Dr Paul Allen

Justin the Philosopher (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The young philosopher walked along the seashore, his mind active, always active, seeking new truths. He had studied the teachings of the Stoics, of Aristotle, and of Pythagoras—now he was following Plato ’s system.  Plato had promised a vision of God to those who delved deeply enough into truth. That is what Justin the philosopher wanted. As he walked, he came across an elderly Christian man. Justin was struck by his dignity and humility. The man quoted from Jewish prophecies, showing that the Christian way was indeed true; Jesus was the true expression of God. That was Justin’s turning point. Poring over those prophetic writings, reading the Gospels and letters of Paul, he became a devoted Christian. For the remaining thirty or so years of his life, he traveled, evangelized, and wrote. He played a crucial role in the church’s developing theology, in its understanding of itself, and the image it presented to the world. ...

Trumpet (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.” ( Exodus 19:19 ) This is the first reference to trumpets in the Bible, and it is significant that the “voice” of the trumpet was coming not from man but from God. The setting was the awesome scene at Mount Sinai, when the Lord gave Moses the Ten Commandments for His people. The last reference in the Old Testament to trumpets again refers to God’s trumpet. “And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south” ( Zechariah 9:14 ). The trumpet, as used in Israel (Hebrew shofar), was made of ram’s horns and was used on many important occasions. One of the most notable was when the Israelites finally entered the Promised Land at Jericho. “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and . ...

Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, was a military general in the Book of Judges   Wikipedia ) Judges is the account of how Israel behaves between the death of Joshua and the leadership of a king. Instead of remaining loyal to God and following His laws, this generation of Israelites wanders in their faith, worshiping idols, indulging in violence, and mingling with the evil nations around them. The book of Judges opens with a snapshot of the political and spiritual landscape: The land is not fully possessed yet, as Israel does not drive out a few “pockets” of the people they were told to eliminate. The military and spiritual leader Joshua is dead. The people begin worshiping false gods (introduced by the Canaanites living among them). Judges presents various examples of how God deals with His people during this time period. The stories of Judges follow a pattern ( Jgs 2:11–23): Israel turns from God and serves idols. God turns Israel over to the op...

Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber to be an example of a charismatic religious leader. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What does it mean to successful? That is a vital question for anyone to ask – one that determines a person’s priorities and direction in life. Whether you are a pastor, an accountant, a school teacher, a stay-at-home mom , an office manager, a construction worker, an engineer, or any other occupation – if you are a believer in Jesus Christ – this question pertains to you.  What does it mean to be successful? What does true  success  look like, not in terms of getting a new promotion or a raise, but in the highest and loftiest sense of that word? Consider the “heroes of the faith” listed in Hebrews 11. From a worldly perspective , these individuals would hardly be regarded as successful. - Successful people aren’t mocked and scourged. - Successful people don’t get chained up in prison. - Successfu...

Duccio di Buoninsegna - Christ Accused by the Pharisees (detail) - WGA06802 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) When Christians default to sinful assaults on other believers, the glory of Christ is diminished, the gospel message is muted and fellowship is destroyed. Hugh Hewitt recently challenged a room full of leaders to “expect to get hit from behind.” Anticipate that your most scathing, personal assaults will often come from those you partner with in ministry. Those you learn from, recruit, hire, mentor, lead, and serve. It’s not the attacks from unbelievers in the community or even from believers on the periphery of the ministry. It is assaults from those who have direct access to your heart, who for whatever reason, use their access and knowledge to launch accusations, spread gossip and advance slander. Similar to the volley of war, it is anything but friendly. Seminary can prepare a man for ministry in many ways, but classroom lectures do not warn aspiring pastors to expect false...

Adam and Eve (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Summary :  God is a he because God is personal and “our Father” because God acts like a loving father. He is neither male nor female, nor a combination of both. INTRODUCTION: The claim of a male (or male-like) deity touches on some of the deepest assumptions about God that Christians have, even when these assumptions are held unconsciously. Such assumptions are tied directly to our view of ourselves as essentially male or female, for nearly all of us experience our own humanness in either a male or female body from the start of our awareness. Nothing could be more natural for the fallen mind than to create a god in its own image (Rom 1:20–23). While human beings typically come into the world either male or female, there are a very small number of hermaphrodites whose genes, for reasons still unclear to embryologists, fail to determine their sex in early development, thus producing a baby of mixed sexuality.  It should be no...

“And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.” ROMANS 7:9–11 The law shatters all of man’s attempts at self– righteousness . The old saying “ignorance is bliss” is rarely true, and in the spiritual realm it is deadly. As a Pharisee , one of the rising stars of first–century Judaism (Gal. 1:14), Paul thought himself very much “alive apart from the Law.” When convicted of his utter sinfulness by the law, however, Paul “died”; that is, his false sense of security and self–satisfaction was shattered. The enormity of his guilt became evident to him, and he realized he could not save himself. He recognized he was “helpless” (Rom. 5:6) and desperately in need of the divine Physician ( Matt. 9:12). To his dismay, Paul found that the “commandment, which was...

Symbol of the major religions of the world: Judaism, Christianity, Taoism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) What are the characteristics of the Christian God that differentiate him from other gods? Perhaps the most unique characteristic of the Christian God is that he exists. The other ones don’t.  Of course, that is a matter of profound debate, as we all know. I would say the chief and most critical differences have to do, ultimately, with the Christian God’s character of holiness. You’re going to get an argument on this from other people who will say that their gods are holy , too. What is unique about Christianity among all the world religions is its central doctrine of a once-for-all atonement that is offered to people to grant them salvation.  Old Testament Judaism had a provision for the atonement of sin, but most religions have no provision for an atonement, basically because they do not consider it to be a prerequisite for rede...