Bridge of Reason

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – Kinsman/Redeemer (Ruth ) The story of Ruth is set in the time of the Judges; a time characterised by religious and moral degeneracy, and demonstrates again the remarkable nature of God’s intervention in the most unpromising of circumstances to achieve his purposes. It is a truly bitter/sweet tale of loss and redemption and begins with Naomi, whose name means ‘pleasant’ but who lost her husband and two sons who died childless. Her sense of desolation was so great that she declared “Do not call me Naomi (pleasant) call me Mara (bitter) because the Almighty has made my life bitter.” (Ruth 1:20) The story is familiar, of how Naomi in her wretchedness returned home in Bethlehem in Judah and urged her now widowed daughters-in-law to go back to their own home in

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – God’s Treasured Possession (Exodus 19:3-5 ) We began last time to look at God’s providence and the unlikely calling of a man, Abraham , out of a pagan, polytheistic world who was promised great things. He was promised a great posterity and that he would be a great nation and God provided a son when Abraham and his wife Sarah were old and barren. The promise of fruitfulness and progeny given to Adam and Abraham (Ge.1:28; 12:2) were fulfilled as Israel multiplied in Egypt. However, God’s people are not invulnerable to the challenges and injustices of this world and the physical descendants of Abraham found themselves in slavery in Egypt. From a position of great office and privilege in the land Israel, within 200 years, became slaves to a king that knew

Mormons often complain about their victim role in American history but a selection of quotes from state of the Union addresses from various presidents shows how concerned the government was and perhaps has reason to continue being. This quote is from Chester A Arthur, 21st American president. For more click through to the American Creation blog. “The fact that adherents of the Mormon Church, which rests upon polygamy as its corner stone, have recently been peopling in large numbers Idaho, Arizona, and other of our Western Territories is well calculated to excite the liveliest interest and apprehension. It imposes upon Congress and the Executive the duty of arraying against this barbarous system all the power which under the Constitution and the law they can wield for its destruction. Reference has been already made to the obstacles which the United States officers have encountered in their efforts to punish violations of law. Prominent among these obstacles is the difficulty of procu

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – Father of the Faithful (Genesis 12:1-2 ) Providence is usually defined as the unceasing activity of God in blessing (Ps.145:9), upholding order (Acts 17:28), governing events (Ge.45:5-8) and directing everything to his ultimate purpose and for his glory (Eph.1:9-12). (See New Bible Dictionary, 3 rd .ed. p. 979 for more helpful insights on providence) Over the next six weeks we will look at God’s unmistakable and providential hand has worked through Bible history to provide the Saviour we will soon celebrate. We naturally think of Abraham as a nomad, a tent dweller, whose wanderings are recorded in the early chapters of the Bible. However, for the first seventy-five years of his life, Abraham was a metropolitan, a city dweller, living in the bustling, s

It is well to remember that not everyone is unhappy to see the Jehovah’s Witnesses turn up. I just wonder if Jehovah’s Witnesses are altogether comfortable pumping that much money into this world’s failing system of things. HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Tourism Authority calculates delegates to the Jehovah's Witnesses convention at the Hawaii Convention Center to spend about $100 million. HTA Vice President David Uchiyama says the projection is based, in part, on 161,000 hotel room nights. He says the spending figure includes nearly $10 million in tax revenue. Organizers expect more than 30,000 delegates to attend the convention. That includes as many as 8,000 from Hawaii. Spokesman David Fitzgerald says the convention's two sessions are scheduled to run Nov. 19-22 and Nov. 26-29. Delegates are coming from around the world, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Switzerland and Taiwan. Vic

It always interests me what influences people’s thinking. Nowhere is this more important than in how we approach the Bible and so I found this story fascinating. A new, free, version of the bible is available but this reviewer concludes that notwithstanding the translator’s claims it is “Jehovah’s Witnesses lite”. " There is a new version of the Bible on the market (not another version!). This one is free and it is available online. James R Madsen is the translator and editor of the New Simplified Bible . This new translation of the Bible comes in three different editions: The Jehovah Version The Yahwist Version The LORD Version Although the translator makes the disclaimer that his version of the Bible is not related to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the New Simplified Bible could be classified as 'Jehovah’s Witnesses lite.'" Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The New Simplified Bible.

A Weekly Bible Reading for Bridge Builders The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here Reading – The Snare of Legalism (Matthew 19:1-12) The Chambers Dictionary defines legalism as “strict adherence to law...the tendency to observe letter or form rather than spirit, or to regard things from the point of view of law.” It also helpfully illustrates the definition with a reference to the opposing doctrines of salvation by works and salvation by grace. I do like The Chambers Dictionary and commend it to you. But what is wrong with keeping the law? Surely as Christians we believe in being law-abiding? There is certainly enough in the New Testament about obedience to authorities. We are instructed, “obey your parents in the Lord” (Eph.6:1); obey your earthly masters with respect” (Eph.6:5); obey your leaders and submit to their authority” (Heb.13:17