Top 10 theology stories this year

Collin Hansen offers his top 10 theology stories of 2011 here. Agree or disagree with his selection, and assessment, you're bound to find it an interesting read.

Helpless

'Lying helpless as a baby
Just think of it; the Son of God, Jesus, the one through whom all things were made, the Word that is in the bosom of the Father, the Word that was God from the beginning, the eternal absolute Son enjoying all the full prerogatives of deity from everlasting to everlasting – lying helpless as a baby in a manger. And all that you and I might be saved and reconciled to God.'

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

(Fellowship with God)

For similar reflections from Edwards, Spurgeon and Sam Storms, see this post from last year:

The Glorious Paradoxes of the Incarnation

Christmas?

Personal Update 15 December 2011

This weeks MRI scan results showed no change. Obviously we would have liked the remnants of the tumour to have disappeared entirely, but the medical staff expected no change and essentially it means there is no cause for concern.

My bloods were a little lower than we would like again, but I have been able to proceed with the same dosage of chemotherapy and the same timescale. This means I'll be off chemo for Christmas and the New Year which, needless to say, we're delighted about.

Thanks for your continued love, support and prayers

Ross

The ‘God Particle’?

A Higgs Boson walks into a chapel and is stopped by a priest.

The priest says 'Hey, you're not welcome here. You call yourself the 'God' particle and that’s blasphemous.'

The Higgs Boson protests 'But without me, how could you have mass?'

The nickname of this (potentially) newly discovered particle is unfortunate. I believe it’s been called the ‘God- particle’ because -like God- it is present everywhere, and whilst it cannot be seen, its effects can. The problem is people seem to be assuming from the name that it in some way threatens theism. Not so. To put it in the most simple terms possible, if the universe was created by a big bang- where did the stuff to go bang come from? Even leaving aside questions of meaning, purpose, beauty, good and evil which science cannot answer, the Higgs Boson offers no threat to Christianity that I can see.

I don’t believe Christians have anything to fear from science, every new discovery (whilst provisional) ought to make us marvel all the more at the Creator of this unimaginably complex and beautiful universe.

The Good Book Blog echoes some of these thoughts here:

‘Why the God Particle needs Renaming’

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Same-sex marriage consultation: some thoughts & resources

I don’t expect a world hostile to God to live under Christ’s Lordship. This being the case, I’ve always chosen to make my primary battleground the fight to see the church acknowledge the Lordship of Christ in belief and in practice, and to call the world to repentance and faith in Him. Even if the world’s understanding of morality and sexuality was in relative accord with the Bible’s, it would not change the fact that those who reject Jesus, will ultimately face God’s rejection and judgement. 'The work of God is to believe in the one he sent' (John 6:29). Therefore if I’m honest I get much more hot under the collar about those within the church who seek to deny clear biblical teaching they regard as unpalatable.

Nevertheless I do believe we are called to be salt and light, to love our communities and seek the best for them. I don’t believe redefining marriage will help our society. And it is a redefinition of marriage that is being proposed. Our laws recognise marriage, but they did not invent it, nor should they have the authority to redefine it.

Undoubtedly we’ll be misunderstood and maligned, but if we love our nation we will, graciously but clearly, state our convictions on marriage at this time.

The Scottish Government Consultation on the Registration of Civil Partnerships, Same Sex Marriage and Related Issues ends on Thursday 9 December. You can still complete the consultation online here (click on 'online response form').

It is a complex document, if you want help from a Christian perspective the following briefings are available:

Consultation Guides: 

Care for Scotland (contains advice on every consultation question)

Evangelical Alliance (general reflection on the consultation)

See also:

Solas CPC Response to the Consultation 

Scotland for Marriage Campaign and Petition

Baptist Union of Scotland Resolution on Marriage