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‘Let no one who is not eager for truth and peace enter here’ (Plato)

Articles on this site express varying points of view, to encourage mature thinking on serious issues. The assumption is that you will want to study a controversial topic from various angles before you arrive at a conclusion, rather than simply believe what someone told you when you were impressionable! (So some stuff here is ‘hot’. Proceed at your own risk!). See the Statement of Faith for John Mark Ministries' theological stance.

Homosexuality & Divorce: why not treat them the same?

By and others ⋅ December 7, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Dr. Smedes, a retired minister in the Christian Reformed Church, was a former ethics professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and the author of a dozen bestselling Christian books including To Forgive and Forget and All Things Made New. LIKE THE WIDENESS OF THE SEA? Lewis B. Smedes I remember the first time that I watched […]

A Tale of Toxicity: Winning the Fight for Health in a Toxic World

By and others ⋅ November 30, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

  Michael Simms, A Tale of Toxicity: Winning the Fight for Health in a Toxic World, 2011. We have all wondered if the incidence of asthma, autism, diabetes, chronic fatigue, and many other conditions are increasing in the Western world (and elsewhere for that matter)  ¢â‚¬“ or whether we are just more accurately diagnosing illnesses […]

Derek Tidball: Preacher, keep yourself from idols (IVP 2011)

By and others ⋅ October 13, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

For the last half-century every decade has witnessed the publication of a landmark book on the art of preaching. From memory, roughly in chronological order: W E Sangster ¢â‚¬â„¢s  The Craft of the Sermon;  James Stewart ¢â‚¬â„¢s  Heralds of God  (he was selected by Preaching Magazine as the 20th  century ¢â‚¬â„¢s greatest English-language preacher), John Stott ¢â‚¬â„¢s  I Believe in Preaching,  John Claypool ¢â‚¬â„¢s  The Preaching Event  (he ¢â‚¬â„¢s the […]

HOPE WITHIN DARKNESS (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ October 11, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Christians indeed have a strange image of God: a naked, bleeding man, dying on a cross. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s not what you would think the image of God could be or should be. Is God eccentric here, or is it we who have not diagnosed the human situation correctly? Jesus receives our hatred and does not return […]

Pastors: handing over to others…

By and others ⋅ October 10, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

If indeed it be necessary, O Lord, to bury the workman that my work may be finished by other hands, help me never to think of myself as indispensable. May I be content to die with my work undone, knowing that my task is to work at the fulfilment of your purposes, not to work […]

Humo[u]r

By and others ⋅ October 4, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?DONALD: H I J K L M N O. TEACHER: What are you talking about? DONALD: Yesterday you said it’s H to O. ============================= There were 3 friends stranded in an island. Exploring the island, the 3 men found a bottle so they opened it. A genie […]

A time to gain and a time to lose (Richard Rohr)

By and others ⋅ September 29, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

TO EVERYTHING A SEASON: A time to gain and a time to lose On the spiritual path, it is not optional to know ourselves. It ¢â‚¬â„¢s not optional to be willing to make mistakes. Such qualities are essential. They lead to the gradual growth of a person  ¢â‚¬Å“to maturity, to the measure of the full stature […]

Review: The Faith of Leap: Embracing a Theology of Risk, Adventure & Courage, Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch, Baker, 2011

By and others ⋅ September 24, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

 ¢â‚¬ËœYou tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try ¢â‚¬â„¢ (Homer Simpson) The Devil in The Brothers Karamazov:  ¢â‚¬ËœEverything would be transformed into a religious service: it would be holy, but a little dull ¢â‚¬â„¢ Title of Philip Yancey best-seller: Church: Why Bother?  ¢â‚¬ËœMost men die at 27; we just bury them at 72 ¢â‚¬â„¢ […]

Philip Yancey’s Second-best Book

By and others ⋅ September 14, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Philip Yancey,  What Good is God?  On the Road with Stories of Grace, H&S, 2010. Anyone who reads Christian books knows Philip Yancey. In his 20+ publications this  ¢â‚¬ËœProgressive Evangelical ¢â‚¬â„¢ popular writer is renowned for his stories, excellent research, readability, and global appeal. This one ¢â‚¬â„¢s more autobiographical than most. Eg.: ‘I should mention that on personality tests […]

Review: Richard Rohr, Falling Upward, Jossey-Bass, 2011

By and others ⋅ September 1, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

  Richard Rohr, a contemporary Franciscan  ¢â‚¬Ëœprophet ¢â‚¬â„¢,   writes a book a year, produces CDs/DVDs of his teachings on spirituality, and is a communicator par excellence. Two recent books  ¢â‚¬“ Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality  and The Naked Now  are good summaries of his approach to Spirituality and Contemplation. Falling Upward  is, in my view, his  ¢â‚¬Ëœbest yet ¢â‚¬â„¢  ¢â‚¬“ with […]

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