thoughts out !oud

a Christian’s news, views, opinions and occasional poetry …

Heathens, heaven and hell

[The writing of this article owes itself to the inspiring and thought-provoking post, and ensuing comments discussion, The 'Innocent' Heathen? over at Duane's Mind. Be sure to check out the comments related to his post!]

You would agree that all human knowledge is finite - we can’t know everything. (I mean that as a statement - I doubt anyone could say with absolute certainty that this is incorrect.) You would also agree, based on a traditional interpretation of the Bible, that Christianity teaches the following: God is Holy; mankind is sinful; mankind is destined for Hell; God, by His Graciousness, provides a remedy for mankind’s destination; Jesus, alone, is that remedy; those that acknowledge Jesus are redeemed; the redeemed are taken into God’s Holiness in Heaven; those… Continue reading Heathens, heaven and hell

Apple stores - like heaven?

So I’m a bit of a self-confessed Apple-freak. No, no - not the Granny Smith kind, the iPod kind (actually, the Macintosh kind). It’s something I blame my brother-in-law for. Well in truth, it’s something that I’m thankful to my brother-in-law for … my last Windows PC was a nightmare that I’m happy to forget. But I digress … on with the post.

On June 19, Sydney will take the honour of the first city in Australia to become home to the country’s first bona-fide, ridgy-didge, Apple run-and-operated Apple retail store. It’s what geeks like me in Australia have been looking forward to … for too long, we’ve been the poor second cousin (and still are!) in terms of speedy access to all the new fab… Continue reading Apple stores - like heaven?

What’s your ‘christian’ flava?, or ‘Why Christian Creeds are important’

Stemming from a recent online forum debate I was involved in, one of the queries leveled at me was along the lines of: what variant of Christianity do I subscribe to?

Initially, I found this to be a curious question. For to me, Christianity is Christianity - how can truth be varied? But there is an important lesson within this question for those of us Christians who aspire to share and argue for the truth of the Gospel. And the lesson stems from the fact that, to the unbeliever, to ask what ‘variant’ of Christianity you adhere to reveals that the face of Christianity is obscured or blurred at the best of times.

This reminds me of a story of a traveling Christian businessman. One weekend, when… Continue reading What's your 'christian' flava?, or 'Why Christian Creeds are important'

5 signs that (and 1 reason why) you’re self-righteous

Many non-Christians will label Christians as being an overtly self-righteous bunch. Is there truth to this claim? Well … yes. A lot of truth, actually.

The dictionary says this about self-righteousness:

convinced of one’s own righteousness especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others : narrow-mindedly moralistic.

There’s a common theme going on here. See if you can pick it before you reach the concluding remarks at the bottom of the post. Here’s my brief 5 signs that (and 1 reason why) you’re self-righteous:

#1. Denial
When faced with the charge of being self-righteous, you immediately defend yourself. In your defense, you will typically throw back reasons as to why you are righteous and not self-righteous.

#2. Everyone else is substandard
You’re the king. You are… Continue reading 5 signs that (and 1 reason why) you're self-righteous

Not so much a ‘handout’ but a ‘handup’

Some time back I was involved in a discussion about Jesus’ redemptive work. My chief point was essentially that there is nothing that we can do in order to please God by our own efforts. We are so decrepit and sinful by nature and by choice that we cannot help but sin and, therefore, can never hope to reach the purity of God’s standard. Enter Jesus into human history - God’s plan to set the record straight: acknowledge your sin, trust in Jesus (and let him take our punishment in our place) and obtain redemption.

The person I was discussing this with surprised me with his response. He said, in more or less these words: if the only way to be accepted by God is… Continue reading Not so much a 'handout' but a 'handup'

setting up shop …

Well! I am Mr Procrastination. Of that, there is no doubt. I don’t know how long I’ve been thinking of putting a blog together, but it has been a long, long while. (You ever heard of that live-in relative, Mr Excuses? Yeah, well, he’s been a bunk-buddy of mine for longer than I care to admit. I’m drafting my eviction notice to him at the moment.) I suppose the biggest hurdle for me in launching myself into the blogosphere is having something - a theme, a purpose - to blog about; I think I may have found something Continue reading setting up shop ...