What exactly is meant when there is talk of a person being made up of ‘body and soul’? Are there two parts to a person? Can they exist separately? Does the soul live on after the death of the body? Discussions of the Biblical understanding of the person inevitably lead to the question as to whether the person is best understood as unified whole (monism) or as a integrated dualism of body and soul/spirit. Read More
While evangelicals have a good reputation for holding to biblical truth – including the biblically expressed conviction that homosexual activity is sinful – they have not always had a good reputation for acting with grace towards those who differ. Although the real situation Read More
It was a tough job: presenting an orthodox view on sexuality, and especially homosexuality, to a denominational committee which had been set up in such a way that a less-than-orthodox conclusion was almost a foregone conclusion (more on that later). Before dealing with homosexuality it was necessary to go back to basics and discuss theology – the nature of God Read More
The Soul:Where does it come from?Where does it go to? In the twenty first century, just as much as at any time questions about human origins and destiny lie before us. Where does humanity come from? What is our true nature? Where are we going? Read More
Of the many public dialogues, conferences and debates on homosexuality in the life of the church in which I have participated, the most helpful was one where I engaged in dialogue with David, an active homosexual minister in the Uniting Church. It was particularly helpful because we pre-arranged the dialogue, and, As well as sharing in advance the best and most positive arguments that we wanted to make (so that the other could prepare to comment on them) we were also determined to ask ourselves the much harder question about the weaknesses we perceived in our own positions. Where did we think our argument was weakest? Read More
Life after death – the intermediate state
By Brian Edgar
Marc Chagall - an angel takes Jesus
There are four connected ideas about death and resurrection which are widespread but wrong.