Raising Ascension Day

When it comes to the idea of a liturgical calendar I am not against it but I do have some reservations about it. However, if you are going to observe one in some form or another and one of those days is to commemorate the ascension, it is just remarkable how criminally underrated Ascension Day actually is. In the Pentecostal/Charismatic world to which I belong it is even worse. Even though it is one of the few liturgical days that is recognized on paper, in practice it is completely ignored. Even if you do not confess the creeds, Jesus’ ascension to heaven is clearly a fundamental belief that is either mentioned, implied or alluded to through out the New Testament. This is why it is so surprising Ascension Day is not as important as it should be.

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Tongues Speaking in the Early Church

I have realised that when it comes to tongues speaking we have read a lot of modern practices and ideas into the New Testament instead of them being supported by the text.

The Bible and the Development of the Trinity (Pt. II)

In the first part I began to look at problems with how developmental language is sometimes used with regard to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and its relation to the New Testament (NT). In this post I I examine what’s wrong with characterizing what the NT has to say about the relationship between God, Jesus and the Spirit as “undeveloped”. Often “undeveloped” means it was not adequately thought out and articulated, that is, it is rudimentary, unsophisticated or immature.

Recovering Biblical Music for Today

I have written many times on the state of contemporary Christian music. Overall I am generally not impressed with Christian music both in Ghana and internationally. While there is and will always be good Christian music unfortunately a large proportion of contemporary music is just not good enough. This assessment goes beyond my own subjective musical tastes and looks at the substance of the music, particularly the lyrical content.

God in Christ

The following is an excerpt from leading New Testament scholar Larry Hurtado‘s little known gem of a book God in New Testament Theology (Abingdon Press, 2010):

The Missing Trinity

When I was in Sunday School there was a time where my friends and I would gather afterwards, while we were waiting for the adults to finish, to talk about things related to God. I was usually the facilitator of the discussion and on one such occasion someone asked me to prove the Trinity. That was one heck of a thing to ask a 12 year old. For a split second I was absolutely stunned by the magnitude of the question after which I immediately realised I had never actually thought about it myself prior to the moment I was asked. Thinking quickly on my feet I quoted the most Trinitarian passage I could think of.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19 ESV)

There you have it, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity clearly stated in the Bible. For most people evidence of the Trinity in the Bible simply consists of finding proof texts like that or 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 or others. The trouble is things are not so straightforward.

Jesus Politics

“Christ’s biggest issue is not found on the platforms of modern political parties. Instead, Jesus calls the entire world to give allegiance to him above country, company, or any other community.”