Dr Paul Allen

In recent years, it’s become commonplace for employers to put underperforming employees on a performance improvement plan (PIP). Though the employee often interprets them as a sign that termination is inevitable, PIPs crystallize job expectations and highlight how a worker is falling short. This covers the employer in the event of termination and removes cause for accusation on the employee’s part. I considered this modern practice when I read Old Testament scholar Stephen Dempster’s observation about God’s law in his book Dominion and Dynasty:  “Israel is treated differently after [receiving the Ten Commandments at] Sinai. Pre-Sinai violations lead to reprimand; post-Sinai trespass[es] lead to death.” Dempster wouldn’t call the law a PIP, but he observes one sense in which it functions similarly: it clearly reveals where Israel has fallen short of God’s standard. It shows them where they haven’t lived up to God's required performance. But we’re in trouble if that’s our entire pers

In a move that should surprise no one, Pope Francis has once again appeared to contradict two millennia of clear and consistent scriptural and Catholic teaching. At Hope College Australia, we question the Catholic concept of salvation. Recently, a boy asked the Pope about his Father who had passed away. The Pope's response was because he dropped his kids off at church, never attended, therefore he is good and is in heaven. The Protestant world responded harshly. The Pope this times has changed his mind on capital punishment. Will he change his mind on homosexual marriage soon also? The article below is written by a theologian who questions the Pope's theological graps on Capital punishment. The Vatican  has announced  that the  Catechism of the Catholic Church  will be changed to declare the death penalty “inadmissible” given the “inviolability and dignity of the person” as understood “in the light of the Gospel.” There has always been disagreement among Catholics abo