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Sure, we’ve each got to preach whatever we see fit. But if I were you, I’d get really concerned about Matthew 7:1-2: “Stop judging, so that you won’t be judged, 2 because the way that you judge others will be the way that you will be judged, and you will be evaluated by the standard with which...

Well, you may have a point here. Then again these people might also consider the possibility of being lost themselves. Who knows? Seemingly you find it very hard to tell the difference between Mosaic law and the “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21), which is called the “royal law” and the...

Point A was me feeling the smug need to correct your misunderstanding that the OT teaches the kind of proverbial fire and brimstone that you seem to want to preach. However angry its prophets could get, the authors of the OT did not have any notions of hell yet, let alone our notion of "family...

H. Richard, I can’t say I’ve read the entire forum, but in this thread at least, I haven’t seen anybody claiming they are sinless. Nor have I seen anybody claiming that helping an old Lady across the street etc. will get them any bonus points for a ticket to heaven. I’m not quite sure how well...

It’s quite common for writings of antiquity to be either lost either entirely or to only to be known in tiny snippets that other authors quoted. So I would strongly suppose that Paul wrote more letters that we now no longer have. We’ve got Biblical hints for four lost Pauline epistles, but...

I hope you did not get the impression that I’m anti-Catholic. Quite the contrary: some of the best Christians I know are devout Catholics. My point was that it is highly unlikely that you got many of your ideas on morals, hell and purgatory from the Old Testament. It’s the part of the Bible...

With all due respect to any given religion's consecrated places of worship: ​ “This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me?” (Isaiah 66:1a) “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and...

Erm, the OT was actually rather mild on some of the vices you listed, in parts it even could be seen as encouraging some of them. But it does of course also tell us to speak out for the oppressed and to care for the weak and poor, to love our neighbor and to reach out to our enemies. Those are...

Sorry, but it seems you are not at all familiar with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the late Pope John Paul II’s favourite theologians was Hans Urs von Balthasar, a notorious universalist. I’m not saying Catholics must be universalist, but they certainly can be. And if you...

Well, I grew up in like the only Protestant family in a very very Catholic little village. I went to a Protestant Sunday school and to a Catholic Primary school – thanks to my very ecumenically inclined parents, including lessons in Catholic religion. So I could probably still get through a...

Thank you for this post. My own background is Lutheran/Reformed/United and I know very little about Wesley. But from the little I know it seems to me he was a very inspired man. You’re so right: having fellowship and living one’s faith amongst brothers and sisters is really important! “For...

Now this may go a bit off topic, but I beg to disagree with some of your statements. I’m neither a 1th century Jewish Christian, nor a 1th century gentile Christian living in Ephesus, Galatia or Rome. Nor were those 4th century Christians who finally decided on the Canon that we now have. But...

Well, I think I kind of see your issue here. If a belief in “Once saved Always Saved” makes people think that they can do whatever they want with no concern for God and neighbour, because they’re saved anyway, so “who cares?”, that would indeed contribute to the world being in a rather bad...

No, I’m well aware that it is an idea that became quite popular in recent years, especially among American evangelicals. Take a closer look: All that Rev. 20:4 says is that “the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus” reign with Christ 1000 years. That isn’t the same...

I know the feeling. There are just too many interesting books out there and too little time to read them all. And they keep piling up! Anyway, since you asked, here’s a little taster from the one I just recommended: “The cross is laid on every Christian. (…) When Christ calls a man, he bids...

You may have already read this, but in case you have not come across it yet, I strongly recommend Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship”.

As for your idea of the 1000 reign: we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that one. Like most Christians I stick to amillennialism, but going into that would drive us completely off topic. As for the topic at hand: Concerning Jeremiah I’m afraid it is you who got the context wrong. He...

That is to say, if a certain interpretation of the Bible has it right that claims that whoever is not Christian inevitably goes to hell. But if my interpretation of the Parable of the Goats and Sheep (Mt. 25:31-46) has it right, then Muhammed Ali may well be absolutely fine right now. It’s not...

Of course I can only speak for myself. And the Bible tells me that God’s wrath does not last forever (Psalm 103:9-10). Instead it says: ““I’ll put my Law within them and will write it on their hearts. I’ll be their God and they will be my people. No longer will a person teach his neighbour or...

Think of me as an heretic if you like, but for as long as you pray the Nicene Creed I won’t return the compliment. Over here in Europe the term has a bit of a medieval ring to it and is not exactly associated with Christianity’s finest hours. The same goes for preaching fire and brimstone. As...