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Showing posts with the label Phillip Jensen

Did God make me this way?

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Onion Skin ID (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) [This post is courtesy of Phillip Jensen , Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney .] The nature/nurture debate is as endless as the determinist/freedom dispute. The safe position to adopt combines both nature and nurture. Yet that doesn’t end the debate; it simply moves the discussion onto the character of the combination. Scientific research will not bring a resolution. Not simply because the question is large and complex and the research is narrow and detailed, but because the reason for the debate is the implications of its outcomes. The ‘nature people’ have a desire to demonstrate that behaviour, especially bad behaviour, is nobody’s fault because it is inbuilt into our very being. Chauvinists use this reasoning to argue for inherited sexual differences that will excuse their behaviour towards women, just as much as homosexuals use it to justify their behaviour towards men. The ‘nurture people’ are the cultural relativists who de

How does God want Christians to live?

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By the number of books you find under the subject-header “Christian Living,” we can either assume that there’s a lot to say on the topic or that Christians still have no idea what their life is really all about. This confusion is nothing new. Many Christians in the 3rd and 4th centuries thought that moving to monasteries in the desert was a step forward in the Christian life and ministry. But what would today’s evangelicals say is the the point of the Christian life? Confusion on Christian Life and Ministry Some would say the Christian life is about spiritual disciplines. Read your Bible daily and through the year, subscribe to a devotional magazine, keep a current prayer journal, and ensure that it’s all consistent and organized. You observe this among Christians who measure spiritual maturity by the consistency of their “quiet time” and who’ll address any sin or spiritual malady with “You need to read your Bible more.” Often, you’ll notice a discrete ambivalence to the public serv