by John Dickson So how does the Christian faith cope with the idea of extra-terrestrial life? Imagine we do discover rational life out there, or imagine if it first discovers us. What could my faith say to that? Well, that…
by John Dickson In my public speaking career, I've been interrupted just three times. Once in the Manning Bar at Sydney University, during my band days. I was trying to introduce a song about God's love, and people in the…
by John Dickson Jesus and his band of disciples were once accused of breaking the Sabbath commandment when his entourage picked some grain in a field on a Saturday. According to the interpretation of the Torah offered by the Pharisees,…
by John Dickson Probably Jesus’ most famous speech is the one in Matthew 5-7, the so-called ‘Sermon on the Mount’. It opens with a kind of grammatical drumroll, using 7 verbs in a row to build up to the opening…
by John Dickson The most extraordinary thing about the Apostle Paul is his inclusiveness. He once shared the view of his fellow Pharisees that the Jews alone were the people of God, the pure. Even when the Pharisees accepted converts,…
by John Dickson There is a typical way of talking about Jesus, he’s the Lord, or Saviour, Christ. Maybe even Jesus, my healer or teacher. But what about philosopher? I doubt that would wash in any contemporary church, but in…
by John Dickson There is a fascinating argument amongst historians and anthropologists about whether polytheism or monotheism is the more ancient. It's probably fair to say that the majority view is that belief in many gods, polytheism, is older, but…
by John Dickson The Exodus is such a big deal in the Old Testament that many aspects of the New Testament and the life of Jesus can only really be understood in the light of the story of Israel rescued…
By John Dickson In recent decades we've learned a lot about the way institutions like the Church haven't cared for children in the way they should. The Boston Globe's famous Spotlight investigations between 2001 and 2003 found that under an…
By John Dickson There is just one reference in the Bible to Jesus singing. It's tucked away at the end of the Last Supper scene. Perhaps the significance of that scene - the night before Jesus died, where he takes…