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Worship (Exodus 25-29) Israel’s first formal act of worship and thanksgiving is to donate the materials for the construction of a sanctuary – the Tabernacle. It is truly amazing that the Creator of the universe should condescend to ‘live’ in a man-made structure. It isn’t that God needs a...

What other way is there of showing faith? If you walk in the Spirit, you can't help but do 'good works'.

Your third premise is an assertion. How do we know that it is true?

For us, to say that Jesus was human is stating the obvious. So why should Paul bother putting it in? Because the early Christians had relatively little difficulty with the idea that Jesus was God; but some of them struggled with the concept of God becoming man.

Obedience (Exodus 19) After two months of travelling, the Israelites finally reach their primary destination: Mount Sinai. They have come far to the south of the Promised Land, but this is no detour. Their salvation is complete and unconditional; but in order to enjoy their new relationship...

Facing the enemy (Exodus 17:8-16) At Rephidim, Israel have their first encounter with an enemy since escaping from Egypt. The Amalekites, a nomadic tribe of Edomite descent who roam the Sinai peninsula, harass the Israelite caravan, attacking the stragglers (Deuteronomy 25:18). At the Red Sea...

Food and drink (Exodus 16 & 17) After a month on the march, all the provisions the Israelites have brought with them are exhausted and hunger begins to bite. And in no time they are looking back with nostalgia at the ‘good old days’ of slavery! Our memories are notoriously selective: they have...

Testing (Exodus 15:22-27) Full of joy and praise after their miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea, the Israelites march on - straight into the desert. As they trudge through the hot thirsty wilderness, their enthusiasm steadily evaporates. Eventually they reach an oasis, but their hopes are...

Baptism (Exodus 14) As they march eastwards, the Israelites are confident and cheerful, believing that all their problems are over and unaware that they are being pursued. For even after the near-destruction of his country and people, Pharaoh’s heart is unchanged! He will not relinquish his...

Redemption (Exodus 12) This is where the journey begins: in Egypt. Israel is enslaved (and has been for generations). They are completely unable to save themselves; God has to send Moses to force Pharaoh to let them go. The preceding few months have seen a trial of strength - not between...

No that's not the 'only' way. It isn't necessary to introduce any genetic material from outside; we know that new mutations are arising all the time within the human race. But even if you were right, why should the 'Caucasians' be the 'pure-blooded' ones (as Angelina has pointed out)? It's...

(3) Winning the prize II Timothy 4:7,8 When the Bible promises that we shall wear crowns, it doesn’t mean royal crowns but victory crowns - like the laurel wreaths that the winners in the ancient Greek games were presented with. Our modern trophies are slightly longer-lasting, but still only...

Why? Why can't 'Mongoloids' and 'Negroids' also be descended from Adam and Eve? In Acts 17:26, Paul says, "From one man God made all the nations." Not just 'Caucasians'. (The idea of a 'Caucasian' race was never based on science anyway, but I'll go with your terminology for now) Single...

(2) Running the race Hebrews 12:1-3 The Christian life is a race, not a stroll in the sunset! And for most of us it isn’t a short sprint, but a marathon. You may have noticed that the course for a marathon, being run on ordinary roads, is marked by a painted line. For a long time I assumed...

On the one hand, the Catholic church claims to be the one and only authority. On the other there are people claiming that it is heretical (or worse). (And there are other less extreme points of view) How am I to choose between these competing claims without exercising my own judgement? How do...

Hi Tom Wikipedia (admittedly not a final authority on such matters but my easiest source of information) says this on the subject of priestly celibacy: I am aware that exceptions are sometimes made for married priests who convert to Catholicism, but that's what they are: rare exceptions. How...

Do you expect me to take fright at the word 'tradition'? We all follow tradition to some extent. Jesus followed Jewish traditions. But He made it quite clear that tradition must be subordinate to what 'is written' (Mark 7:1-13).

I see. The problem is not that I can't define Christianity but that my definition isn't the 'right' one. I don't think we are going to get any further on this. So have I. However, at least you know where I'm not coming from... So all they did was to repeat exactly what was in the letter...

But neither can you. If we do not agree on the authority of the creeds, what can we agree on? It will be impossible even to discuss the subject. What do you think sola scriptura actually means? Not that Scripture is the only authority but that it is the final authority. You are also forgetting...

Indeed we do seem to end up with a circular argument. We can choose whatever definition of Christianity we like, to exclude anyone we want to. What would yours be?