Dr Paul Allen

I can still remember watching an interview years ago where Oprah Winfrey asked Tom Cruise about his controversial religion of Scientology. Cruise’s faith had come under fire due to recent events, and Oprah was pressing him pretty hard about what he really believed.  After a few testy exchanges, Oprah finally got to the nub of the matter: “So Scientologists don’t believe their way is the only way?”  With this one solitary question—which was obviously   the   question—the tone of the interview shifted dramatically. Whatever other things Cruise might believe, surely he couldn’t believe his religion was the only right one. Who could ever have the audacity to believe   that ? Not surprisingly, Cruise alleviated Oprah’s fears: “No. We’re here to help. It’s not like you’ve got to believe this . . . [that] you must believe what I believe.”  After a deep exhale, the interview then continued on with a more gentle, friendly tone.  As I watched this exchange play out, I pondered what might have ha

Most people think that sinning is the best way to happiness. Otherwise, why would so many spend their days figuring out how to sin bigger and better? However, sin is the greatest enemy to our happiness, as the  Puritan Ralph Venning  convincingly demonstrated many years ago. His teaching is summarized below, but his aim in it all was to show that sin is directly “against man ’s good, both present and future, here in time and hereafter to eternity, in this life and world which now is and in that to come. It is against all and every good of man, and against the good of all and every man.” 1. It is against God and therefore against ourselves . Sin is our enemy because it is against God, and separates us from God, who is our greatest good and joy. 2. It is against the good of our body . It has corrupted our blood, made our bodies mortal, rendered us liable to and thereby vile. Before this body is laid in the grave, it is languishing, in a continual consumption, and dying daily, b