SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: Some notes from a Progressive (Evangelical) Christian Viewpoint JULY 16, 2014  Corrected/and reposted 25/4/2017 [To be updated] Note from Rowland: This article has been published in Gesher, the official journal of the Council of Christians and Jews (Victoria), Vol. 4 No. 5, November 2014. As I write, today (14/7/2014) the story of a […]
Category Archives: Articles
One man’s struggle with his gay orientation
Advertise here with Beacon Ads‘YOU SHALL WALK IN THE DARK PLACES’ September 11, 2014 This week’s news: ‘A teacher who had a major psychological breakdown after dealing with “feral” students at a Melbourne school has been awarded almost $770,000 in damages. Peter Doulis took legal action against the Victorian Government claiming he suffered a major breakdown after being allocated some […]
MARRIAGE EQUALITY: KEY RESOURCES
Advertise here with Beacon AdsMARRIAGE EQUALITY Key resources… Find these by googling titles etc. and adding jmm.org.au ARTICLES (roughly alphabetical by author) A: About 60 most-read articles on all sorts of subjects, including this one AA: A fairly thorough overview: Homosexuality & the Bible (6 articles) AAA: Too busy? Here’s just one (Steven Chalke’s) Prof. Gary Bouma (One group […]
ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA
Advertise here with Beacon AdsWe ‘preregrinating preachers’ tend to have a store of favourite themes. Here’s one version of a sermon I’ve preached hundreds of times (that’s not a misprint)! You ask, ‘Should anything be preached that often?’ My response: anything I believe is worth saying is worth saying again. This story has themes implicit within it which are pivotal to our […]
WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?
Advertise here with Beacon AdsLET’S MAKE IT SIMPLE: WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? (A sermon) Preachers could learn from TED / TEDx talks. Their motto: ‘ideas-worth-spreading.’ The world’s leading ‘thinkers and doers’ – like Bill Gates and Richard Branson, and a few hundred others – speak for 18 minutes or less. The talks are then posted daily, free, on TED.com […]
Dave Andrews, The Jihad of Jesus: The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice
Advertise here with Beacon AdsDave Andrews, The Jihad of Jesus: The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice, Wipf and Stock, 2015. Dave begins: I do not write this as an expert… [but] as a Christian, in conversation with Muslim friends This is for Christians who’ve been listening to too many crusading combative pastors, like Mark Driscoll, and for Muslims who follow […]
Happiness
Advertise here with Beacon Ads(A chapter in my forthcoming book Questions and Responses: the toughest questions I’ve ever been asked). + A young friend had a baby out of wedlock, and when he was born the hospital didn’t let her see him. She had been persuaded to surrender him for adoption. The one-night encounter with a dark-skinned Asian student gave […]
WAS JESUS A CHRISTIAN? (I doubt it)
Advertise here with Beacon AdsWAS JESUS A CHRISTIAN? (I DOUBT IT) Christians come in about 13 varieties. These varieties (or mindsets) can be found in all religions. You mustn’t judge any religion simply on its caricatures. My theses: Each mind-set makes part of Christianity the whole of it. There’s nothing wrong with the parts
BELIEFS/AUTHORITY/VALUES TOE (A THEORY OF EVERYTHING)
Advertise here with Beacon AdsThe question: ‘WHAT ARE THE BEST REASONS – IN WHAT ORDER – FOR SOMEONE CHOOSING TO BELIEVE IN [THE EXISTENCE OF] GOD? What’s your experience? Here are my rough notes on ten classic routes from non-theism to theism/Christianity. I’ve put them in the order I’ve experienced them (both in terms of time, and relevance). Yours? […]
MARRIAGE: Find the Acronym
Advertise here with Beacon AdsMARRIAGE (FIND THE ACRONYM!) On the 15th April, 1995, the Rev. Jan Croucher (my wife) and I ‘celebrated’ the marriage of our daughter Amanda, to John Southwell. The beautiful service at the Heathmont Baptist Church in Melbourne, Victoria, began with Amanda’s four cousins – sisters who are all brilliant musicians – playing Bach’s Air on the […]