Dr Paul Allen

I n the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man, suffering in hell, asks Father Abraham to send Lazarus to his father’s house to warn his five brothers to save them from hell. His attempt, though not the core teaching of the parable, reveals a general truth, i.e., when a grievous thing strikes us, our natural instinct is to warn others, especially our loved ones, so that they would not suffer the same fate. For one thing, the culture of the rich man — different from ours — tends to encourage such an effort. In that culture, a person does not exist as an independent entity, but as part of a larger group. Within the framework of a shared identity, social obligation always preempts the individual’s self-interests. In the case of the rich man, he is obligated to alert his brothers of an impending terrifying doom. He does so without obsessing with the possibility of being belittled as to why he has landed in the awful spot in the first place. For him, social obligation offsets how...

Lazarus has been in his tomb for four days by the time Jesus arrives. Ever proactive, Martha goes out to meet him. “Lord,” she says, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” (John 11:21–22). Perhaps we sense reproach in these words. And yet Martha’s faith in Jesus is complete: Lazarus is dead, but she still believes her Lord can help. Jesus responds, “Your brother will rise again” (John 11:23). Like many first-century Jews, Martha believes in an end-time resurrection of God’s people. “I know that he will rise again,” she replies, “in the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24). But we can almost hear this grieving woman think, But what about now, Jesus? What about now? Why won’t you help me now? In this moment, Martha stands where many Christians stand when faced with suffering . We have ultimate promises: one day Jesus will return and put the world to rights. But we are much more like chil...

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) So this is our Lord Jesus — with God, as God, forever from all eternity. He is very, very great. And because he was from the beginning and because he is God, therefore, he was — in his power, in his wisdom, in his goodness — totally on the throne, totally wise, and totally good. On 9/11, in 2001, when 2,996 people in America died during those terrorist attacks, he was fully capable of controlling things, fully capable of explaining things, fully capable of putting all things right. Not only there, but also 30,000 people in Bam, Iran, just a few years later, perished in one night in an earthquake.  And not only 30,000 or 3,000, but a few years later, in 2005, 230,000 people perished in one night in the South Seas off the coast of India in that tsunami. Every day in the world, 150,000 people die. And Jesus reigns from ...

- Watch the moment pastor Alph Lukau - @AlphLukau revives a 3-day -old dead man in South Africa. pic.twitter.com/N5O6ZPcRgO — SubDeliveryZone (@SubDeliveryZone) February 25, 2019 He’s being called a modern-day Lazarus. This past Sunday,  Alph Lukau of Alleluia Ministries in South Africa  is reported to  have raised a man named Elliot from the dead . - Watch the moment pastor Alph Lukau -  @AlphLukau  revives a 3-day -old dead man in South Africa.  pic.twitter.com/N5O6ZPcRgO Elliot was carried in his coffin from a hearse to Lukau for the miracle. The supposed dead man lies in the coffin with his mouth open. With onlookers gazing, mood music playing, and fans cheering, Lukau commands the man to rise and he sits up in the coffin. The crowd goes wild. Understandably, social media has been ablaze with the event. News outlets such as  the BBC have covered it . But here’s the question: did it happen? Is Elliot, as some claim, a “modern-day Laz...

One comment that Christian pastors sometimes hear from people they are counseling is that it would be easier for them to have a strong faith if they could see God doing the same kinds of miracles today as are recorded in the Bible. The unspoken assumption is that seeing is believing—that the people who lived in Jesus' day found themselves more readily trusting Him because they could see His great works. www.hopecollege.com Such comments show the need for a closer reading of Scripture, for there are many cases where seeing great miracles didn't move observers to faith.  For example, John 11 records Jesus' raising Lazarus from the dead—a convincing sign if there ever was one. Yet the authorities took the miracle as a reason to oppose Jesus, not to believe in Him (vv. 45-53). Scripture also records occasions when even God's people experienced disbelief after seeing many miracles. Consider Joshua 7, which records what happened at Ai not long after the Israelites con...

Raising of Lazarus. Jesus calls out Lazarus from his tomb. Mary and Martha accompany Jesus. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.” John 12:2 He is to be envied. It was well to be Martha and serve, but better to be Lazarus and commune. There are times for each purpose, and each is comely in its season, but none of the trees of the garden yield such clusters as the vine of fellowship. To sit with Jesus , to hear his words, to mark his acts, and receive his smiles, was such a favor as must have made Lazarus as happy as the angels. When it has been our happy lot to feast with our Beloved in his banqueting-hall, we would not have given half a sigh for all the kingdoms of the world, if so much breath could have bought them. He is to be imitated. It would have been a strange thing if Lazarus had not been at the table where Jesus was, for he had been dead, and Jesus had raised him. For the risen one to be absent when the Lord who gave him l...

Detail of the third window of the north wall with stained glass depicting Jesus: I am the light of the world (John 8:12). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Those who gathered around the cross, on that dusty hill, could feel Jesus' raspy cry reverberate in their own dry throats: "I thirst!" These are the words of One whose vitality was almost dried up to death. Yet, in those words we witness the thoughtful tenderness of the Good Teacher as He breathes these words into Scripture for our edification (2 Tim.  3:16 –17). The words  I thirst  reveal rich truths about their speaker. Jesus Fulfilled Scripture Jesus' cry of thirst would have arrested the attention of those familiar with the Old Testament . In at least two ways, "I thirst" confirmed Jesus' promise that in Jerusalem, "Everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished" (Luke  18:31 ). First, God foretold that His Messiah would thirst. Jesus had...

What philosophers call “the problem of evil” is a family of arguments from the existence or nature of evil to the conclusion that God does not or probably does not exist. The oldest form of the argument is that the mere existence of evil is logically incompatible with God’s existence. If God exists , evil could not, and if evil exists, God could not. I call this argument the “charge of contradiction.” The claim is that there is a logical contradiction in asserting that God is all-powerful, God is all-loving, and that evil exists.  Wouldn’t this kind of God eliminate all evil? The existence of God, in this view, is on a par with a square circle. Given the existence of evil, it is impossible for God to exist. The challenge is to show that theism is logically consistent. Few today, including atheists, think this argument succeeds. If God might have a good reason to allow evil, then it is possible that both God and evil exist. We need not know what God’s actual reasons are, but i...