Jesus and Politics

or, “How would Jesus vote?”

With a general election looming in the United Kingdom I am asking the question, “How, as a follower of Jesus should I vote?”  Does Jesus give us any clue how we should act in a democratic age?  Jesus said a lot about how we should order our lives, but very little about how we should go about choosing a politician or political party to rule over us.  But if we want to be true to following Jesus we need to look carefully at his life and words and see if we can glean some clues.

  • What are the cultural differences between Jesus’ day and today?
  • Was Jesus a nationalist?
  • Was Jesus a socialist?
  • Did Jesus believe in a free market?
  • How would Jesus vote? Continue reading “Jesus and Politics”

God has defeated death!

This week we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and we must ask ourselves, “Why is this so important, and what is the relevance to us?”  Why is a reported event that took place nearly 2000 years ago so earth shattering?  If we believe that Jesus was who he said he was, nothing could bring more hope to the human race than God himself dying as a human being but defeating death and promising the same for us.

For centuries death has always been mankind’s final enemy. Frankly, we are all mortal and will, one day, die. But something within us rebels and says , “There must be more to it than that”. As a christian, and follower of Jesus Christ, I have a hope in a future resurrection. Is this hope well founded or is it just wishful thinking? I hope, in this article, to state why I can be so convinced that my hope in a future resurrection is based on the reality of what happened to the one I follow, Jesus Christ.

Continue reading “God has defeated death!”

All creation waits on tiptoe

What is in store for this wonderful universe which we call home.  Some scientists say that eventually the stars will be so spaced out that our sky will be dark and that the stars will dim as they run out of energy. eartrise2All matter will approach absolute zero in temperature, all life will have long since disappeared.  Everything around us decays. Life ends in death.

And yet the Bible gives us a very different picture.  Apparently there is hope for creation itself to be delivered from its bondage to decay. What does this mean in practice?  This slightly speculative article seeks to explore the possibility of a new or renewed act of creation that gives us, and all of creation with us, a hope for a better and glorious future.

Continue reading “All creation waits on tiptoe”

Resurrection. Truth or Lie?

heisrisenFor centuries death has always been mankind’s final enemy. Frankly, we are all mortal and will, one day, die. But something within us rebels and says , “There must be more to it than that”. As a christian, and follower of Jesus Christ, I have a hope in a future resurrection. Is this hope well founded or is it just wishful thinking? I hope, in this article, to state why I can be so convinced that my hope in a future resurrection is based on the reality of what happened to the one I follow, Jesus Christ.

Continue reading “Resurrection. Truth or Lie?”

Love God, Yourself and Neighbour

lovegodandneighbour
(But the arrows need to go both ways!)

Love is the most powerful force in the universe.  Love is the only way of fulfilling a relationship. Without love, relationships cannot exist and without  relationship, there is no need for love. For love to change the world, three relationships are necessary:

  • Loving God
  • Loving ourselves
  • Loving our neighbour

Jesus was asked the question: “What is the most important commandment?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV)

God’s plan is to change the world in which we live.  Not through exercising his power, not by commanding us to live better lives, not through fear of punishment but by using his love, enabling us to love him, to love ourselves and to love those around us. Continue reading “Love God, Yourself and Neighbour”

Tell the nations that love has won

carillonChristine and I belong to a choir.  We have just held a number of Christmas concerts and we sang this carol among others. It starts with typical words about Christmas bells and “Peace on earth”.   The carol goes on to say:

“Tell the nations that love has won”

But then suddenly comes this verse:

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth”, I said,
“for hate is strong and mocks the song
of peace on earth, goodwill to men”.

Continue reading “Tell the nations that love has won”

Optimism and the Kingdom of God

sun-and-wheatMy last blog was about nationalism and racism and how the future is effected by them. When we look at the world we could be very gloomy.  But basically I am an optimist because I believe the ultimate future is what Jesus called the Kingdom of God.

When Jesus taught us to pray in what is called “The Lord’s Prayer”, he says we should pray:

Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10 NIV)

When we use those words we are asking God to rule on the earth in the same way that his will is always done in heaven. In fact we are firstly asking God to rule in our own attitudes, words and actions. Then we are asking God to extend his rule over the whole of humanity. But the way God rules is very different from the way earthly dictators have power over the citizens of their country. Continue reading “Optimism and the Kingdom of God”

Optimistic or Pessimistic future

Trump and ClintonI believe that the world is standing at the crossroads. Are we moving to a more united world where the problems of war, extreme poverty and disease are reduced or even eliminated? Or are we are moving towards a world divided by nationalism and racism resulting in war, economic disaster, deprivation and misery? Continue reading “Optimistic or Pessimistic future”