Dr Paul Allen

Scott Harrower When I first met Marcel, he was slowly rubbing the side of his head, a small figure sitting alone at the back of our church. Tears streamed from his eyes as he told me the sermon had moved him. Over the next few weeks, I began to get to know Marcel, his dog Winkie, and his dislike of loud noises. Having been a nurse for a decade before I became a pastor, I slowly came to understand that Marcel was suffering from severe depression and anxiety. One day, he asked if I could help him stop feeling so “worthless and nervous.” I was faced with how to best care for Marcel. Should I refer Marcel to healthcare professionals and basically leave his mental health issues to them to care for? Or would it be best to care for his mental illness within the church community alone? Or could we develop a hybrid approach: a therapeutic model whereby our pastoral team and the wider church played a vital role within a more extensive professional approach to his care? What would it look like if...

Atheist materialists assert — with no evidence — that matter is all there is. Since this is not true or certainly cannot be proven to be true, it would lead like all other semi-demi-hemi-truths to cul-de-sacs and trouble. For example, if the matter is all that exists anywhere, then although human beings have brains, they do not have minds. This is a crucial distinction. Materialists say there is a squishy wet piece of pink-gray matter inside our skulls and that is who we are. So when you die and it rots, there is no you left. There is no mind or soul apart from that mushy computer in your skull. This is conceivably true, but there is much evidence to the contrary, and it is certain that no one can prove it is true. Materialists — and of course atheists, who are materialists — know that the concept of Mind contradicts their belief that there is nothing transcendent, nothing beyond the material. So any hint that there is anything beyond our mere organic brains is out of bounds and too...

Cover of Think About These Things Our bodies follow our minds. This is the consistent witness of Scripture, which always places mind before body. Throughout his life, the Christian is to be renewing his mind by the Word of God , to take it into captivity and bring it into conformity. As he does this, his words and his deeds, and even his thoughts , will necessarily follow. If there is any area where we let our bodies dictate our thoughts and our actions, it is here in the context of sexual purity , in those times when the body seems to cry out in dissatisfaction. When we wallow in sexual sin, we fill our minds with what is impure, as if Philippians 4 commands us to think about whatever is false, whatever is deplorable, whatever is unfair, whatever is impure, whatever is ugly, whatever is critical, if there is any depravity, if there is anything worthy of rebuke, we think about these things . And, not surprisingly, our bodies follow our minds. It is so much better to heed and to...

Image via Wikipedia Christians need to unapologetically think about thinking Most human beings never take the time to think about thinking. The Christian, however, is called to be different: we must perpetually and unapologetically think about thinking. This need is essential because how we think affects how we act. A Christian's faithfullness depends upon them thinking faithfully. In addition, Christians are called to understand not only how  they  think, but also the mind of the age. As we desperately seek to communicate the gospel to our age, we need to have an understanding of how they think. The knowledge crisis is ancient The crisis in how man thinks isn't new. Genesis 3 comes not only with cosmic consequences, but brought about a massive change in human thinking. Dr. Mohler read and spoke on Romans 1:18-32 and commented that all humans are involved in a "conspiracy," a conspiracy to suppress the truth. As Christians, we need to recognize that we are only s...

"To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace . Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." ( Romans 8:6-7 )   This passage defines for us both the carnal mind and the spiritual mind, not with formal definitions, but by giving equivalent terms.   First, the carnal mind is identified as being "enmity against God" ( v. 7 ), a rampant disregard for God’s law. Furthermore, the carnal mind is equated with death, specifically eternal, spiritual death . A physically living person may have a carnal mind, bringing with it a spiritual deadness and eternal doom. This also serves us as a working definition of death--being hostile toward God, or minding the things of the flesh . "So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" ( vv. 8-9 ).   Next, we see that the sp...

Image via Wikipedia As children we played games drawn from the scenario of war. When a friend approached we pretended that we were sentries. The dialogue was simple: "Halt! Who goes there? Friend or foe?"  Our categories left no room for indifferent neutrality. They were restricted to two options, friend or enemy. Those are the only options we have in our relationship with God . No one is neutral. We are either God's friends or God's enemies. Jonathan Edwards once preached a sermon titled, "Man, Naturally God's Enemies." In this sermon Edwards declared: "Men, in general, will own that they are sinners. There are few, if any, whose consciences are so blinded as not to be sensible they have been guilty of sin . . . And yet few of them are sensible that they are God's enemies. They do not see how they can be truly so called; for they are not sensible that they wish God any hurt, or endeavor to do Him any." Yet despite human protesta...