7, known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus talks about the body’s eye-lamp in a section of the sermon that focuses on the dangers involved with wealth. This context helps us see that his metaphor specifically speaks to our relationship with money and possessions. Second, as a Jewish teacher, Jesus appeals to common idioms in the Hebrew Bible. Seeing how biblical authors use the metaphorical language of “light-filled” versus “dim” eyes—or “good” versus “bad” eyes—can help us gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’ intended message. For Jesus, the eye becomes an...