Dr Paul Allen

The hours and days following the  horrifying murder and arson  at a Latter-day Saints church service in Michigan were not the time to parse theological identities. However, many used the tragedy as an opportunity to offer their answer to a question that has grown in importance and controversy in recent years: “Are Mormons truly Christian?”   Pew Research  lists Latter-day Saints among “All Christians,” along with Protestants, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Mormons not only call themselves Christian, it’s in their name, “ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .”  However, to borrow from Shakespeare, naming a flower a rose doesn’t make it smell just as sweet. Though Mormonism uses similar concepts and terms as Christianity, what is meant is often very different from what Christianity teaches. As  Lukus Counterman  put it at The Gospel Coalition, “While both Mormons and historic Christians believe in ‘Jesus Christ,...

In chapter 17 of the first book of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin expresses his delight in this passage written by the fourth-century Cappadocian church father Gregory of Nazianzus. Specifically, Calvin points to the following sentence: “No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the Splendour of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the One.” Why does John Calvin find joy in these words? Calvin understands that contemplating our triune God exposes us to a truth that surpasses our total comprehension. He knew that to avoid error in our thoughts and words about God, we must be careful. Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 329–390) was one of the greatest theologians of the early church. He was instrumental in the resolution of the fourth-century Trinitarian crisis that engulfed the church. Certain of his writings, particularly Orations 20, 23, 25 and the five theological orations (27–31), are foundational works in the history of T...

Transgenderism is such a new concept that the 1973 Oxford English Dictionary that sits open on my desk has no entry. According to etymonline.com, the word came into existence in 1974 as an adjective referring to “persons whose sense of personal identity does not correspond with their anatomical sex.” This word combines two older words. The first is “trans,” derived from part of a Latin verb that means to bring across or over, to transfer, cause to cross, extend across, or convert.  The second is “gender,” derived from the French word for genre and the Latin word for genus, meaning kind, sort, or class. “Transgendered” became “transgender” after 2015 to indicate the new idea: that transgenderism is ontological, or something true of a person’s very essence.  Today, the psychological condition where a person feels like their personal identity does not match their anatomical sex is called gender dysphoria. And there is a strong push in our culture to agree with the transgendered m...

Orthodoxy means the right doctrine or belief. In one essential sense, it is critical to salvation. Although we are saved entirely by the grace of God, not based on the correctness of our thinking, the right views of God promote wonder, reverence, and love. Moreover, for future generations to believe in Christ, we must guard the gospel, without which no one can be saved (2 Tim. 1:14).  Hosea bemoaned the fact that “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6). Israel’s idolatry had affected its whole national existence. False worship bred sinful practice. God is faithful; allegiance to him requires attention to what is true and right. Ideas have consequences.  Truth is healthy for both body and soul (1 Tim. 6:3). Worship is to be in truth, which is embodied in Jesus Christ (John 4:21–24; cf. John 1:9, 14, 17–18; John 14:6). True biblical orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy (right practice), which should promote healthy living and relationships. Not All Orthodox Doctrine ...

The October 7 Terrorist Attack Early on Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists broke through fencing along the Gaza/Israel border. While in Israel, Hamas terrorists murdered, raped, assaulted, and kidnapped Israeli men, women, and children. It should be noted that Hamas launched the terrorist invasion during a religiously significant time for the Jewish people, which was during the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) at the end of a Jewish festival (Sukkot). We deliberately use the word “terrorist” to identify those who invaded Israel because they are, by definition, terrorists. A “terrorist” is defined as  “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” That is precisely what Hamas did on October 7. They used unlawful violence and intimidation against civilians to achieve their desired political ends: the destruction of the State of Israel. This is absolutely undeniable. A call for the extermination of the J...

By Matt Smethurst Let’s face it: the word “gospel” gets thrown around somewhat loosely in Christian conversation today—so much so that its weighty meaning can get lost, or at least muffled. To grasp the good news of the gospel, then, we must first internalize the significance of the word “news.” This is, after all, what separates Christianity from every other religion. Christianity isn’t, fundamentally, good advice. It’s an announcement of good news. You don’t need to go to seminary to grasp the gospel. You don’t need to be in ministry to grasp the gospel. You don’t even need to have been a Christian for five minutes in order to grasp the gospel well enough to convey it to others. All you need to understand is that 2,000 years ago, an invasion took place. Heaven came to earth in the person of Jesus, and he inaugurated a new kingdom. For 33 years, he lived a life of unflinching, perfect faithfulness to God the Father. He lived the life that, try as we might, we cannot live. And because ...

We are living in a time when nothing is true and when everything is true. Our current cultural mindset says that nothing is ultimately true. There is no absolute truth or objective reality. There is nothing to be known as it is because there is no such thing as knowledge. There are only perspectives, interpretations, experiences, feelings, and opinions. To claim that something is objectively true is in one sense the greatest heresy of our society’s preferred religion, which places self at the centre of the universe. But on the other hand, because nothing is objectively true, everything is true. Truth has been detached from objective reality, from what is, and now it simply is an expression of what one feels. And so whatever you feel is defined as your truth. This worldview has made its way into every form of media, into our educational institutions, into politics, into religion, into sports, and literally into every corner of our society. People can make the most outlandish claims, and...

Dear Friend, Two thousand years ago, the Roman world suffered many of the same challenges we encounter today – oppression, racial hatred, lies, bitter divisions, and wrongs. Into that culture stepped the most amazing thing imaginable: the Creator of the universe. If you’re unfamiliar with Christianity, the story of the baby Jesus may seem sentimental and perhaps no more real than Santa Claus. But the Gospel of John tells the story from the cosmic perspective. He calls Jesus the “Logos”, the living Word: In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, which was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gave light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own...

Sinners rescued from the road to hell love to rehearse and celebrate the mercy of God. Where would we be today without mercy? Where would we be  for eternity  without mercy? Without mercy, we would be dead in our sin, a death worse than death. Mercy called us from the tomb. Mercy lifted us out of the pit. Mercy opened our blind eyes. Mercy gifted us with faith, repentance, and joy. We deserved every possible ounce of rejection, punishment, wrath, but God gave forgiveness, love, and life instead. All that we have, we have by the mercy of God. Is there any other god, in all the religious imaginations on earth, who deals so gently and compassionately with sinners? “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,” Jesus says, “for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” ( Matthew 11:29 ). Knowing how we’ve treated him, all the endless ways we’ve each ignored and insulted him, he has every righteous reason to be severe and merciless, but he’s gentle with us...