Articles

Clare Asquith has written a book, Shadowplay: the Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare (384 pp, Public Affairs, £18.99). Her thesis is not simply that Shakespeare was a secret practicing Roman Catholic, but that he was trained at Oxford and perhaps at an English seminary abroad and that he devoted his career to […]

“For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”Esther 4:14 Not every time period in history […]

“Sir, as to this matter, I am at a point with you;[1] for if I am out of prison today, I will preach the gospel again tomorrow – by the help of God!“ These spirited but respectful words were John Bunyan’s parting shot to the judges who sentenced him to prison for preaching the gospel […]

It seems to me there are three principal ways in which we can deny the Lord; i] First, it is possible to deny him first of all by explicit and forthright denial This is the kind of denial of which Peter was guilty here. In other words, there is a straightforward question, “Do you know […]

Peter’s denial in the courtyard is the most infamous incident in his life. What could have prevented it? The answer to that question is very simple. If Peter had heeded the words of Jesus he would not have fallen. If Peter had prayed, and if he had watched he would not have denied his Lord […]

Books on living the Christian life are a dime a dozen. The shelves of Christian bookstores bow under the weight of myriad titles promising freedom from bondage, secrets of debt free living, keys to loving other people, and a whole host of other practical matters. But the one that has weighed in most heavily of […]

A code Dan Brown left on the dust jacket of his wildly successful book, The Da Vinci Code, hints that his next book will focus on Free Masonry. In preparation, we can focus some of our thinking on Masonry’s “Royal Secret,” as it is called by Albert Pike, a universally-recognized spokesman for Masonry. The “royal […]

On his 89th birthday (August 31) NPR Senior News Analyst, Daniel Schorr, observed that President Bush had “staked out a non-position†on the debate between evolution and intelligent design. Bush had said that “both sides ought to be properly taught in the schools of America.†Then, with manifest scorn, Schorr linked the devastation of Hurricane […]

Dr. Fred Malone of First Baptist Church in Clinton, Louisiana says that his church has weathered the hurricane well. They do have branches and trees down all around them. However, the Lord has been very good in protecting the church building itself and the homes of the members of the church. They do not have […]

1.He lives in another, Gal. ii. 20. He is wise in another, 1 Cor. i. 30. He is righteous in another, Rom. x. 4. He is strong in another, Isaiah xlv. 24. 2.He is very low in humility, but very high in hope. He knows he is undeserving of the least mercy, yet expects the […]

“The Times Literary Supplement, in its issue of 29 July, carried a seven-column article by the celebrated philosopher Jerry Fodor of Rutgers University, which relentlessly demolished the concept of Evolutionary Psychology, one of the pillars of the imposing mansion of orthodoxy occupied by the Darwinians. Fodor is particularly scathing about Dawkins and his leading American […]

The theme of the 16th annual Zambian Reformed Conference was “Missions – The Unfinished Task”. From Monday 22nd to Friday 26th August, the two main speakers, Paul Washer from the USA and Ronald Kalifungwa from South Africa, brought messages that left the challenge of missions looming large before our minds. Paul Washer showed us the […]

Until recently, my family and I regularly attended a nearby evangelical, Protestant church, one which is spiritually sound and has done much for the Gospel over the years. Throughout our ten years in that church, we certainly benefited from the preaching and teaching we heard, but we were also privileged, at times, to take part […]

A date of great significance for the worldwide communion of the Reformed Churches is August 24 – ‘St. Bartholomew’s Day.’ It is remembered for the terrible massacre of Huguenots in France in 1572. They were amazing Christian men and women whose testimony must never be forgotten. I believe that, though often caricatured and misunderstood by […]

“Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church” (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2005) is a new book written by Don Carson. The Emergent (or Emerging) Church is hardly a dozen years old and already it is has reached a level of considerable importance. Indeed, it is argued that the term is out of date; it has already emerged! […]

“The rights of women, what are they? The right to labour, love and pray, The right to weep, with those that weep, The right to wake when others sleep. The right to dry the falling tear, The right to quell the rising fear, The right to smooth the brow of care And whisper comfort in […]

On a summer’s day in July, 1555 a stake was set up outside the Star Inn, in the county town of Lewes, Sussex. The order had been given – Deryk Carver was to be burned, and his Bible to be burned with him. He was led out to a large barrel surrounded by wood. His […]

From ‘The Eternal Predestination Of God’, a treatise by John Calvin, 1552. The salvation of believers depends upon the eternal election of God for which no cause or reason can be rendered but his own gratuitous good pleasure. God calls [converts], justifies, and glorifies, no one but him whom he had ordained unto eternal life. […]

Comments on Ephesians, chapter 2, taken from the writings of Thomas Goodwin, President of Magdalen College, Oxford 1650. In Ephesians chapter 2, the Apostle having described our lost condition by nature goes on to enumerate the benefits we have in and by Christ. But not sooner does Paul state the first blessing a soul experiences, […]

“So is everyone that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8) Probably no passage of Scripture has caused more contention than John 3:7, where Christ Jesus said: “Ye must be born again”. An alternative translation is “born from above”. Maybe this helps to clarify the meaning. Nevertheless, the perception, fostered by the media. that there […]

MaozNews News about events in Israel and the ministry in which the Maoz family is involved The Disengagement By the time our readers receive this issue of MaozNews, all or most of the Israeli settlements in Gaza and those designated for evacuation in northern Samaria will have been evacuated. It has been a heart-rending experience […]

On Friday 20th May 2005 a crowd of some 300 Muslims burned a wooden cross outside the American embassy in London. This was part of a protest against the rumoured desecration of a Qur’an by American soldiers in Guantanamo Bay, during which British and American flags were also burned. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of […]

Extracts from WILLIAM GURNALL on Ephesians 6:14 What is here meant by loins that are to be girt with this girdle? Peter will help to interpret Paul: ‘Gird up the loins of your minds’ (1 Pet. 1:13). It is our minds that must wear this girdle of truth, and very fitly may our mind be […]

The structure of the Aberystwyth Conference is unique. After the prayer meetings (which begin at 9.15) are over the crowds numbering 1200 people gather in the Great Hall of the University for the 11.00 main meeting. There is just one preaching session for the whole morning and that is the conference address. Everything hangs on […]

Strange as it may sound I am not a Christian by my own choice and volition. It is generally believed that becoming a Christian is a matter of one’s own choice. A person joins a church, any church, and thereby becomes a Christian. But is the matter as simple as that? Can one join the […]