Context matters: Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

I have made the same point as in this article for years. Nonetheless, this out of context reading continues to get passed around with little thought. We must read scripture in context otherwise we will inevitably make it mean whatever we want it to say.

What does it mean that God is the head of Christ?

Denny Burk offers an answer. He is cautious about letting the complementarian tail wag the Trinitarian dog whilst also making a good case not to over-correct and say, because there is no direct or causal link, that it has absolutely nothing to say to the issue either.

Has the Catholic Church changed since the Reformation? (video)

RC Sproul answers ‘yes’ but, perhaps, not for the reasons you might think.

What is the greatest of all Protestant “heresies”?

So asked and answered Cardinal Robert Bellarmine, Pope Clement VIII’s chief theological adviser. You may be surprised by his answer but you will understand his logic.

Multicultural church

Eddie Arthur offers some helpful thoughts on multicultural church from the book of Acts.

CI victory for street preachers puts spotlight on police powers

Stories about the police and street preachers abound. Usually, these stories make their way into the news because the street preacher has said something less than helpful, but nonetheless lawful, while the police misapply the law. Here is a story – true of the overwhelming majority of street preachers – whereby they acted entirely acceptably, even according to the police, and submitted to police requests that were a misapplication of the law. The spotlight is now on these police powers that are so often abused. This is good news for anybody involved in evangelism outside the four walls of their church building.

From the archive: Music, Culture & Urban Church

‘I think too many of us immediately think of Straight Outta Compton when we think about the urban poor. If we’re a bit more British about it, we think of Saaf Landan (that’s, South London if you’re from the North). But the sort of culture that dominates those areas is not the same as that of the urban poor in Oldham and Rochdale. If we started employing rap in churches in Oldham it would be just as odd as sending some Morris Dancers to a church in Peckham in the vain hope of connecting with the yoof.’