Dr Paul Allen

English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Acts 20:24 “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course…that I received from the Lord Jesus , to testify to the gospel of the grace of God ” (v. 24). Since Jesus’ proclamation of the Gospel involved telling people that “the  kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:14–15), His commissioning of the disciples to preach the same message in Matthew 10:1 –15 gives us a chance to consider the Gospel and the church ’s spread of it in missions and evangelism. Our English term gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, which literally means “good news.” In the secular Greek culture of the first century, one who delivered euangelion might be speaking of the birth of a royal heir, a victory in battle, or news about an electoral victory. The New Testament reclaims the common use of this word and invests it with ...

The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Acts 20:24 “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course…that I received from the Lord Jesus , to testify to the gospel of the grace of God ” ( v. 24 ). Since Jesus’ proclamation of the Gospel involved telling people that “the kingdom of God is at hand” ( Mark 1:14–15 ), His commissioning of the disciples to preach the same message in Matthew 10:1–15 gives us a chance to consider the Gospel and the church ’s spread of it in missions and evangelism. Let us seek to define the Gospel, which is what evangelism is all about. Our English term gospel comes from the Greek word euangelion, which literally means “good news.” In the secular Greek culture of the first century, one who delivered euangelion might be speaking of the birth of a royal heir, a victory in battle, or news about an electoral victory. The New Testament reclaims the common use of this word and invests ...

Image via Wikipedia Tierra! Tierra! The men had been on the sea for over thirty days without sight of land. Now land was in plain view. All the despair and gloom immediately gave way to excitement and hope as the three little ships drew closer and closer to the shore  on this day, October 12, 1492. Probably every American school child old enough to study history has heard the little rhyme, "In October, 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue", and the story has often been told of Columbus' dream of finding the East or Asia by sailing west. Columbus is often held up as an example of someone who set goals for himself and would not give up when obstacles to achieving those goals came his way -- he waited at the Spanish court six years before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor his voyage. He persuaded his men to continue their westward voyage even when they threatened mutiny because they had  Image via Wikipedia not yet reached the expected islands of the ...

Image via Wikipedia Understandably, news of Osama bin Laden 's demise at the hands of U. S. Navy Seals provoked cries of celebration. The mastermind of terror, even against civilians (indeed, against fellow Muslims) has been brought to justice. But what kind of justice? In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush authorized " Operation Infinite Justice ." Especially after his comment that "this  crusade , this war on terrorism, is going to take a while," however, the mission was renamed "Operation Enduring Freedom." Reportedly, the name-change was  due at least in part  to the concern raised by  Muslims  that only God can execute "infinite justice." One would have hoped that the change had been provoked instead by  Christian reaction. Islam, of course, is not just a religion; it's a cultural and even geo-political reality. As such, its strict adherents excoriate co-religionists like Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im who c...