Dr Paul Allen

Satan emerges throughout Scripture as a multifaceted adversary whose nature and activities shape Christian understanding of evil. He is portrayed as a high angelic creature who rebelled against the Creator before humanity’s creation and became the chief antagonist of God and humanity. 1  He has been sinning from the beginning, holding no truth, and when he lies, he speaks his native language as the father of lies. (John 8:44) Biblical accounts depict Satan engaging in several destructive activities. He leads the whole world astray (Rev 12:9–10), while he accuses believers before God day and night. (Rev 12:9–10) He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Pet 5:8)  He masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), and he blinds the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the gospel’s light. (2 Cor 4:4) In the Old Testament, he roams throughout the earth seeking to do injury, opposes God’s people and incites disobedience, and accuses the elect before ...

The fundamental distinction between Christian and Islamic theology centres on how God’s nature is understood. The God revealed progressively through Scripture—Yahweh in the Old Testament and continuing through Christ and the apostles—differs fundamentally from Allah as presented in Islamic teaching. 1 The most significant theological divergence involves the Trinity. Christians affirm God as triune—one in essence yet three in person—where the distinctions between Father, Son, and Spirit do not create three separate deities. 1  While both faiths claim monotheism, Islam understands “one” to mean Allah is a singular spiritual being without internal plurality, and Muslims explicitly deny the Trinity as implying polytheism.2 The Qur’an categorically rejects any notion of threeness in God, treating the Trinitarian confession as blasphemy. 3 This doctrinal disagreement extends to Christology and redemption. Islam denies both the incarnation of a second person of the Trinity who accomplishe...

In traditional Christian understanding, demons are typically identified as fallen angels, though ancient Judaism and the early church held varying perspectives—some viewing demons as the spirits of the Nephilim, the hybrid offspring of angels and human women mentioned in Genesis 61. From this perspective, Satan and other fallen angels were originally created by God as good beings but chose rebellion and self-assertion. Demons function as personal spiritual beings actively working to advance evil throughout creation.  While fundamentally morally ambivalent in broader religious traditions, demons in Christian theology belong primarily to the sphere of evil and exert harmful influence on humans, animals, and nature. The biblical record portrays demons as intelligent agents capable of recognizing Jesus and resisting his authority. In one account, a demon-possessed man lived among tombs, could not be restrained by chains, and would cry out and harm himself (Mark 5:1–20).  When conf...

Biblical literature portrays Satan as a powerful adversary operating across multiple dimensions—spiritual, moral, and relational. Satan is depicted as “the ancient serpent” who “leads the whole world astray,” (Rev 12:9–10) while his character centres on deception, as “there is no truth in him” and “he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) Satan’s methods reveal a calculated strategy. He “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” (1 Pet 5:8) yet he “masquerades as an angel of light,” (2 Cor 11:14) suggesting his deceptions operate through disguise rather than overt force.  In the Old Testament, Satan appears as one “roaming throughout the earth” seeking to cause harm, opposing God’s people by inciting disobedience, and accusing the elect before God’s throne.1 New Testament writers describe him tempting believers to sin, ensnaring the naive, delighting in harming believers, blinding the minds of unbelievers, and masquerading as an angel of light.1 The...

Throughout Scripture, signs and wonders represent God’s power unleashed first against Egypt during Israel’s deliverance and later through Jesus Christ to inaugurate salvation history.1 These phenomena carry consistent theological weight across both testaments, functioning as more than mere spectacle. A sign fundamentally directs people toward God2, while a wonder—derived from a Greek word related to “terror”—denotes something extraordinary that provokes amazement in observers.2 Where signs appeal to understanding, wonders engage the imagination.2 Though signs seek to generate belief, they don’t compel it.2 In the Old Testament, God’s saving actions in delivering Israel from Egypt became the focal point for divine self-revelation.1 The plagues against Egypt revealed God’s identity to the Egyptians themselves, establishing God’s reputation among the nations, not merely before Israel.1 These historical events carried implications extending far beyond their moment, shaping Israel’s ongoing...

The theological meaning of “fear of the Lord” encompasses both reverence and obedience rooted in a proper understanding of God’s character and authority. Rather than representing distrustful terror, this fear constitutes reverent awe and a worshipful response of faith to God as Creator, Saviour, and Judge.1 Luther’s distinction between servile fear and filial fear illuminates this concept: servile fear resembles a prisoner’s dread of a torturer, while filial fear mirrors a child’s respect and love for a parent—anxiety about displeasing someone beloved rather than anxiety about punishment.2  The biblical emphasis on fearing the Lord centres on a sense of awe and respect for God’s majesty.2 Though believers are invited to an intimate relationship with God as Father, this intimacy doesn’t eliminate the need to maintain healthy respect and adoration.2 Practically, fearing the Lord means ordering one’s life according to divine wisdom. To acknowledge God involves obeying the wisdom and k...

The first aspect of baptism in the Gospels we need to consider is the mindset of Judaism. When trying to understand the Gospels’ teaching on baptism, one might ask the question: Where did baptism come from? We don’t find anyone being baptized in the Old Testament, and we rarely find words relating to baptism used in the Old Testament. However, the first person we encounter in Mark’s Gospel is John the Baptist, who comes baptizing. How, then, would original readers of the Gospels have interpreted baptism? The first thing that would have shaped the thinking of the original audience would have been the meaning of the terms being used for baptism. The terms for baptism come from the Greek root bapto, which was used by ancient Greeks to denote a ship sinking into the water and being submerged. This word rarely appears in the Old Testament, only showing up twice in the canonical books of the LXX (Isaiah 21:4; 2 Kings 5:14), indicating the New Testament writers used a term to describe baptism...