Dr Paul Allen

In Genesis 6:1–4, the reader encounters one of the most challenging passages in all of Scripture to interpret. Here’s the passage in the ESV. When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came into the daughters of man, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. Echoes from Genesis 1–3 People multiplying is an echo of Genesis 1. God made “man” (Gen 1:26–27), and then he commissioned his image-bearers to be fruitful and “multiply” (1:28). In 6:1, we read of this multiplication happening. The reference to God as “Spirit” in Genesis 6:3 reminds us of 1:2, the second verse in the Bible. There, th

I can’t say I ever expected to discuss the theological implications of a movie based on Barbie dolls. And yet, Barbie is dominating headlines, not only for bringing in a whopping 155 million dollars on its opening weekend but also for garnering thought pieces on the deeper meaning of its plot and for its cultural implications about the identity and value of women. A Vox article, for example, compared its plot to the biblical account of the Garden of Eden, with a primal couple living in a paradise before newly discovered knowledge about good and evil taints the world with corruption. Whether or not director Greta Gerwig intended that particular angle, her Barbie not only engages with contemporary discussions about feminism but also the biggest of worldview questions, such as “What’s the meaning of life?” “What has gone wrong with the world?” and “What will fix the world?”  In the process, Barbie tells a story of the world that, beneath its shiny colours and self-aware snark, more closel

Who was Haggai? Haggai 1:1–2:23 Little is known of Haggai other than he was a prophet raised up by God shortly after the remnant returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel, the account of which is recorded in Ezra. Haggai was obviously a man in touch with God and was therefore entrusted with divine communication for the people of his day. His ministry came with power, and arrested his generation, seeing them stirred-up to make adjustments. At the time of the return, great optimism for better days existed among the people of God. The quest for prosperity had resulted in a number of industrial initiatives being taken, which occupied the time and energy of the people but brought dismal results. In all of these material disappointments the people failed to take time to consider the reasons for this lack of success.  At this point Haggai is introduced on the scene and speaks with the ultimate authority; ‘thus saith the Lord of Hosts; Consider your ways’. The reason for all their labours being f

  John Wesley is quoted as having said: “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the triune God.”  A clever statement indeed, but just as every analogy of the Trinity that has ever been offered breaks down under scrutiny, so Wesley’s analogy of a worm’s comprehension of man compared to our comprehension of God breaks down as well.  First of all, worms are not made in the image of man.  Secondly, worms have not been given special revelation from man, and, what is more, no man ever became a worm, even though at times our wives may be led to think otherwise. We were made in the image of our triune God with minds carefully crafted by God to understand certain things about God.  Our Creator then provided us with certain information about Himself through His revelation to us. As a result, we have been given the ability and the knowledge to understand all that God has intended for us to comprehend—and such comprehension comes only through

When it comes to understanding what it means to be a man or a woman, we live in a confused and confusing time. Distinctions that were obvious to previous generations are no longer so clear. The reasons for this confusion are complex, and addressing the question requires not only wisdom but also courage. When faced with confusion, our first goal is to bring clarity. We ought to attempt to make careful, biblical distinctions in order to better understand the lay of the land. When it comes to discussions of manhood and womanhood, I’ve found it helpful to think in terms of three intersecting types of authority: nature, Scripture, and culture. Three Witnesses to God’s Design Nature refers to God’s design and purpose embedded in the creatures and world that he has made. It includes the fundamental relations that each of us has by virtue of being made in God’s image. Each of us is a son (and therefore a potential father) or a daughter (and therefore a potential mother). Additionally, because

How can Jesus be both - God and Human - in one individual at the same time?” Because this is so mysterious, so hard to understand, many have denied it and concluded that either Jesus was God or he was human, but not both. The Joining of Two Natures in One Person The taking on of humanity is called the incarnation . The eternal Son of God , the second person of the Trinity , took humanity upon himself, in addition to his deity, and became, forever, fully God and fully human. The means of the incarnation was the virgin birth of Jesus . Mary became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit , and she gave birth both to someone who had always been—the Son of God—and to a facet of him that was entirely new—the God-man, Jesus.  This was foretold in the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14,  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.” Matthew quoted this verse and understood the fulfillment to be in Jesus (Matthew 1:22–23). John wrote, “The Word [Christ] became flesh and mad

But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” [Rom. 9:20] The Bible tells us that humanity is a creation. How ironic, then, that we humans so fervently deny and resist the idea of being creatures. Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the garden by deceiving them into rejecting the limitations of creaturehood. They thought they could be gods. The atheistic German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said that lust for power differentiates humans from all other creatures. People cannot stand the fact that they are creatures. Do you have trouble with authority? With humility? We have these problems because we want to be gods. We do not want to concede our dependence on anything or anyone else, and we do not want to be subordinate. Jesus Christ saves us from sin and makes us new creations, but he does not make us gods; even if he did make us gods we would be created gods, thus still creatures. There is a massive qua