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Honour and shame
David McIlroy, July 2005 No comments
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Contemporary Western society suppresses the concepts of honour and shame, although they re-surface in its media in a theatre of the grotesque. Honour reinforces good behaviour through appeals to a shared morality, while shame penalises bad behaviour through disgrace and exposure. The Bible offers a different social vision, in which honour is respected through discretion, and where shame and disgrace can be dealt with through confession, reconciliation and restoration into the community.
Keywords: Lifestyle Issues, Worldviews & Culture
Globalization and the world economy - for richer or poorer, for better or worse?
Paul S Mills, March 2005 No comments
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Globalization is transforming the world for both good and ill, although it is neither new nor inevitable. It has the potential dramatically to reduce global poverty and undermine repressive regimes. But globalization challenges the viability of the nation state and homogenises diverse cultures. Its most lasting legacy could well be easing the spread of the gospel.
Keywords: Finance & the Economy
Mercy not sacrifice: Mosaic law in Christian social ethics
Jason Fletcher, December 2004 3 comments
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Rather than neglect Mosaic law, Christians have a responsibility to seek in the law given to shape the nation of Israel insight into Gods will for nations generally. This is so because Mosaic law was never intended exclusively for Israel; its ethical principles originate in the character of God and are foundational to the creation order. Moreover, Jesus does not abolish Mosaic law but authoritatively reveals its underlying ethical intent, and Paul, although critical of the misuse and powerlessness of the law, also affirms its abiding ethical authority.
Keywords: Lifestyle Issues
The moral authority of scripture
Julian Rivers, September 2004 No comments
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This paper explains the evangelical commitment to the moral authority of Scripture. After emphasising the literary diversity of Scripture and justifying the idea of moral authority, it identifies the 'judgements' of Scripture as the relevant authoritative component. It shows how these are to be constructed into a coherent ethic and it rejects the notion of ethical development after the canon has closed, on the grounds of Scripture's finality in witnessing to Christ. Finally it stresses that the point of all this lies in our individual and collective calling to put Scripture into practice.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion
Beyond scrutiny? Minorities, majorities and post-modern tyranny
Michael Ovey, June 2004 No comments
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This paper examines how two arguments, the supremacy of the majority and the amorality of power, can put some exercises of power beyond scrutiny. It revisits the idea of tyranny used by some earlier Christians and its biblical basis, and argues that an extended idea of tyranny helps analyse and appropriately resist certain contemporary claims that displace God as overlord in relation to the state, the church, the family and the individual. This ensures that such exercises of power do not escape scrutiny.
Keywords: Worldviews & Culture
Style or substance: does the reputation of the church matter?
David MacIlroy, March 2004 No comments
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The church and its members are not to be concerned about their reputation for their own sake or as an end in itself. But, they should seek to protect their reputation where the honour of God is at stake, provided doing so is consistent with the counter-cultural values of the gospel.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion
Worshipping God with technology
Denis R Alexander, December 2003 2 comments
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Technology is rooted in the creative nature of God and its appropriate use is a moral obligation in our stewardship of the earth. Technologies facilitate human actions, thereby shaping societies, and act like amplifiers of human aspirations, both good and bad.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion
The myth of secular tolerance
John Coffey, September 2003 No comments
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The resurgence of religious violence at the start of the twenty-first century has reinforced the myth of secular tolerance the notion that whereas religious believers are instinctively intolerant, tolerance comes naturally to the secular mind. This paper challenges the myth.
Keywords: Sex & Families
Gender co-operation
Michael and Auriel Schluter, June 2003 No comments
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There is much tension and unhappiness in contemporary gender relations. This was not Gods original design. Men and women were not intended to be separate or to compete but to co-operate. Gender co-operation in a fallen world can be promoted through a culture based on commitment to strong mixed-gender households and communities rather than individual rights.
Keywords: Sex & Families
Music, worship and the church
Christopher Hayward, March 2003 No comments
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Music has enormous power to engage the emotions, and the Bible resounds with praise and thanks to God through music. A rich variety of music that is in harmony with the ministry of Gods word is a significant part of the life of the church and points towards the role of music in our praise of God in heaven.
Keywords: Christianity & Religion