What happens if we read the Exodus as a story of divine conflict? By reading the Exodus with an explicitly mythological lens, we can gain a new level of meaning. I'm going to briefly outline what that could look like. But it will only be an overview of a very complicated subject with lots of …
Continue reading Why Moses Wasn’t Called Moses – Reading The Exodus As Divine Conflict
The eleventh doctrine of The Salvation Army includes a belief that the wicked will receive eternal punishment in hell. Is it possible to hold to this doctrine while also believing that all people will be saved? I think so. I happily and confidently affirm the Army's doctrines. But I also believe that in the end …
Continue reading Hell Will Be Empty – A Salvationist Universalism
It can be really difficult to hold onto our faith when we are confronted with what seems to be God's silence. God's Silence on Easter Saturday On Easter Saturday there is the space between death and life, between crucifixion and resurrection. We often pass over the day quite quickly. Few people spend time mourning on …
It is only the Crucified God who can save us. Every other divinity is just a projection of our own insecurity. We have often got our understanding of God wrong. All too often, we begin with an idea of who or what God is. God is all powerful, God is all knowing, God can do …
The Sacramental Life is at the heart of how The Salvation Army understands practical holiness. Sacramental Life, not Anti-Sacramental There is sometimes a confused idea that The Salvation Army is anti-sacramental. But this has never been the case. Instead, the Army has understood the Bible to point not to rituals and rites, but to a …
What is the cost of our integrity? How much would it take for you to give it up? How Much Does Our Integrity Cost? Is there a limit to virtue for you? Or are you willing to pay the cost that is sometimes required of us to follow Jesus? It is easy to say that …
The sin of hypocrisy is the sin which is often most besetting for Christian communities. It is also the sin which Jesus spent most of his time calling out. This was particularly true during Holy Week. Yesterday, on Holy Monday, we saw Jesus flipping over the tables in the Temple to signal the start of …
Jesus Flipping Tables Flipping Tables is always a valid answer to what would Jesus do. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, following Jesus does not just mean binding the wounds of those who have suffered from injustice. Sometimes it means putting a spoke into the wheel that is grinding them down. After making his entry into Jerusalem, …
Continue reading Flipping Tables – Jesus Cleanses The Temple
On Palm Sunday we are confronted by the revelation of King Jesus as he begins the revolution. An eternal revolution as the Kingdom of God takes form in the world. The mission of Jesus comes to a climax. The world holds its breath. The dark powers of the world are confronted, exposed and broken by …
The Salvation Army is known for its position on women's equality in ministry. The Early Salvation Army's Understanding of Masculinity was even more radical in its day. Equality? From the very beginning, women were given positions of authority and were appointed to be church leaders. They preached, taught, and evangelised just as any man, and …
Continue reading The Early Salvation Army’s Changing Understanding Of Masculinity