"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1.27 Sometime we get so hung up on influencing our culture with faith in Jesus that we fail to realise how culture has already shaped the way we conceive of that faith! In its wider meaning, culture embraces every man-made addition to the basic elements of creation. So, in addition to art and music (what people often think of as culture), everything from la

"No one can serve two masters..." Matthew 6.24 In 'Christ and Culture', American theologian H Richard Niebuhr defines culture as "the artificial, secondary environment" which humankind imposes on the natural order which God has created. So it's not just music and art but includes animal husbandry, land-use, industrialisation, language, satellites and so on... And this cultural baggage is as much part of the heritage we are born with as is the genetic code which determines our

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1.1 Unquestioning faith can lead one up some blind alleys. For example, consider the notion that God is perfect. That implies that he cannot improve in any way and therefore he cannot change: "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13.8) But that would imply God is impervious to all imperatives that would alter or affect him including our prayers. That cannot be corr

"... blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." John 20.29 First of all, apologies for the absence of yesterday's blog. It was there but for some reason did not appear. That sounds like a philosophical conundrum! Maybe not a bad place to start today... Is seeing believing or can we perceive something without actually grasping it? On the reason - revelation spectrum, we must be at the reason-able end because what we are talking about is the facility to get our

"Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds." James 2.18 The philosopher in James understood that faith must show evidence to be genuine. Anyone can profess anything they like without it actually being true. Only when its impact can be observed in a person's conduct can it be claimed to be authentic, for faith is what moves us at the deepest level: what we believe or do not believe about life and how we relate to our fellow creatures and whethe

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge..." 2 Peter 1.5 The task of establishing the basis of religious faith has been conceived as the struggle between faith and reason. Does what we believe derive from philosophical reflection or divine revelation? The late mediaeval Italian scholar, Thomas Aquinas, and the 20th century Scottish theologian, TF Torrance, might considered as representing these extremes. Aquinas claime

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1.27 If you were to define religion, where would you begin? Academics tie themselves up in all kinds of knots! Probably because there are as many answers as there are expressions of religion around the world. I find myself drawn towards German theologian, Friedrich Schleiermacher's, insistence on t

So asked Tertullian, the second century Christian author from Carthage in North Africa. It is the watchword for those who are suspicious of attempts to mix religion and philosophy. Or, rather, it is the standard riposte to those who would intrude philosophy into religion. More precisely still, it asserts the claim that only believers have the right to comment on their faith. You might find yourself nodding in agreement because how can one comment on that of which one has no p

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11.1 Is thinking about faith a waste of time? That depends on one's attitude to life, because faith has to do with the foundations upon which we operate, the convictions which guide us and the hope we have for the future. Even atheists have faith, in that their belief in the non-existence of God affects their foundations, convictions and hope too. Subsequent questions might be: Is i

"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary..." Psalm 150.1 Just finished Professor Bryan Spinks' book about the evolution of worship in the Church of Scotland. It was a disappointing read. Something as magisterial as the worship of Almighty God on a national scale ought to be as thrilling, inspiring and uplifting a topic as one could find. Instead I found myself ploughing interminably through notes of turgid committee meetings, most of which seemed about objecting to chang