Dr Paul Allen

Tom Gilson.  It’s always been there. It’s in one of the most famous passages in the Bible. Why hadn’t I seen it before? I had one of those moments this morning, reflecting on Alistair Begg’s message last Sunday in which he explained his advice to a grandmother that she attend her granddaughter’s same-sex wedding. He’s been blasted for it, sometimes far beyond what he deserves, for example, in a blistering condemnation The Christian Post responded to in an opinion piece. (More on that below.) Begg is one of just three pastors I’ve put on my podcast listening list, other than friends of mine who are pastors. I put him there because I consider him one of the three best. I love his commitment to the love and truth of God and his wise teaching of the Scriptures. I’ve never known anything to complain about except the beef I have with every speaker from Scotland or Ireland: His accent gives him an unfair advantage over the rest of us who speak and teach. (Yes, it’s a joke.) So I was sligh...

Recently, the option of living together, rather than moving into a formal marriage contract, has proliferated in our culture let alone fake marriage that homosexuals pursue. Christians must be careful not to establish their precepts of marriage (or any other ethical dimension of life) on the basis of contemporary community standards. The Christian's conscience is to be governed not merely by what is socially acceptable or even by what is legal according to the law of the land, but rather by what God sanctions. Unfortunately, some Christians have rejected the legal and formal aspects of marriage, arguing that marriage is a matter of private and individual commitment between two people and has no legal or formal requirements. These view marriage as a matter of individual private decision apart from the external ceremony. The question most frequently asked of clergymen on this matter reflects the so-called freedom in Christ: "Why do we have to sign a piece of paper to ...