Dr Paul Allen

Dr Paul Twiss Christ is the Savior, and He is the Teacher. Jesus instructs me. He teaches me how to think, how to speak, and how to walk every day. When I reflect on His Word, my affection for Him grows. In part, this love is the reflex of my soul, as I see that Jesus’ Word is good. He is the Shepherd, who leads me in paths of righteousness. Christ’s instructions awaken my affections because through them I see His supremacy. I see how He reigns over all creation, and how all things hold together in Him (Col. 1:17).  As an image bearer, I was made to behold this glory. My soul longs to look upon Christ and the unity of the cosmos according to His kingship. His teaching is a roadmap towards such beauty. Thus, as God’s Word instructs me, I love Jesus the Teacher. UNDERSTANDING THE SKILL OF LEARNING Some of my favourite memories include my greatest teachers. I am indebted to these people. Interestingly, I do not always find the same affection when I think about other figures in my chil...

A recent public debate between British Muslim polemicist Zakir Hussain and American Christian author Michael Brown helpfully illustrates the two most common Islamic approaches to the Bible. On the one hand, Muslims often argue that the Bible predicts the coming of Muhammad. On the other hand, they will often undermine the Bible’s accuracy and authority. For example, Hussain claimed Moses’s mention in Deuteronomy 18:15 of a future prophet to come was a prophecy about Muhammad. But when Brown carefully demonstrated that according to the verse, the prophet would need to come from Israel (“A prophet like me from among your own people,” NRSV), the debate shifted.  At that point, Hussain asserted the Masoretic Text had added the Hebrew word for “from your midst” to the verse, even specifying that the word wasn’t to be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The debate, accessible on Brown’s YouTube channel, points to the remarkable efforts some Muslims make to search the Bible’s text for claims a...